Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap

31 Jul 2026

Key points

The cattle market eased this week, although cow indicators remained resilient as southern processors stayed active in the north.
Lamb and mutton indicators continued to ease from their late-June peaks.
Sheep and lamb slaughter rebounded as plants returned from winter maintenance, while cattle slaughter declined.

Cattle market

National cattle yardings fell 9% week-on-week to 61,912 head. Queensland yardings declined 10% to 27,132 head and Victorian throughput fell 33% to 9,547 head. NSW yardings increased 13% to 22,905 head.

The broader cattle market eased, although cow indicators remained relatively stable. The Processor Cow Indicator softened 1¢ to 375¢/kg liveweight (lwt). Southern processors remained active across Queensland and NSW, helping cow prices to hold despite the broader market decline. This shows the demand for lean beef from the US has continued to support processor competition for cows.

Yearling steer indicators recorded the largest falls over the week, with the Feeder Steer Indicator down 21¢ to 514¢/kg lwt and the Restocker Yearling Steer Indicator easing 12¢ to 519¢/kg lwt. The large offering placed pressure on lightweight yearling steers, but support from central NSW restockers limited further losses. In contrast, heavy feeder steers attracted stronger demand and sold into a comparatively solid market.

Sheep market

National lamb yardings increased 10% to 146,623 head, while sheep yardings remained relatively stable at 47,504 head.

All national sheep and lamb indicators declined, extending the easing trend from the market highs recorded in late June and early July. The Light Lamb Indicator recorded the largest fall, declining 78¢ to 1,073¢/kg carcase weight (cwt). The Mutton Indicator eased 50¢ to 844¢/kg cwt, while the Merino Lamb Indicator fell 43¢ to 1,078¢/kg cwt. The declines were driven by softer markets in NSW and a sharper fall in WA, where increased yardings, the absence of a regular buyer and reduced orders from eastern states weighed on prices.

The Restocker Lamb Indicator was comparatively resilient, easing 14¢ to 1,159¢/kg cwt, supported by favourable pasture conditions across key production regions.

Grainfed lambs with shorter skins continued to attract processor interest. Feedlots also provided support to the heavy export market, despite some processors remaining inactive. Small numbers of new-season lambs began appearing, attracting interest from both processors and restockers, with some well-bred lines returning to the paddock.

Slaughter

Week ending 24 July 2026

Cattle

National cattle slaughter declined 3% week-on-week to 147,546 head. Queensland remained the largest processing state, accounting for more than half of national throughput despite recording a weekly decline. Victoria was the only state to record an increase, although the lift was modest.

Year-to-date cattle slaughter reached 4.40 million head, 6% above the same period in 2025.

State-by-state cattle slaughter (YoY):

NSW: down 11% to 33,046 head
Queensland: down 5% to 77,779 head
SA: stable at 3,851 head
Tasmania: down 20% to 3,801 head
Victoria: down 7% to 25,476 head
WA: up 38% to 3,593 head.

Sheepmeat

National lamb slaughter increased 10% to 340,879 head as capacity returned across several states. National sheep slaughter also increased, recording a significant lift of 90% to 71,034 head due to the return of processing capacity following winter maintenance shutdowns.

Despite Victoria's weekly decline in throughput, it remained the largest lamb-processing state, accounting for 45% of national slaughter. Year-to-date lamb slaughter remained 15% below the same period in 2025 at 11.76 million head. Throughput remained lower across all states.

State-by-state lamb slaughter (YoY):

NSW: up 11% to 119,780 head
Queensland: down 2% to 1,292 head
SA: up 43% to 38,169 head
Tasmania: up 10% to 5,822 head
Victoria: down 16.5% to 155,015 head
WA: down 52% to 20,801 head.

Please note: July export data may be released later than usual, reflecting recent updates to the data format (currently being finalised by DAFF).

Attribute to: Emiliano Diaz, MLA Senior Market Information Analyst.

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