It might be the last taste of summer, but winter was in the wings at the latest sheep and goat sale at Winnipeg Livestock Auction.

With colder weather approaching hair lambs are beginning to make their way into the ring, part of a 350-head sale October 17.

In the sheep sale buyers appeared to be bidding on ewes for future breeding purposes and heavyweight lambs for immediate consumption.

The prices of the ewes saw a slight drop, with lesser quality ewes as the markets are near full capacity. Larger buyers are waiting until the markets are more positive. The average price ranged from $0.75 to $0.89/lb. There were two groups of ewes that reached $0.91 and $0.92/lb. Possibly these ewes were viewed for future breeding purposes. There was no price differences between wool and hair ewes at this sale.

The rams had a visible trend, with the heavier rams receiving lower bidding. The buyers were more interested in the lighter-weight rams — possibly, for future breeding programs. A range from $0.77 to $0.89/lb. was present for the much heavier rams. The lighter rams created a range from $0.92 to $0.96/lb. A 165-pound Dorper-cross ram enjoyed the attention it was receiving from the ring master. A true gentle ram.

Quality was very noticeable on the heavyweight lambs. Buyers showed great interest in the lambs. A group of 10 111-pound Suffolk-cross lambs brought $207.57 ($1.89/lb.).

The bidding continued to show demand for the market lambs for immediate use. There was no price differences between wool and hair lambs. The average price ranged from $1.87 to $1.88/lb.

The feeder lambs class dominated in this sale. Quality produced the top prices as viewed by the buyers. There was a price difference between wool and hair lambs, with wool lambs winning. Hair lambs had a price range from $1.65 to $1.77/lb. The wool lambs had a range from $1.74 to $1.85/lb. Sixteen 80-pound Rideau-cross lambs brought $1.91/lb. These lambs were reported to be grain fed.

The lightweight lambs could not continue the strong bidding prices. The 70-plus lambs showed a price difference between wool and hair lambs. The hair lambs were much lower than the wool lambs. The average price ranged from $1.85 to $1.92/lb. for the wool lambs. Hair lambs represented the 60-plus lamb class.

The auctioneer could not create major interest on the lightweight lambs from the buyers. A group of 53-pound Dorper-cross and Katahdin-cross lambs brought $1.475/lb. A group of 12 44-pound Dorper-cross lambs brought $1.325/lb.

In the goat sale there was a clear indication that goat does had high purchaser interest. Alpine-cross goat does represented the majority of the dairy class. A Toggenberg-cross goat doe joined the Alpine goat does in the dairy class. The bidding was the highest, compared with the last few sales.

A strong interest for the various goat bucks at this sale. These bucks could be sought for future breeding purposes. None of these goat bucks showed any threatening attitude towards the ring master.

The selection of the goat kids returned to the natural limited numbers for the sale. However, buyers showed very little interest. The prices have really dropped for the goat kids.

The Ontario Stockyard Report showed a very limited supply of sheep and goats delivered. Even with lower numbers, the buyers did not create any wild bidding or unusual prices. The markets are near saturated.