Fat, Feeder
Lamb Prices
Fall Sharply

No telling what next week will bring, but this week it was sharply lower prices on both fat and feeder lambs and that followed the sharp increases of the past few weeks. What good does it do to make production and marketing plans when one week’s timing could make or break you?

Fat and feeder lambs lost $5-10 in the Midwest on Monday and another $5 on Tuesday. Most Texas markets lost around $10 this week and they are even below their level before the recent sharp rises. Slaughter ewes held pretty much steady.

The meat trade lost $6 late last week and will probably lose more this week. But the price disparity is narrowing, with only one area quoting weights over 85 pounds and they were just $19 below lightweights.

Activity in the East Coast distributive lamb trade was at a near standstill as buyers strongly resisted current price levels. Lamb carcass cutout values dropped again by $7.03 to $210.61 on both weight brackets.

The May cold storage report showed lamb and mutton in freezers up nine percent from a year ago at 16.7 million pounds, or the equivalent of about four weeks of domestic production. That was the May 30 figure and before the sharp price run-up on lamb carcasses the first two weeks of June. If the June 31 total is back down to normal, we may know why prices jumped.

Lamb and mutton passed for entry into the U.S. last week amounted to 2.4 million pounds or the equivalent of 52 percent of domestic production, the largest volume in seven weeks.

It’s hard to find a concrete price anywhere, but the following are the latest we have.

San Angelo feeder lambs weighing 40-95 pounds brought $79-86.50. Fredericksburg lambs moved from $80 to $90, mostly $82-88. Goldthwaite on Friday quoted 50-70 pound lambs $87-95.50, 75-85 pounds $91-94. Junction on Monday had 55-70 pound feeders at $88-89.50. Midwest markets called 50-80 pound feeder lambs $85-95, 80-100 pounds $80-90. Sioux Falls Wednesday had 70-80 pounds at $72.50-81 and 90-100 pounds $67-74.

Oregon feeder lambs weighing 80-110 pounds moved direct at $75-78 and 80-120 pound mixed fats and feeders were $80.

Fat lambs in San Angelo were fairly scarce at $82-88, a few $91, oldcrops $74-79. Midwest markets were $90-95.50 on fats early and $83-91 on Wednesday.

Fat lambs of 145-150 pounds moving direct in South Dakota and Wyoming brought $100-103.50. In Oregon, 100-130 pound fats made $82. California called 110-130 pounders $90-94, and Midwest direct lambs were $90-96.25 Monday, $91-94 Tuesday.

Midwest slaughter ewes brought $22-29.50. San Angelo had fat ewes $33-40, a few to $44, fleshy $39-48.50. Around 5000 ewes crossed into Mexico last week.

Yearling ewes went back to the country from Goldthwaite at $87.50 per head, and yearlings in San Angelo brought $77 with babytooth ewes $67-68.