January lamb slaughter

03 February 2012

Average eastern states weekly lamb slaughter for January, as collected by MLA’s National Livestock Reporting Service, increased 13% year-on-year, averaging 231,017 head. However, it should be noted that much of the 13% increase was due to heavy rain and subsequent flooding across a wide area which reduced slaughter levels throughout January 2011.

While average weekly NSW lamb slaughter increased 3% on January 2011, numbers offered at physical markets declined 8% year-on-year, as the cheaper physical markets encouraged producers to sell direct. With the warmer weather at the start the month, lamb quality was reportedly mixed, however, improvements were noted towards the end of the month. Quality also improved during the month, with a greater number of shorn lambs offered.

Lamb slaughter in Victoria increased 16% year-on-year, with January 2011 numbers heavily impacted by flooding. Hot conditions in early 2012 also impacted pasture quality, prompting some producers to offload additional stock. It was a similar situation in SA, with January 2012 slaughter numbers up 9%. Towards the end of the month, in both SA and Victoria, some lambs offered were of plainer quality, impacted by the run of hot and dry conditions.

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