Manawatu¯ stock sales
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.
Ten three-year-old angus steers from Ferriby Land Co, Hunterville, sold for $2030 ($3.25) and this cents/ kg was similar to the best of the twoyear-old steers, 23 angus from Tony Brown, Kimbolton, which sold for $1880 ($3.30).
These prices illustrate the firm demand from finishers for the ‘‘right’’ type of steer. The older steers sold to firm to lifting demand. Once again there was a wide range of ages and breeding offered in the yearling steer section and this section was also reasonably firm overall. Three lines from Trainco Ltd, Waverley, sold between $1220-$1370 ($3.41-$3.67) and, naturally, the autumn born steers which were mostly dairy cross sold for the higher cents/kg.
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 very wide range of prices.
An interesting comparison could be made of the top priced bulls with 6 purebred herefords from Maple Farm, Norsewood, at $1400 ($4.14) and 5 heavier friesians from C & A Monk, Stanway, at $1400 ($3.02).
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.
Blackburn Family Trust, Karioi, sold two lines of angus yearlings; 15 for $1145 ($3.63) and 35 for $1150 ($3.67) to the same buyer. Just prior to these, S & L Bradley, Hunterville, sold 20 south devon cross heifers also for $1150 ($3.80) after some competitive bidding. Another 11 angus heifers from AN & SK Knight, Apiti, sold for $1210 ($3.24) in what was a strong section and easily the day’s largest section.
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
Rongotea Sale Report October 25, 2017
A fine day in the Manawatu¯ saw a good yarding of well grown yearling cattle which sold to a solid buying bench.
2 year white face steers 530 kg made $1475 ($2.78).
2 year hereford bulls 590 kg made $1740 ($2.95).
2 year white face heifers 357 kg made $1040 ($2.91).
18 month cross breed steers 348 kg - 352 kg made up to $1060 ($2.55 $3.01).
18 month white face heifers 330 kg – 405 kg made up to $1225 ($2.67 $3.12)
Yearling white face steers 155 kg 322 kg made up to $1010 ($2.92 $3.54), friesian steers 270 kg made $645 ($2.39) and angus cross steers 245 kg – 285 kg made up to $980 ($2.65 - $3.44).
Yearling friesian bulls 273 kg – 281 kg made up to $800 ($2.81 - $2.93), white face bulls 202 kg - 350 kg made up to $920 ($2.63 - $2.89) and angus cross bulls 245 kg - 255 kg made up to $775 ($2.55 - $3.16). Cross breed bulls 202 kg – 335 kg made up to $880 ($2.27 - $2.63).
Yearling white face heifers 160 kg – 297 kg made up to $880 ($2.92 $3.12), angus cross heifers 246 kg 350 kg made up to $980 ($2.80 $3.05), friesian heifers 185 kg - 195 kg made up to $445 ($2.19 - $2.28) and cross breed heifers 275 kg made $820 ($2.98).
Autumn born weaner angus cross heifers 215 kg made $450 ($2.09).
Weaner friesian bulls 95 kg - 113 kg made up to $505 ($4.11 - $4.90) and cross breed bulls 87 kg – 135 kg made up to $400 ($2.29 - $2.96).
In milk friesian heifers made $1060.
Friesian boner cows 463 kg – 557 kg made up to $940 ($1.53 - $1.68). Weaner pigs made $82. Friesian bull calves made $60, white face bull calves made $40 $195, angus cross bull calves made $70 - $160, belgian blue cross bull calves made $395 and charolais cross bull calves made $205.
White face heifer calves made $40 - $140, belgian blue cross heifer calves made $215 and charolais cross heifer calves made $175.
Feilding Primestock Sale Tuesday, October 24
The buyers did seem to be enjoying themselves during the course of the sheep sale but it may well have been wry, gallows-type humour as the sale prices paid for hoggets and ewes reached new heights for this selling season. The cull ewe market, in particular, is ‘‘going gangbusters’’ and those who need them are already becoming concerned about what they will have to pay for breeding ewes in coming months and those ewe buyers nibbling at the fresh two-tooth ewes are being well beaten by the meat traders already.
The hogget sale started strongly with a large line of 279 from Gordon Downs selling for $179 but this price was later beaten by Puketauru Coopworths selling 19 big cull ram hoggets for $201. All hogget sale prices lifted and it almost reached the stage where the medium weight hoggets were nearly selling for as much as the heavy weights. Any vendor with hoggets remaining that have not cut their adult teeth could be in for a rewarding few weeks although the store hoggets offered today did not break any records.
Four small lines of spring lambs were offered and these did not alter much on last week. B Hill sold a dozen for $142 but there remains no real new season’s premium over hogget prices.
Most of the ewes sold today had reared lambs so most were in the medium weight range. The yarding increased in number after some more docking over the long weekend. All ewe sale prices lifted up to $186 for heavy dorset down ewes from Chris Wall and some agents were hard pressed to get their clients to believe the prices. Another buyer travelled over from Hawke’s Bay and added to the demand for the grazing ewes. Male sheep prices ranged from the dog tucker rams to the fresh male two tooths so there was quite a range with this year showing the least discount for fresh two tooths below their siblings with lamb’s teeth for some years.
The entire cattle yarding, which was not large, came from the dairy herds with every cattle beast being friesian or friesian cross. The steers and heifers were small and plain and sold at lower levels but there were some better cull cows offered and these improved in price levels with the good cows firming more than the straight boners.
Sheep (5,436): lambs (54), 18-34kg, $71-$142, $3.94-$4.20; hoggets (3,164), heavy prime (1,664), 51-65kg, $161-$201, $3.10-$3.30, lift; medium prime (1,327), 40-50kg, $132.50-$166, $3.20-$3.50, lift; store (173), 31-38kg, $91-$132, $2.80-$3.45, firm; ewes (2,157); good heavy (668), 26-40kg, $135-$186, $4.70-$5.40, lift; medium (1,254), 21-25kg, $105.50-$136.50, $5.00-$5.50, lift; lighter (99), 18-20kg, $85-$97, $4.75-$5.00, lift; 2ths (136), $76-$134; male sheep (57), $62-$140.
Cattle (64): steers (5), 257-310kg, $623-$645, $2.01-$2.51; heifers (3), lesser sorts, 290-330kg, $635-$712, $2.16-$2.19; cows (56); good, heavy, 500-760kg, $1050-$1695, $2.04-$2.30, lift; boners, 380-520kg, $691-$904, $1.65-$2.07, firm.
Manfeild Park Calf Sale Tuesday, October 24
About 100 calves were offered at the last sale for this season at Manfeild Park with the calf sales shifting to the Feilding Saleyards from next Monday. Beef cross bulls and heifers are continuing to sell well.
Bulls: friesian; good, $110; medium, $40-$55; angus X, $180-$190; h/fr X; $150-$180.
Heifers: angus X, $110-$140; h/fr X; good, $165-$210; medium, $95-$120.