Producers took advantage of a mild spring day on Feb. 15, delivering 243 sheep and goats to the Winnipeg Livestock Auction.
The overall high quality of the animals at this sale was very noticeable, especially when compared to the previous sale.
In the sheep sale, ewes dominated. There was a slight price difference between wool and hair ewes. The wool ewes were at the top of the price range, which was from $0.99 to $1.18 per pound, while the wool ewes had a range of $1.10 to $1.18 per pound. Many of the hair ewes struggled to enter even the lower end of this range from soft bidding.
Read Also
Smart deworming for sheep starts with individual fecal egg counts
Fecal egg count tests are one step to managing dewormer resistance and managing sheep parasites on Canadian sheep farms to maintain flock health.
In the ram class, it was hair rams that dominated. A 160-pound Katahdin-cross ram brought $140.80 ($0.88 per pound). A group of 12 174-pound Katahdin-cross rams brought $160.08 ($0.92 per pound). A 155-pound purebred Dorper with papers, (2015 champion), brought $142.60 ($0.92 per pound).
No heavyweight lambs were delivered.
The market lambs tried to reach and maintain the steady prices from the previous sales. Eight 96-pound wool lambs brought $1.70 per pound. Twelve 97-pound wool lambs brought $1.88 per pound. There was a very noticeable difference between wool and hair market lambs at this sale. A 95-pound Katahdin-cross lamb brought $0.96 per pound.
The bidding remained strong for the feeder lambs, as the buyers showed some interest. A group of five 92-pound Clun Forest-cross lambs brought $1.81 per pound. Sixteen 91-pound Dorset-cross lambs brought $1.88 per pound. Six 85-pound Clun Forest-cross lambs brought $1.90 per pound. However, a group of eight 90-pound Rideau-cross lambs brought $1.15 per pound.
The buyers continued to bid high on the lightweight lambs, with much more interest in this classification compared to the last sale. Ten 73-pound wool lambs brought $2 per pound. Three 72-pound wool lambs brought $2.24 per pound.
Two 60-pound Rideau-cross lambs brought $2 per pound. A 60-pound Suffolk-cross lamb brought $2.03 per pound. A 65-pound Cheviot-cross lamb brought $2.12 per pound. Two 50-pound Cheviot-cross lambs brought $2.16 per pound. Six 48-pound Rideau-cross lambs brought $0.82 per pound. A 35-pound Dorper-cross lamb brought $2 per pound. A 25-pound Rideau-cross lamb brought $0.50 per pound.
The numbers for goats were very limited for this sale. There were no goat kids supplied, at any weight. Two 120-pound Boer-cross goat does brought $1.36 per pound. The 120-pound Boer-cross goat buck brought $1.46 per pound. Eight 86-pound Boer-cross goat wethers brought $2.23 per pound. Two 88-pound Boer-cross goat wethers brought $2.23 per pound.
