Rural & Agriculture
28 September, 2026
Good times return to sheep country
THERE is a renewed sense of optimism among sheep producers. The paddocks are green, dams are full, wool prices are well ahead of a year ago and sheep and lamb markets have reached record territory. At Joel Joel last Monday, that optimism followed buyers into the sale ring.
Forest Springs Merino Stud sold 67 of 80 rams at its 13th annual on-property sale, averaging $2582 and reaching a top price of $5000.
The average was more than a third higher than last year, when just 48 of 100 rams offered found buyers.
For Forest Springs principal Bruce Dean, there was no need to complicate the reasons why.
“The wool job’s good. The meat job’s good. The mutton job’s good,” he said.
“We’ve got water. We’ve got food.
“It’s a pretty good time to be in sheep.”
Behind Mr Dean’s simple assessment is a broader lift in confidence across the Australian sheep industry.
Meat & Livestock Australia reported earlier this month that tight supplies and renewed producer confidence had driven several major sheep and lamb indicators to record levels during winter.
The National Mutton Indicator reached a record 916 cents a kilogram carcase weight, while the Merino Lamb Indicator climbed to 1152c/kg and the Trade Lamb Indicator to 1244c/kg.
Widespread rain across much of southern Australia has also begun changing producer behaviour, with MLA reporting farmers were starting to rebuild flocks after years of feed and water scarcity, contributing to strong restocker demand.
Prices have since eased from their winter peaks, but tight supplies continue to underpin demand.
And for Merino producers, the wool side of the equation is looking considerably healthier too.
Australian Wool Innovation reported last week that the Eastern Market Indicator eased 21 cents for the week to close at 1857 cents a kilogram clean, but remained 38 per cent higher than at the same time last year.
Wool supplies remain tight, with the volume offered at auction so far this season 8.6 per cent below the corresponding period last year.
For Forest Springs, those stronger markets have arrived alongside the kind of season farmers spend years hoping for.
Mr Dean described conditions around Joel Joel as “probably as good as you’re ever going to see”.
“Green grass,” he said.
“Dams are full. That’s it.”
In the sale ring, Hugh Jackson secured the $5000 top-priced ram, while Clearview Partners was the volume buyer, taking home eight rams.
There were new faces among the buyers too, including Braydon Piccoli, from Boort, who purchased his first Forest Springs ram.
For the Dean family, however, a successful sale is built on years of hard work.
Forest Springs began breeding rams for its own use about 25 years ago before gradually moving into selling breeding stock.
The family has farmed in the district for about four generations, while the stud itself has been decades in the making.
As Mr Dean put it: “It takes you 20 years to be an overnight success, doesn’t it?”
And behind the prices, bidding and sale-day attention is the fundamental reason those buyers make the trip.
“You need seed stock to reproduce and to get lambs next year,” Mr Dean said.
“So the best of what we’ve got is here on the day.”
Last Monday, buyers were prepared to pay for it.
Read More: Joel Joel