Manawatu stock sales

Feilding Prime Stock Sale, August 21

There was little of note about this prime sale.

Good numbers of hoggets are still coming forward, including plenty of big heavy male hoggets still, but with most sheep farmers becoming busier with lambing or preparations for same the ewe entry dropped right away.

The cattle sale had virtually no prime cattle at all with no steers and only dairy heifers plus all the cows were boners.

The hogget sale was very strong from the start.

Last week the heaviest male hogget market just had a soft feel to it but any of last week’s slight ease was easily recovered and the market for the heavy hoggets lifted again even though there were more of the heavy hoggets offered this week. True to form though, the medium weight hoggets lifted more and there was some mirth on the buying rails every time the $8/kg schedule equivalent was passed and that happened frequently.

Top price was $190 for 40 very nicely vendor shorn male hoggets from A Knight and nearly 2000 hoggets sold for over $160. There are still prospective buyers leaving each week without ‘‘firing a shot’’ so there does not seem any easing in sight for this hogget market yet.

Store hoggets remained firm again with one of the main prime buyers active in securing the better forward store hoggets.

Ewe numbers dropped right away but that had little effect on the sale prices which remained generally steady.

As stated, the cattle sale was of no great consequence.

With no heavy or higher yielding cattle put forward, this section also remained essentially steady. All the cows were boners today and there were no male cattle at all put forward for sale.

Sheep (4,076): hoggets (3,718); heavy prime (1,451), 51-65kg, $161-$190, $2.95-$3.25, lift; medium prime (1,828), 41-50kg, $139-$165, $3.20-$3.55, lift; store (339), 25-39kg, $70-$137, $2.80-$3.60, firm; ewes (357); good, heavy (68), 26-28kg, $120-$133, $4.60-$4.75, steady; medium (194), 21-25kg, $88-$120, $4.20-$4.80, steady; lighter (33), 16-20kg, $70-$80, $4.00-$4.35, steady; 2ths (62), $86-$117; male sheep (1), $20.

Cattle (73): heifers; lesser sorts, (15), 270-420kg, $324-$828, $1.20-$2.01; cows (58); boners, 362-564kg, $585-$1066, $1.48-$1.89, steady.

Manfeild Park Calf Sale, August 21

Another good turnout of calves and buyers saw around 475 calves put up for sale. Good Friesian bull calves were in demand and good whiteface heifer calves were very strong.

Bulls: friesian; good, $150-$195; medium, $100-$150; H/FR x; good, $275-$345; medium, $200-$260; Speckle Park; $265-$285; charolais x; $355.

Heifers: H/FR x; good, $240-$275; medium $170-$220; Speckle Park; $270-$315.

Feilding Store Stock Sale, August 18

The sun, which has been a stranger to us for so long, made a welcome return for this sale and, after glancing around the buying rails in the sheep pens, it soon became obvious that the market and sale prices were likely to improve.

Scanned in-lamb ewes were just medium and sold at steady levels but a few more ewes with lambs at foot came forward this week and sold at levels that would have exceeded most expectations. Orui Station, Masterton, received $92 and $90 all counted for two pens that would have pleased them.

The hogget yarding was just over 5500 and mostly consisted of ewe hoggets.

The market started on a firm note and continued to lift with the highest cents/kg levels for the season to date being achieved, particularly for the lighter and longer term hoggets which lifted the most.

Top price for the day was $162 for 102 woolly ewe hoggets from David Leamy, Awahou, although these good ewe hoggets did offer more options, if so wished. The heaviest hoggets were in a pen of 49 cryptorchids from Sandon Rises, Sanson, and sold for $159.50.

As can be expected for this time of year, many hoggets presented with a few seasonal afflictions, especially lice and the odd sore leg, but there is still much time to finish them and even at these buy-in prices there should be a return as available hogget numbers are at a low level it seems with eastern buyers very active again today.

The cattle section did not feature much weight or quality and, with a bit of negative market sentiment around, sale prices struggled to hold steady.

