Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap

01 May 2026

Key points

The Restocker Yearling Heifer Indicator dips below its year-ago level.
Sheep and lamb supply continues to tighten as yardings fall.
Cattle slaughter remains at historically high levels.

Public holidays in NSW and WA have had some impact on yardings this week, with both cattle and sheep significantly lower from the previous. The Restocker Yearling Heifer Indicator dropped below its year-ago mark, while heavier processor and export lines maintained gains. Forbes and Wagga made up 50% of the total contribution for restocker lambs, as demand strengthens from southern buyers.

Cattle market

The national cattle yarding fell to 64,868 head (-43%). The drop in the yarding was led by NSW followed by Queensland at -53% and -29% respectively, with the NSW and WA public holiday having an impact. Females dominated the Armidale yarding, with 91% of the 3,103 head yarding being female. The spread was generally even across the other northern NSW and Queensland sales.

The Restocker Yearling Heifer Indicator fell 6% to 322¢/kg liveweight (lwt) across a smaller offering of 3,766 head. Queensland yards made up 84% of the total contribution for the category. The indicator is now 1% below its year-ago level.

The Heavy Steer Indicator lifted 2% to 414¢/kg lwt. The lift was due to supply for heavier lines becoming increasingly limited, a result of elevated slaughter levels. When looking across the indicators from 12 months ago, the Heavy Steer, Feeder Steer and Feeder Heifer Indicators have performed best, lifting 16%, 17% and 14% respectively.

Sheep market

The national lamb yarding fell 32.5% to 139,632 head and the mutton yarding fell 45.5% to 53,215 head. The decline was led by NSW and WA due to the public holiday. The indicators were mixed but stable, with increases in the Light Lamb and Trade Lamb Indicators.

The Trade Lamb Indicator lifted 2.4% to 1,184¢/kg carcase weight (cwt), to get back to the same price as one month ago. Forbes made up 23% of the contribution for the offering and received the highest average price at 1,240¢/kg cwt.

The Restocker Lamb Indicator lifted 0.7% to 1,169¢/kg cwt across a reduced offering of 31,218 head, while the Mutton Indicator dropped 1.6% to 769¢/kg cwt, with Forbes and Wagga making up just below 50% of the total contribution.

Slaughter

Week ending 24 April 2026

Cattle

National cattle slaughter fell 1.7% but remains at near-record levels at 161,999 head. The significant increase on a year-on-year (YoY) basis is exaggerated due to misaligned public holidays when comparing 2026 to 2025.

State-by-state cattle slaughter YoY:

NSW: up 142% to 37,075 head
Queensland: up 102% to 83,523 head
SA: up 70% to 1,604 head
Tasmania: up 72% to 5,236 head
Victoria: up 83% to 28,597 head
WA: up 60% to 3,688 head.

Sheepmeat

National lamb slaughter remained steady (-0.5%) to 419,913 head while national mutton slaughter lifted 19% to 118,598 head. Like cattle, the YoY comparison is exaggerated due to misaligned public holidays when comparing 2026 to 2025.

State-by-state lamb slaughter (YoY):

NSW: up 44% to 123,298 head
Queensland: up 12.6% to 1,197 head
SA: up 12% to 38,974 head
Tasmania: up 5.5% to 7,899 head
Victoria: up 23% to 191,248 head
WA: up 56% to 57,297 head.

Attribute content to: Alex Fry, MLA Market Information Analyst

Information is correct at time of publication on 1 May 2026.

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