The lamb market's jekyll and hyde nature has returned and neither is good for the industry.
Prices may be booming for the relative few who have any to sell, but processors face losing money and an early winter shut down.
Meanwhile, lamb is in danger of pricing itself out of the market.
A decent forward-selling system could have solved this supply, demand and price dilemma, according to Sheepmeat Council president Chris Groves.
"Come spring-time there will be lambs everywhere and not enough kill space and watch the price fall," Mr Groves said.
"This boom and bust cycle reinforces the need for all interested parties to sit around the table and talk about how we can solve this supply issue as it has the potential to be very damaging indeed."
Mr Groves said a general lack of confidence in the relatively new and specialist lamb finishers industry was one of the key reasons why a better forward contract system did not exist.
Lamb has now hit a four-year high across the eastern states and is expected to stay at close to 500 cents per kilogram (dressed) until spring lamb hits the saleyards.
Three and four score trade lambs in Bendigo and Ballarat, Victoria, this week made between $85 and $130 per head, or 460-550c/kg, according to the National Livestock Reporting Service, which quoted prices at yards in central New South Wales as at similar levels.
Across South Australia prices have hit 550c/kg for the best trade lambs, while heavier lambs are selling for closer to 425-450c/kg, according to Landmark livestock manager for SA, Wayne Hall.
"For the first time in a long time we are seeing vendors rewarded for feeding lambs, it is a simple supple and demand situation and it is very hard to predict where it will go to from here," Mr Hall said.
In the west, prices have not reached these dizzy heights, with Peter Trefort, of Hillside Meats at Narrogin, WA, saying lamb supply was holding up well in that state.
"We have had some forward contracts in place but the price will no doubt stay up for some time yet; we're at 380-400c/kg for a good 20kg lamb right now," he said.
But better quality second cross lambs are becoming harder to find, according to the NLRS.
Last week it reported a big jump in the Victorian and New South Wales trade lamb indicators at 464c/kg and 446c/kg, their highest price since August 2004.
Sheepmeat Council vice president Kate Joseph said she couldn't see prices dropping below 400c/kg until the new seasons lamb arrived and said the move to cropping had significantly reduced lamb number and the ability to feed them.
"A price around 400 cents works well for me but it's a very fine line because the processors are no doubt finding it very tough at the moment," she said.
While prices are exciting growers, there are warning signs as some processors are expected to close down early for maintenance over winter.
Mr Trefort said his company was now finding price resistance both in Australia and overseas for some of the higher cuts, such as racks, which were now selling for around $40 per kilogram at retail.
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