Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap

28 Nov 2025

Key points

The cattle market eased, though heavy steer prices sit just 10¢ below all-time records.
Lamb prices fell sharply but remain firm for spring.
Cattle slaughter stays strong, while lamb supply reflects a smaller cohort.

Cattle market

National cattle yardings eased 6% (down 5,105 head) to 81,428. Dalby saleyards stood out with its largest yarding in five years. Most indicators softened after last week’s long-term highs, but prices remain well above historical averages. Heavy steer prices are still only 10¢ under historical records. Steady yardings and strong weekly slaughter point to solid demand from processors and restockers.

The National Heavy Steer Indicator slipped 5¢ to 458¢/kg liveweight (lwt). Feeder heifers eased 4¢ to 435¢/kg lwt and feeder steers dropped 8¢ to 488¢/kg lwt. The Restocker Steer Indicator lifted 10¢ to 524¢/kg lwt, helped by rising supply and continued confidence.

Sheep market

Lamb prices continued to fall, dropping 24−51¢ across all indicators. Yardings rose 2% (up 5,230 head) to 109,354. Supply increased in Victoria, Tasmania and NSW but fell in other states.

Market reports point to weaker quality and reduced buyer competition. Dry conditions and extreme weather in parts of NSW and fires also impacted supply.

The Heavy Lamb Indicator had the biggest decline, easing 51¢ to 1,108¢/kg cwt. Trade lambs dropped 42¢ to 1,096¢/kg carcase weight (cwt) and restockers fell 38¢ to 1,105¢/kg cwt. Even with these declines, prices remain high for this time of year.

Mutton broke away from lamb trends. Throughput jumped 23% (up 17,000 head) to 91,000, and the indicator lifted 2¢ to 754¢/kg cwt. This likely reflects buyers switching from lamb to mutton as they reassess prices and margins.

Slaughter

Week ending 21 November 2025

Cattle slaughter

Cattle slaughter slightly eased slightly but remains above the 2025 weekly average. National slaughter fell 2% to 152,197 head. Year-to-date (YTD) National Livestock Reporting Service (NLRS) slaughter sits at 6.72 million head, 9% higher than the same period in 2024.

State breakdown:

NSW up 1% to 36,057
Queensland down 4% to 77,913
SA up 1% to 3,848
Tasmania down 1% to 4,931
Victoria up 1% to 25,473
WA up 7% to 3,975

Sheep slaughter

Lamb slaughter fell for the second week, easing 1% to 419,964 head. Numbers have lifted in recent weeks but throughput remains below recent years, pointing to a smaller lamb cohort. YTD throughput is just under 20 million head, 9% below the same period in 2024. Sheep slaughter lifted 2% on last week to 190,943 head, with mixed results across states.

State breakdown:

NSW down 5% to 96,093
Queensland up 1% to 1,294
SA stable at 42,426
Tasmania down 11% to 5,028
Victoria up 2% to 217,710
WA down 4% to 57,413

Attribute content to: Erin Lukey, MLA Senior Market Information Analyst.

Information is correct at time of publication on 28 November 2025.

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