Manawatu¯ stock sales

Feilding Prime Stock Sale Monday September 11

There was a little less buying pressure on just over 4000 hoggets which lead to a slight easing in hogget sale prices. Three quarters of the hoggets were heavy and prime but a high proportion of the lighter and medium weight hoggets were just not quite finished.

Time left to finish them is running out so the decision to sell them may help with any remaining hoggets.

Ewe hoggets topped the sale with 11 blackface ewe hoggets from Pinegrove Farm selling for $190 and 15 shorn texel cross ewe hoggets from John Mclean making $189. These were all heavy prime hoggets with the best the males could make being $182 for 37 from Te Kawa Farm.

The heaviest hoggets probably changed very little with regard to cents/kg and it was the medium weight section which has been going so well that backed off a tad.

Not unexpectedly, ewe numbers continued to ease but if the weather does not improve there may well be more wet-dries in the future. There was only a handful of 2ths and male sheep offered.

Very little could be said about such a small cattle market. One impressive hereford cow from PL & D Chapman sold for $1605 ($2.23) but, once again, there were no male cattle offered at all. The wet conditions may be keeping some cattle back.

Sheep (4,520): hoggets (4,039); heavy prime (3,001), 51-68kg, $153-$190, $2.80-$3.10, slight ease; medium prime (839), 42-50kg, $136-$155, $3.10-$3.30, slight ease; store (199), 28-44kg, $80-$132, $2.85-$3.40, steady; ewes (463); good, heavy (181), 26-28kg, $128-$142, $4.80-$5.00, lift; medium (196), 21-25kg, $91-$121, $4.30-$4.90, firm; lighter (69), 16-20kg, $55-$80, to $4.00, steady; 2ths (17), $120; male sheep (18), $50-$115.

Cattle (29): heifers (2), 410-480kg, $820-$878, $1.83-$2.00; cows (27); good, heavy, in calf, 523-720kg, $1040-$1605, $1.91-$2.26, lift; boners, 360-470kg, $622-$893, $1.69-$1.92, steady.

Feilding Store Stock Sale Friday September 8

Once again this week much of the attention in the sheep pens was directed towards the ewes with lambs at foot. Last week’s leading vendor, Awatoitoi Station, Masterton, topped the sale again when they sold a pen of 31 ewes with 32 lambs at foot for $104.50. This was up on last week’s $100 but these were early and well grown lambs that would offer an opportunity for an early draft. All the pens sold for solid demand with the lower percentages making the better prices.

Hogget numbers lifted above last week’s with 4564 entered and the hogget yarding was clearly dominated by tail end ewe hoggets. The heavier male hoggets started the sale as usual and sold to firm demand

Two pens sold for over $150 with Papanui Station, Ohariu Valley, selling 345 shorn cryptorchids for $153 and M & S Leeper, Dannevirke, selling 72 woolly cryptorchids for $154.50.

Two pens of ewe hoggets sold for $136; 188 shorn ewe hoggets from Grandview, Raetihi, and 56 shorn ewe hoggets from S & M Franklin, Weber. The improving ground conditions are attracting more locals back into the hogget market.

Vendors are choosing to take the good money on offer for their tail end ewe hoggets rather than continue farming them and buyers are seeing a chance for one last trade. This resulted in firming prices for those lighter hoggets.

Demand for cattle is increasing week by week. Today’s sale did not have an over-abundance of quality in the cattle yards with the entry dominated by dairy cross cattle and yearling friesian bulls again. Good traditional cattle still sold at a premium.

Tony Brown, Kimbolton, sold two pens of two year old angus steers; 21 for $1760 ($3.27) and 24 for $1775 ($3.35) as, in spite of the lesser quality overall, the older steer section lifted on low numbers.

It was a similar tale in the yearling steer section with Craiglea Partnership, Fordell selling 16 angus steers for $1220 ($3.62) in a section very much dominated by dairy cross.

10 beef bulls from the Law Brothers, Taihape, stood out in the bull pens and sold for $1805 ($3.19). Older bulls were again in short supply but nearly 300 yearling bulls were offered including a number of pens from several vendors.

Good, earlier born friesians from Londair Ltd, Colyton, started the yearling bull section and sold well for $1345 ($3.24).

This was probably the day’s strongest section and sale prices lifted by up to 20 cents/kg in some instances with the big yarding cleared easily.

Local trade schedules have been firming lately and this gave some impetus to the heifer section. Paul Rooney, Kimbolton, sold 10 heifers for $1400 ($2.99) and the Scott Partnership sold 4 for $1470 ($2.98) as examples of shorter term heifers in a lifting section. Nearly double the number of yearling heifers were offered this week.

