Sheep price records continue to tumble

Sheep price records continue to tumble at saleyards across the country, in a golden age for sheep producers.A line of 1.5-year-old ewes set a new record at the prestigious selling centre at Naracoorte in South Australia yesterday.They sold for $650-a-head, overtaking the previous record of $641 set at Corowa in New South Wales only last month.Sheep values have risen significantly this year, reflecting an excellent season in many areas, as well as strong demand and a critical flock shortage.Drought conditions in key livestock areas in recent years led to a big sell-off of sheep, exacerbating the long-term trend of declining flock numbers in Australia.50-year road to the recordThe record-breaking ewes at Naracoorte belonged to the James family, who farm up the road at Mundulla West.Trevor James said he felt a great sense of accomplishment, but was keeping it in perspective."It's a thrill, but you don't take long to reflect on why you get there," he said."We enjoy the support of buyers, and repeat buyers who keep buying our sheep, and that's a humbling experience."This is our 50th year selling first-cross ewes, and no-one ever thought we'd be at $650, or even in the 500s."The James family's record-breaking sheep were also named 'best presented' at the Naracoorte sale. (Supplied: James family)It was only three years ago livestock values fell so sharply that some sheep were almost worthless, and Mr James said that was fresh in his memory."We need the return, because the last few years have been difficult, for one in price — the 2023 spring fell away quickly, and a couple of tough seasons in terms of feed costs, and now costs in general," he said."Now we can catch up a little bit on the past few years."He said he was not sure what the future would hold, but expected continuing strong demand while the sheep flock remained low."The shortage of sheep is now playing out and I would imagine it will take some while to rebuild numbers," he said."We're hoping it's not a bubble, because we're hoping to get a little bit more out of it."There was a huge amount of interest in the James family's record-breaking sheep. (Supplied: James family)Record after recordAlmost all sheep prices have been hitting new highs in recent months.The national first-cross record has been broken numerous times, and at a state level, the Victorian record was also broken yesterday, with ewes at the Edenhope sale selling for $625-a-head.Only a week before, the national first-cross lamb record was broken, with a pen of lambs at the Bendigo sale selling for $595.In the Merino industry, a new ewe record of $515-a-head was set at the Hay sheep sale in September.These records all refer to breeding animals, but they also reflect extraordinary and unprecedented demand at the saleyards for sheep and lambs for slaughter — lambs have sold for up to $500, and sheep have topped $400.Agents celebrate their clients' persistenceLivestock specialist with stock agency AWN, Wayne Driscoll, said his clients had done the hard yards through tough years, sticking with sheep, and deserved to be rewarded."It's a wonderful time — it's great reward for persistence," he said."We're so pleased for the vendors who have stayed in it, because there was a lot of heartache a couple of years ago, they went through a lot and it certainly took people out of the industry, so let's not forget that."Nigel Starick says he never dreamed sheep prices would reach the levels they have. (Supplied: Elders Bendigo)Elders Bendigo livestock manager Nigel Starick said he never expected to see prices so high.'It's fantastic to see people get rewarded for sticking with something that hasn't always gone their way, but the ones in it now are getting well rewarded," he said."It's as good as I've ever seen it in 25 years in this job — never in my life did I think I'd see those prices. It's just phenomenal."When you actually get up and auction those sheep and command that sort of value for producers, it's a good place to be."