FEILDING STORE STOCK SALE FRIDAY OCTOBER 27
Sheep numbers increased this week as more ewes with lambs at foot and more weaned spring lambs came forward to what is solid market demand. That was proven again today as the market would have easily cleaned up an even larger yarding. The best of the ewes with lambs at foot - 24 ewes with 33 lambs at foot from R Stewart, Taihape - sold for $99.50. With demand for mutton looking likely to continue, the best of these ewes still are selling cheaply enough.
A large entry of freshly weaned blackface lambs from Te Whanga Station, Wairarapa, swelled the numbers of spring lambs. Their top cut of 183 mixed sex lambs sold for $111. The lamb weights were less than last week overall but the cents/kg of the sale prices were virtually identical and there were no passings at auction this week for lambs.
Hoggets were again offered in low numbers and most were woolly again. One pen of big woolly male hoggets from Andrew Taylor sold for $173 but these hoggets would arguably have sold for more at a Monday prime sale, such was their size, and most of the other hoggets sold to steady demand.
With the local ground conditions now appreciably drying out more finishers are looking for cattle and more owners are keeping their current numbers on. This resulted in a store cattle sale smaller than may have been expected. With tractors now starting to move to repair paddocks also, cattle numbers and demand may continue to fluctuate.
Only one pen of older bulls came forward but there were good numbers of yearling bulls again this week albeit man fewer than last week. There was a wide range of breeds again in the yearling bull section this week and a wide range of prices.
The interest in the heifer sections lifted this week. The majority of the older heifers were dairy cross and these lifted up to $1530 ($2.93) for four Hereford/Friesian cross heifers from Highland Farm, Paraparaumu. Many heifers would be sought for breeding from now. The yearling heifer section offered a lot more straight beef heifers and there were some great sales. B
Sheep (2,792): ewes (404) with LAF (567), $75.50-$99.50; lambs (1,209); 27-30kg, $100-$111, $3.61-$4.05, steady; 19-25kg, $80-$91, $3.67-$4.06, steady; hoggets, to 66kg, $79-$173, $2.60-$3.36.
Cattle (1,012): steers; 3yr (14), 460-624kg, $1390-$2030, $3.02-$3.25; 2yr (132), 366-569kg, $1270-$1880, $2.77-$3.66, firm; 1yr (201), 185-400kg, $560-$1370, $.89-$3.96, firm; bulls; 2yr (6), 378kg, $1100, $2.91; 1yr (150), 134-464kg, $430-$1400, $2.04-$4.28; heifers; 2yr (81), 326-522kg, $1010-$1530, $2.87-$3.24, lift; 1yr (428), 128-397kg, $510-$1210, $2.56-$3.98, lift.