Very few good traditional steers and heifers came forward with most of these reduced numbers dairy cross and friesian bulls did seem to dominate the yarding as a group.

Nothing stood out in the steer sections although a couple of lines of lighter angus steers returned some premium over the others.

Westview Farming, Ashhurst, sold a pen of 7 two year old friesian bull paddock mates for $1620 ($3.03) and Waitoka, Taihape, sold 5 yearling friesian bulls for $1050 ($3.28) to help keep the bull sections almost firm.

As with their brothers, nothing really stood out in the heifer sections, being generally light weight cattle, with the exception of a pen of 5 yearling Speckle Park heifers from Twin Forks Ltd, Hunterville, that were much heavier than the rest of the section and sold for $1410 ($4.43), to be easily the highest heifer price for both age groups.

It probably helped the cattle market that so few numbers came forward but many more hoggets would have been easily sold on today’s hot market.

Sheep (6372): ewes (687); SIL (515), $124-$157; ewes (84) with LAF (108), $61-$92; hoggets (5577); 41-48kg, $139-$162, $3.18-$3.48, firm; 36-40kg, $133.50-$14, $3.45-$3.94, lift; 31-35kg, $123-$136, $3.63-$4.19, lift; 27-30kg, $112-$131.50, $3.86-$4.47, lift.

Cattle (392): steers; R3 (20), 458-543kg, $1355-$1545, $2.84-$2.95; R2 (36), 323-450kg, $1120-$1370, $3.04-$3.46, firm; R1 (19), 240-333kg, $880-$1095, $3.28-$3.66, ease; bulls; R2 (53), 337-534kg, $840-$1620, $2.49-$3.13, ease; R1 (79), 109-320kg, $640-$1050, $3.24-$5.87, firm; heifers; R2&3 (45), 315-350kg, $780-$1060, $2.22-$3.16, ease; R1 (140), 95-318kg, $450-$1410, $2.89-$5.08, ease. Rongotea Sale, August 16 This week again saw the calf pens full to capacity with calving in the Manawatu in full swing.

2 year white face heifers 312 kg 448kg made up to $1220 ($2.65 $2.85) and friesian heifers 351 kg 405 kg made up to $900 ($2.14 $2.22).

Yearling beef cross steers 185 kg – 240 kg made up to $740 ($3.08 $3.46).

Yearling friesian bulls 310 kg made $800 ($2.58), angus cross bulls 287kg made $910 ($3.17) and jersey bulls 176 kg - 235 kg made up to $620 ($2.64 $2.78).

Yearling white face heifers 264 kg - 287 kg made up to $900 ($3.03 $3.20).

Autumn weaner angus steers 177 kg made $600 ($3.38).

In-milk cross breed cows made $500 - $1120, and in-calf friesian cows made $740. In-milk cross breed heifers made $775.

Cross breed cows with a calf at foot made $600 and angus cross cows with a calf at foot made $1120.

Friesian boner cows 429 kg – 546 kg made up to $920 ($1.61 - $1.75) and jersey boner cows 395 kg made $560 ($1.42). Weaner pigs made $20 - $85. Ewes with lambs at foot made $75 all counted and mixed sex lambs made $96 - $126. Pet lambs made $20 - $37.

Big friesian bull calves made $150 - $195, medium calves made $100 $140 and smaller calves made $70 $90. Big white face bull calves made $120 - $180 and smaller calves made $60 - $110. Charolais cross bull calves made $370 and angus cross bull calves made $200. Big white face heifer calves made $120 - $160 and smaller calves made $60 - $110. Charolais cross heifer calves made $290 and angus cross calves made $215. Dannevirke Calf Sale Big friesian bull calves made $180 - $245 and smaller calves made $80 $120. Big white face bull calves made $240 - $285 and smaller calves made $80 - $180. Big white face heifer calves made $180 - $240 and smaller calves made $100 - $140. Angus cross heifer calves made $220.