Useful charolais cross store yearlings from Rini Trust, Taihape, were sold with the first pen of 16 making $1080 ($3.62) and were heifers that would finish on well. This cattle market is firming and still doesn’t look like it has really hit its straps yet.

Sheep (5,571): ewes (391) with LAF (595), $76-$104.50; hoggets (4,564); 41-49kg, $144-$154.50, $3.06-$3.56, firm; 36-40kg, $129-$145, $3.44-$3.69, steady; 31-35kg, $116-130, $3.40-$4.00, slight ease; 29-30kg, $108-$123.50, $3.68-$4.16, firm.

Cattle (947): steers; 2yr (72), 354-538kg, $930-$1775, $2.38-$3.54, lift; 1yr (253), 202-337kg, $740-$1220, $3.24-$4.14, firm; bulls; 2 yr (30), 414-565kg, $1300-$1805, $2.90-$3.20, firm; 1 yr (296), 110-414kg, $490-$1345, $2.43-$4.45, lift; heifers; 2 yr (92), 297-492kg, $880-$1470, $2.96-$3.60, lift; 1 yr (195), 215-317kg, $740-$1080, $3.22-$4.40, firm; cows (9), 379kg, $700, $1.84.

Manfeild Park Calf Sale Monday September 11

Calf entries levelled out at around 330 calves with the market described as solid for well-marked calves.

Bulls: friesian; good, $160-$200; medium, $130-$150; h/fr x; good, $240-$285; medium, $185-$225; a/fr x; good, $100-$135; medium, $70-$90; sim x; good, $280-$305; medium, $190-$230.

Heifers: h/fr x; good, $200-$250; medium, $140-$170; a/fr x; good, $100-$110; medium, $75; sim x, $145-$220. Rongotea September 6 This week’s sale saw a good yarding of angus cross cattle to suit all buyers with weaners, yearlings and 2 year cattle of both sexes available. The calf pens were again full of beef cross calves with solid prices keeping vendors satisfied.

2 year white face steers 407 kg – 452 kg made up to $1320 ($2.82 $2.92), angus cross steers 352 kg made $1060 ($2.99) and friesian steers 405 kg made $1110 ($2.93).

2 year angus cross heifers 381 kg 482 kg made up to $1280 ($2.66 $3.08) and friesian heifers 425 kg – 430 kg made up to $1080 ($1.86 $2.54).

Yearling angus cross steers 212 kg - 233 kg made up to $840 ($3.60 $3.82).

Yearling friesian bulls 215 kg - 220 kg made up to $760 ($3.30 - $3.53) and white face bulls 175 kg - 375 kg made up to $1210 ($3.23 - $3.83). Jersey bulls 155 kg – 222 kg made up to $740 ($2.00 - $3.33), ayrshire bulls 355 kg made $1060 ($2.99) and cross breed bulls 200 kg made $545 ($2.72).

Yearling white face heifers 150 kg 213 kg made up to $750 ($2.60 $4.14), angus cross heifers 150 kg 228 kg made up to $805 ($3.52 $4.00) and simmental cross heifers 240 kg made $725 ($3.02).

Autumn white face bulls 117 kg – 135 kg made up to $610 ($4.15 - $4.83), friesian bulls 138 kg – 145 kg made up to $660 ($3.38 - $4.77) and angus cross bulls 195 kg made $670 ($3.44).

Autumn white face heifers 97 kg – 145 kg made up to $575 ($3.97 - $4.81) and angus cross heifers 195 kg made $600 ($3.10).

In calf cross breed cows made $1210, in calf cross breed heifers made $1360 and in calf friesian heifers made $1130. Weaner pigs made $60 - $90. Ewes with lambs at foot made $51 - $80, 2 tooth ewes made $82 - $110 and MA ewes made $83. Mixed sex lambs made $90 - $150.

Big friesian bull calves made $140 - $170 and smaller calves made $60 $100. Big white face bull calves made $200 - $280 and smaller calves made $80 - $190. white galloway cross bull calves made $400. Big white face heifer calves made $200 - $280 and smaller calves made $80 - $180. White galloway cross heifer calves made $330 and charolais cross heifer calves made $225 - $260. Dannevirke Calf Sale Big friesian bull calves made $170 - $250 and smaller calves made $60 $100. Big white face bull calves made $180 - $260 and smaller calves made $80 - $140. Angus cross bull calves made $180. Big white face heifer calves made $200 - $280 and smaller calves made $60 - $160.