Vendors Ross and Jo Hay will offer nearly 2200 Romdale mixed-age ewes and about 500 Romdale ewe lambs on their sheep and beef farm in Herbert, about 20km south of Oamaru, next week.
The couple exited the lease of a 410ha property, surrounding Kātiki Point Lighthouse in Moeraki, in April last year after six years.
The Moeraki block was used to breed sheep and the Herbert block, which had irrigation, was used to finish them.
After the lease expired, their breeding ewes in Moeraki were brought to their home farm.
That was a more appealing prospect than selling them at the time the lease expired and "getting hammered" by ewe prices.
The ewes were mated and the plan was to either sell them in-lamb or hold on to them until sheep prices improved and sell pens of ewes and lambs.
An improvement in sheep prices in the nine months since the lease expired was enough to warrant holding a ewe and lamb sale.
"It definitely has turned a corner," Mr Hay said.
He would love to continue running breeding ewes, but the 260ha home block was better suited to finishing sheep, as 84ha of it was irrigated.
"It didn't really make sense to have breeding ewes in more of an intense finishing situation."
Consequently, more store lambs would feature in the system.
He had been sheep farming for nearly 20 years and recent years had been the most challenging due to falling commodity prices, rising costs and dry weather biting.
"It was tough."
When asked if he was expecting 2025 to be better, he replied: "It can’t get any bloody worse."
Recent sheep sales had positive results and he hoped they would continue for the state of the sector.
PGG Wrightson agent Mark Yeates, of Oamaru, said demand had been very strong at recent lamb sales in the South.
There was a full clearance of about 3800 terminal-sired crossbred lambs on-farm at Longlands Station in Kyeburn last week.
Seven pens of lambs were offered and the top draft fetched $160 per head.
"The second cut $144, third cut $130 and then we had lines at $119, $112, $97 and the younger, later-born lambs made $79."
The average sale price of $118 was up $34 on the per head average at the same sale last year, he said.
Most of the lambs went to buyers in East Otago, Lee Stream, Outram and South Canterbury, he said.
A sale of about 3300 lambs on-farm at Heckler Farming in Stoneburn, near Palmerston, had a full clearance on January 16.
The top drafting fetched $151.
The average lamb price at Heckler Farming and increase on last year was similar to that at Longlands Station, he said.
"There's a lot more confidence in the sheep markets," Mr Yeates said.
Rural Livestock agent Callum Stalker, of North Otago, said there was a full clearance at the annual Waterloo Station store lamb sale on-farm in Mossburn in Northern Southland last week.
About 5000 romney lambs and 300 black-faced lambs were bought by four people in Canterbury and Otago.
The $117 average lamb price per head was $33 more than the average price at the sale last year.
Factors driving strong demand for lambs was a lack of supply and plenty of feed being available.
Some potential lamb buyers would have left Waterloo Station empty-handed, he said.
