Who said it was a badly conceived idea to conduct a sheep sale on a public holiday?
For the second consecutive year, Swan Hill agents have conducted another highly successful sale on the public holiday gazetted to celebrated for AFL Grand final.
Hundred of kilometres for the football activities and with a huge crowd in attendance, demand across all sections of the sales crossbred and Merino yarding was surprisingly spirited, with robust of biddings conducted on all lots.
In a sale nearing 25,000 head, Merino young ewes drew a top bid of $230 a head for the Woollaloo Park-blood Condoulpe ewes from Balranald, NSW.
The next best priced at $203 a head was a Ridgeway Advance-blood line submitted by Warrawee followed by $186 for a lot of Keri Keri-blood Wilgrow young ewes.
Other sales of 17-drop, 1.5 year-old, young ewes made $100- $180 a head with a large portion of these showing the signs of the tight grazing condition especially those in the western NSW station country.
Supplies of older 14-drop and 13-drop breeding ewes were in good number. These were sold from $86 and a high of $140 a head and the reflected the lower rates of the recent mutton market.
The quality of the annual drafts of Merino wether lambs were better than was expected. These drew a top price of $98 a head for the Myer family of Barham for their unshorn Terrick West-blood line.
Better lines of unshorn wether lines made $70 to $97 while shorn wether lots made to $80 a head.
The sale for crossbred lambs was a further highlight of the public holiday September market.
With orders from all the Mallee regions, the Wimmera, north central and Tasmania competing, resultant prices rose above expectations to make $110 to $127 for the fresher better grown, $95 to $115 for the middle drafts and $60-$90 for the young and lighter lots.
