Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap

11 Jul 2025

Key points

Leaner cows were in strong demand by processors – strengthening the market.
Record lamb prices were driven by limited supply of top-quality heavy lambs.
National slaughter volumes are softening but overall, cattle processing remains ahead of 2024 figures.

Cattle market

The Dairy and Processor Cow Indicators both lifted this week but overall, the cattle market remained mostly subdued. Cattle yardings lifted by 5,240 to 61,316 head – driven by processor cows, restocker heifers and steers.

The Heavy Steer Indicator eased 18¢ to 364¢/kg liveweight (lwt), with Victoria seeing the sharpest decline of 19¢. However, Leongatha recorded the highest price at 458¢/kg lwt. Winter conditions are impacting quality and contributing to price softening, especially for export and trade cattle categories.

The Processor Cow Indicator lifted 9¢ to 310¢/kg lwt, which was supported by a 23¢ lift in Victoria. Cows, especially leaner cows, were prioritised by processors over other types of cattle. This saw price jumps by 20–30¢/kg lwt, particularly in Victoria.

Sheep market

Steady gains in the Heavy and Trade Lamb Indicators supported a continued upward trend for the sheep market. Sheep yardings rose by 3,274 to 255,334 head, driven by a 3,376 head lift in lamb yardings.

The Trade Lamb Indicator lifted 77¢ to 1,148¢/kg carcase weight (cwt) and the Heavy Lamb Indicator increased 38¢ to 1,135¢/kg cwt.

Record lamb prices were seen at Wagga ($441/head) and Bendigo ($435/head) with an average carcase weight of 40–42kg across both saleyards. Well finished lambs surpassed 1,300¢/kg cwt, with 26–30kg lambs selling for $320–375/head at Wagga. Processor lamb prices have increased due to limited availability.

Slaughter

Week ending 4^th July 2025

Cattle slaughter eased by 5,981 to 153,008 head. While most states held steady, Queensland recorded the largest drop (5,327 head), followed by NSW (881 head). Despite the weekly decline, cattle slaughter remains 9% higher than the same week in 2024.

Sheep and lamb slaughter fell by 14,788 to 498,773 head. Lamb slaughter declined by 5,971 to 339,058 head – down 15% compared to the same time last year. The largest drops were seen in SA (4,922), Tasmania (2,291), and Victoria (974).

Sheep slaughter also fell by 8,817 to 99,715 head, with every state except NSW recording declines. The largest drops were in Victoria (4,906) and Western Australia (3,507).

Attribute content to Emily Tan, MLA Market Information Analyst

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