Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap
27 June 2025
Key points:
- Cattle prices were steady, supported by strong demand for restocker steers and processor cows.
- Lamb prices eased across most indicators, driven by declining quality and increased buyer selectivity.
- Cattle slaughter surged to its highest weekly total since 2019, led by Victoria and NSW numbers.
Cattle market
Cattle price stability has built market confidence, despite a more subdued week. Cattle yardings eased by 17,755 to 55,996 head.
Demand for restocker steers was solid and heavy heifers even stronger. The Restocker Heifer and Steer Indicator moved in opposite directions. The heifer price eased 9¢ to 312¢/kg liveweight (lwt) while the restocker steer rose 11¢ to 391¢/kg lwt. At Dalby, demand for heifer remained strong while other classes sold cheaper.
Renewed interest in cows resulted in the Processor Cow Indicator lifting 9¢ to 291¢/kg lwt with strong prices across all states. Despite 1,300 cows being presented at Dalby, buyers absorbed the supply and a price lift of 8¢/kg lwt. Cow prices reached new highs at Dubbo reaching 360¢/kg lwt.
Sheep market
After numerous record-breaking weeks, prices eased except for the Merino Lamb Indicator. Combined sheep and lamb numbers fell by 127,926 head with lambs contributing 76% of this reduction.
Heavy lambs eased 32¢ to1028¢/kg carcase weight (cwt) and the Trade Lamb Indicator was similarly affected. Prices eased in most states with Victoria seeing the largest decrease by 56¢/kg cwt. Price decline is quality-driven with fewer heavy and extra heavy lambs available. Buyers were also more selective. Wagga prices eased to $320–$345/head.
The Mutton Indicator was also quality affected, easing 28¢ to 644¢/kg cwt. The quality drop led to cheaper mutton prices at Bendigo – selling below 690¢/kg cwt and at Dubbo for $22/head.
Slaughter
Week ending 20 June 2025
Cattle slaughter
Cattle slaughter was 153,442 head – the largest weekly slaughter since December 2019. Victorian slaughter increased by 4,890 to 26,467 head – the highest for Victoria in any week since 2021. NSW slaughter reached 37,113 head – the third highest weekly slaughter since 2020.
Cattle slaughter in remaining states:
- Queensland: Down 3% to 87,292 head
- SA: Down 16% to 3.816 head
- Tasmania: Up 26% to 5,198 head
- WA: Up 3% by 2,556 head.
Sheep slaughter
Lamb slaughter lifted by 58,934 to 445,799 head. All states increased except WA. Victorian slaughter increased by 46,834 to 209,686 head as did NSW lifting by 7,837 to 113,490 head. Despite recent week-on-week slaughter increases, numbers are 13% lower than 2024 figures.
Sheep slaughter eased by 27,827 to 159,701 head. Victoria (-23,502) and WA (-13,564) eased while NSW (+11,243) lifted. Year-on-year slaughter eased 8% or by 13,948 head.
Attribute content to Emily Tan, MLA Market Information Analyst
