“You’d travel the world to find a better run of sheep in a centre.”

Adam Chudleigh, MCC Chudleigh Doell, expects nothing less of the 47th Forbes annual first cross ewe sale, which is locked in for Thursday, 8 January 2026 at the Central West Livestock Exchange.

There are 18,000 head registered for the annual sale, which starts at 10am with the Glamis Shield for best presented pen of first cross ewes and is followed by a special store sheep sale.

It’s traditionally a very strong event and Mr Chudleigh says the region will again put its best forward with repeat vendors again presenting to this sale.

“A great line-up of sheep once again - you’d travel the world to find a better run of sheep in a centre as we do with the ewe lambs that we present - we’ll see the tops of the ewe in excess of 60kg as an average,” he said.

The Morrisons, Daweses and MacGregors among those who have supported the sale since its inception to return.

Given the locally dry conditions, Mr Chudleigh expects this year’s sale to represent value for both buyer and seller. A few inches of rain over the Christmas break would be very welcome.

“We’ll be relying – as we do each year – buying fraternity to come from the east and the south, they’ve having a bit more favourable season,” he said.

“But I believe it should be strong and it’ll be a solid sale where I think it’ll represent value for both buyer and seller.”

A year of record yardings – particularly in sheep - at the Forbes selling centre finished with markets the agent could only describe as “phenomenal”.

“It’s been a full-on year, a very solid year, there’s been no breaks that’s for sure,” Mr Chudleigh said.

That’s despite a lack of run-off rain that’s now seeing stock water supplies become a serious consideration.

The cattle market - from the final monthly store sale to weekly Monday sales - has been particularly impressive given the consistent numbers yarded.