Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap

17 Oct 2025

Key points

Cattle yardings lifted by 1,314 head, while dry spring conditions led to cautious restocker activity.
All sheep indicators trended downward, driven by increased lamb supply.
National lamb slaughter rose 9% to 343,948 head, while sheep slaughter lifted 5% to 158,038 head, despite NSW declines due to plant shutdowns.

Cattle market

All cattle indicators eased, with the Dairy Cow Indicator decreasing significantly – down 24¢ to 318¢/kg liveweight (lwt). Cattle yardings lifted by 1,314 to 68,351 head, with dips in yardings for the Dairy Cow Indicator and Restocker Yearling Heifer Indicator.

The Restocker Yearling Heifer eased 4¢ to 373¢/kg lwt. This ease reflected reports from Wagga indicating restocker buyers were less active this week. Drying spring conditions contributed to a cautious approach and are causing implications on buying decisions.

Sheep market

The sheep market also declined across all indicators. Combined sheep and lamb yardings lifted by 13,871 to 312,799 head with sheep yardings easing by 5,262 and lamb yardings lifting by 19,133 head. WA yardings lifted 12.3%, while yardings in Victoria eased 22.9%.

The Trade Lamb Indicator eased 39¢ to 1,065¢/kg carcase weight (cwt), with prices falling across all states. WA recorded the largest drop of 96¢, while NSW saleyards − contributing nearly 70% of the indicator − fell 82¢. Market intensity lessened, with some southern processors halting young lamb purchases mid-sale, disrupting normal price dynamics.

The Mutton Indicator eased 88¢ to 685¢/kg cwt with prices easing in most states − notably NSW by 99¢. Several key NSW saleyards saw significant price reductions with exporters reluctant to push prices higher. In some cases, heavy mutton sold for less than lighter sheep, particularly in Bendigo, reflecting a cautious buying environment.

Slaughter

Week ending 10 October 2025

Cattle slaughter

National cattle slaughter totalled 134,650 head, down slightly week-on-week (WoW) but still tracking 9% above the same period in 2024. Queensland remained the largest contributor at 70,749 head, despite a 10% WoW decline. NSW throughput fell 18% to 28,729 head. Year-to-date, national cattle slaughter is tracking 8.6% higher than the same period in 2024.

State-by-state breakdown of cattle slaughter:

NSW: down 18% to 28,729
Queensland: down 10% to 70,749
SA: down 20% to 3,065
Tasmania: down 9% to 3,768
Victoria: up 2% to 24,660
WA: up 23% to 3,679.

Sheep slaughter

National sheep and lamb slaughter rose 1.7% to 501,986 head, driven by a reduced NSW throughput (-16%), resulting from a major plant shutdown. National lamb slaughter totalled 343,948 head, up 9% WoW and tracking 8% above the same week in 2024. Victorian lamb slaughter lifted 8% to 191,717 head. National sheep slaughter lifted 5% to 158,038 head. Victoria led with 61,305 sheep processed and NSW, despite an 18% decline from the previous week, followed with 49,103 head.

State-by-state breakdown of lamb slaughter:

NSW: down 14% to 58,022
Queensland: down 11% to 1,232
SA: down 5% to 39,570
Tasmania: down 21% to 6,398
Victoria: up 8% to 191,717
WA: down 6% to 47,009.

Attribute content to Emily Tan, MLA Market Information Analyst

Information is correct at time of publishing on 17 October 2025

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