Manawatu stock sales

Feilding Prime Stock Sale Monday February 13

This prime sale for sheep is feeding off its own success with an entry approaching 5,000 lambs selling to virtually steady demand in spite of being nearly twice the number of last week. Heavy rain fell during much of the sale which caught the attention of those buyers over from Hawke’s Bay. Larger lamb traders with supply contracts are paying a premium over works schedules and are also not so punitive on lambs outside specification which is encouraging vendors to bypass the meat plants and try their luck at auction. So far, their ‘‘luck’’ has been good enough to attract such big yardings. Once Easter chilled markets are finished there may be a correction but for now the saleyards are busy.

The top sale price was $120 for 29 heavy lambs from JJ Farms with Mark Collis selling 189 lambs for $119. There were some large lines sold with quite a number of lines over 100 head but, as with last week, the small pens seemed to lift further.

For a few pens, it looked like the ewe section may be back a couple of dollars but it was soon business as usual and the ewes were steady. The yarding was not dominated by heavy ewes to the extent of last week and buyers seemed to stick to their preferred weight range.

The cattle sale provided its usual contrast to the sheep section with a very small entry, reflecting the availability of cattle. Both steers were jersey cross, thus a little lighter and steady on last week, and the beef cross heifers were a little firmer at just over $2.60/kg.

The cows were steady to firmer on a very small yarding of solely dairy cows.

All the bulls were jersey this week and traded in a narrow range depending on weight.

Sheep (7,687): lambs (4,696); prime (4,291), 38-58 kg, $85-$120, $2.10-$2.50, steady; store (405), 28-37 kg, $60-$87, $2.25-$2.45, steady; hoggets (11), $88; ewes (2,893); good, heavy, 26-30 kg, $86-$99.50, $3.10-$3.40, steady; medium,21-25 kg, $67-$85.50, $3.20-$3.40, steady; lighter, 16-20 kg, $42-$63, $2.60-$3.20, steady; 2ths (33), $61-$94; male sheep (54), $51-$80.

Cattle (56): steers (2), 570 kg, $1482, $2.60; heifers (8), 460-540 kg, $1164-$1404, $2.53-$2.62, firm; cows (25); good, heavy, 504-620 kg, $863-$1141, $1.66-$1.84; boners, 350-590 kg, $560-$1009, $1.60-$1.71, firm; bulls (21), 347-630 kg, $735-$1568, $2.12-$2.49.

Feilding Supplementary Ewe Fair and Store Stock Sale Friday February 10

The main focus of this sale was the supplementary ewe fair, alongside a reasonable lamb yarding but another small cattle sale.

Over 11,000 ewes sold to reasonable demand with good numbers of buyers along the rails and a couple of large mutton traders underpinning the market. Prices of note are; 118 romney two-tooths from Holly Farm, Marton, at $148 (although Puketiro Station came with a withering late run and sold 25 two-tooths for $150); 235 romney four-tooths from B & J Draper, Pori, for $145; 506 romney 5 year olds from D Hintz, Taihape, for $116. There were reasonable numbers of lighter conditioned older ewes offered but the lurking meat buyers did not operate in large numbers as sale prices held up well enough.

The lamb sale, which also numbered over 11,000 head, was dominated by a large entry of lambs from drought affected regions of the North Island. Lamb sale prices also held up well. On a strict cents/kg basis prices eased slightly but, when the obvious store condition of the lambs was considered, sale prices held well enough and most vendors of those drought affected lambs would have been mightily relieved and satisfied with the money. The day’s top price was for lambs that were not drought affected when Sandon Rises, Sanson, sold 115 woolly cryptorchids for $93. Good numbers of male lambs sold over or around $80 as well with, again and there were no top ewe lambs on offer.

The cattle sale was a small affair again with a seeming shortage of cattle looming which may help the market. Good cattle sold to solid demand with only the much lesser sorts harder to shift. A large entry of 82 heifers and calves from Te Ranga, Raukawa, started the sale to good inquiry around $1340-$1440.

There were few steers on offer – 4 big hereford/friesian steers from RD Johnson, Palmerston North, sold for $2230 ($2.79) but these were works cattle. The rising two year steer section was firm but on low numbers.

Bulls were steady – 13 solid rising three year angus bulls from RFT, Feilding, made $1700 ($2.98) and Totara Grove, Halcombe, sold 19 rising two year friesians for $1100 ($2.61).

The strongest section of the day was the rising two year heifer section. Three pens of rising two year angus heifers from Mangahane Station, Taihape, although younger and lighter cattle, sold very well around the $2.91-$2.97/kg levels to stand out.

Available cattle numbers may soon rival the lack of good store lambs.

Sheep (22,758): ewes (11,388); 2ths (4745), $80-$150; 4ths (235), $145; Ma6yo (6,408), $67-$116; lambs (11,207); 37-42 kg, $80-$93, $2.14-$2.31, slight ease; 31-35 kg, $72-$81.50, $2.30-$2.52, slight ease; 24-30 kg, $59.50-$72.70, $2.10-$2.54, slight ease.

Cattle (710): steers; R3 (51), 428-797 kg, $1185-$2230, $2.77-$2.91; R2 (128), 270-464 kg, $830-$1385, $2.64-$3.16, firm; bulls; R3 (13), 569 kg, $1700, $2.98; R2 (138), 276-421 kg, $740-$1100, $2.57-$2.85, steady; R1 (47), 110-164 kg, $405-$600, $3.63-$4.65; heifers; R3 (7), 401 kg, $1060, $2.64; R2 (172), 311-477 kg, $875-$1245, $2.61-$2.97, lift; R1 (53), 121-149 kg, $500-$540, $3.62-$4.30; heifers (82) and calves, 500-538 kg, $1220-$1245, $2.31-$2.44; cows (19) and calves, 518-700 kg, $1340-$1440, $1.91-$2.78.

Rongotea Sale Report February 8

This week’s sale saw a big yarding of empty friesian heifers and white face weaners which sold well to a solid buying bench.

2 year white face steers 520 kg made $1300 ($2.50) and angus cross steers 495 kg made $1240 ($2.51).

2 year ayrshire bulls 475 kg made $1030 ($2.17) and jersey bulls 445 kg 456 kg made up to $1060 ($2.20 $2.32).

2 year friesian heifers 384 kg – 450 kg made up to $1065 ($2.36 $2.51) and cross breed heifers 387 kg made $885 ($2.29). Angus cross heifers 460 kg made $1100 ($2.39) and ayrshire cross heifers 425 kg made $1030 ($2.42).

15 month white face steers 285 kg made $700 ($2.46) and charolais cross steers 325 kg made $810 ($2.49).

15 month white face bulls 285 kg 325 kg made up to $800 ($2.46 $2.74) and cross breed bulls 320 kg – 377 kg made up to $900 ($2.28 $2.39).

Yearling angus cross bulls 248 kg made $730 ($2.93).

Weaner white face steers 145 kg made $570 ($3.93).

Weaner friesian bulls 120 kg – 182 kg made up to $510 ($2.92 - $3.62) and cross breed bulls 105 kg – 155 kg made up to $390 ($2.52 - $3.14). White face bulls 92 kg – 160 kg made up to $590 ($3.69 - $4.42) and angus cross bulls 172 kg made $460 ($2.67). Simmental cross bulls 205 kg made $690 ($3.37).

Weaner white face heifers 89 kg – 151 kg made up to $530 ($3.50 $4.67) and angus cross heifers 97 kg 121 kg made up to $530 ($3.61 $4.46). Simmental cross heifers 165 kg made $550 ($3.33) and cross breed heifers 137 kg made $355 ($2.58).

Friesian boner cows 563 kg made up to $900 ($1.60) and cross breed cows 417 kg - 460 kg made up to $810 ($1.58). White face boners 592 kg made $1050 ($1.77). Weaner pigs made $50 - $92. Mixed age ewes made $67 - $89 and mixed sex lambs made $67 - $93.

Feilding Prime Stock Sale Tuesday February 7

The ‘‘short week syndrome’’ seemed to have beneficial effect on the market for ewes and lambs with the prime lamb section lifting and the ewe section fully firm to lifting. As every week goes by, it is becoming more obvious that the sheep numbers are just not there and with more heading down to the South Island all the time that does not seem likely to change any time soon.

There was an increase in the number of heavy lambs sold at this sale but a sad heavy lamb vendor was nowhere to be found today as they have been receiving works kill sheets that make their eyes water with the penalties for heavy weight lambs. Four lambs from PM Rowe sold for $128 and many of the nearly 2,300 lambs sold were knocked down just below or just above $120. Not surprisingly, the lighter lambs sold for the highest cents/kg but the prices paid for the heavy lambs did surprise a little. The Easter chilled lamb season has a few more weeks to run. The store lambs were not in great numbers today, reflecting both the local grass season and the trucking to the South Island from eastern regions, and those that were sold today were mostly forward store and sold up to Friday’s improved levels.

Slightly more ewes than last week were sold but this market continues to be very solid and mutton contracts are around or promised soon. Much more of the ewe offering today were heavy ewes with very few lightweight ewes and the heavy ewe section was probably the strongest today.

The short week did affect cattle sale entries with hardly any put up save for the usual turnout of Jersey bulls. There is little to be said about the cattle sale. The lone steer was a good but lighter weight Angus and sold for $1383 ($2.66). The heifers were dairies and the cows were dairies or dairy cross as was the sole non-jersey bull. The boners may have been a little firmer but on very low numbers.

Sheep (5,063): lambs (2,272); prime (2,161), 38-60 kg, $91-$128, $2.15-$2.45, lift; store (111), 27-40 kg, $55-$96.50, $2.10-$2.50, steady; ewes (2,707); good, heavy, 26-35 kg, $85-$116, $3.10-$3.40, lift; 21-25 kg, $67-$85, $3.20-$3.40, firm; lighter, 16-20 kg, $40-$64, $2.50-$3.20, firm; 2ths (38), $40-$91; male sheep (46), $40-$75.

Cattle (25): steer (1), 520 kg, $1383, $2.66; heifers (4), 517-620 kg, $1282-$1494, $2.41-$2.48; cows (8); boners, 570-630 kg, $906-$1071, $1.59-$1.70; bulls (12), 315-500 kg, $634-$1250, $2.00-$2.50.