Manawatu¯ stock sales
Feilding Prime Stock Sale Monday November 13
Breeders are probably tiring of the ewes beating their lambs to the best pasture and are weaning at a greater rate which lead to nearly 2000 more ewes being offered at this sale than last week. With ewe sale prices so high, the decision is a ‘‘no-brainer’’ and even with the increase in ewe numbers at this sale there was no let up in prices which were at least steady if not firm.
The heaviest ewes were the firmest with the grazing ewes more steady which is unsurprising as the meat companies gear up for what they hope will be good numbers of new season’s lambs and the grazing ewes will be hidden away for their turn later.
Spring lamb entries doubled and found a firm market with one large buyer being very hard to beat at auction time. Kylie Brown had the top price with 4 lambs at $176 and David O’lynsey sold his first cut of 33 for $174.
Generally the pens only contained small numbers as the vendors just chip away and try to keep their average weights and, consequently, their prices up. Store lambs also maintained the firm tone they displayed at Friday’s store sale.
Hoggets were steady on an increasingly decreasing entry and fresh two-tooth prices still appear to be at an historically low discount to the hoggets. Roger Brown took the hogget line honours with 8 romney ram hoggets at $176.50.
It’s a struggle to get male cattle into the Monday cattle sale with only one big hereford service bull and no steers at this sale. The handful of heifers were steady enough for what were dairies or dairy cross.
More beef cows with their better yields helped to keep some steadiness into the cow market. Awhea Stud consigned a massive hereford cow that was as heavy as the bull and she sold for $2077 ($2.21), around a $100 more than the bull. There was little new direction in the cattle sale prices on the basis of this market.
Sheep (6,848): lambs (1,275); 24-56kg, $93-$176, $3.15-$3.80, firm; hoggets (742); 28-68kg, $63-$176.50, $2.30-$3.20, steady; ewes (4,691): good, heavy (1,910), 26-30kg, $139-$167, $5.30-$5.60, firm; medium (2,217), 21-25kg, $108-$139, $5.20-$5.60, steady; lighter (434), 17-20kg, $84-$105, $4.80-$5.30, steady; 2ths (130), $78-$115; male sheep (140); adult (57), $50-$143; 2th (97), $93-$140.
Cattle (50): heifers (5), 480-570kg, $1205-$1550, $2.50-$2.72; cows (44); good, heavy, 640-940kg, $1382-$2077, $2.16-$2.25, steady; boners, 415-620kg, $898-$1333, $1.89-$2.48, steady; bull (1), 940kg, $1974, $2.10.
Feilding Store Stock Sale Friday November 10
For some time an increase in store lambs has been expected and it occurred today to a limited extent. There are indications that many of this season’s lamb drop are not thriving in the conditions so the decision to wean may well be made soon and plenty of medium store lambs will be offered for sale.
Considering that, today’s sale prices remained firm with all the entry being mixed-sex lambs and mostly by terminal sires. The top sale price was $114 for a dozen blackface lambs from M Sieverts, Rongotea, and the top cut of 147 out of a larger entry from Springhill Station, Masterton, sold for $111.50. Even the very small lambs had no trouble finding bidders on this market.
Ewes with lambs at foot continue to sell well and a new seasonal high was reached when the Inzevar Partnership, Mangamahu, sold 105 ewes with 165 lambs at foot for $120. The hogget section is still dwindling and only those with alternative outlets are operating in that section now.
The most obvious aspects of the store cattle sale was the line up of good and solid yearling steers and a large entry of yearling bulls.the sale began with a pen of 8 heavy hereford/friesian cows with charolais cross calves at foot from Mt Hiwi, Waverley, and these sold for $1820. Hereford/friesian took all the early weight honours with 11 three year old steers from D & J Shelton, Masterton, selling for $1870 ($3.03); 6 two year old steers from Tim Buys, Te Matai, selling for $1850 ($2.97); and 5 heavy two year bulls from R Jamieson-bell, Marton, selling for $2250 ($3.04) so it was a good day for the dairy agents.
The straight beef cattle normally sell at higher cents/kg levels and 20 angus and angus/hereford cross two year steers from Tony Brown, Kimbolton, sold for $1815 ($3.26) with the first pen of 17 south devon cross yearling steers from Heaton Park, Santoft, selling for $1550 ($3.42). The quality of the yearling steers resulted in firm sale prices for that section with the older steers also remaining firm.
Greater numbers of yearling bulls kept a lid on sale prices which may have eased a little by up to 10 cents/ kg. The majority of the friesian yearling bulls were around the $3.20/kg level and the heaviest were later in the section when Mark Oulaghan, Palmerston North, sold 7 yearling friesian bulls for $1210 ($2.89). Overall, the yearling bulls may have also been lighter than last week on average.
The heifer section was much smaller than last week and all the older heifers were friesian cross so, consequently, sale prices eased a little below last week’s although Ridgeline Farms, Palmerston North, sold 6 hereford/friesian heifers for $1555 ($2.98) which was not too dissimilar to last week.
The yearling heifer section started with a pen of good and quiet angus heifers from Te Tumu Station, Dannevirke, and, with a couple of ongoing options available, these heifers sold for $1180 ($3.26). These were the day’s best heifers and overall, after a strong section last week, the yearling heifers also came back and by up to 20 cents/kg.
Sheep (3,507): ewes (537) with LAF (734), $84-$120; ewes (246), $85-$140; hoggets (143), $80-$118; lambs (1,847); 28-31.6kg, $106.50-$114, $3.51-$3.77, firm; 17-27.6kg, $59-$99, $3.41-$4.01, firm.
Cattle (1,320): steers; 3yr (11), 617kg, $1870, $3.03; 2yr (187), 397-623kg, $950-$1850, $2.78-$3.46, firm; 1yr (328), 241-453kg, $1030-$1550, $2.51-$3.96, firm; bulls; 2yr (25), 390-740kg, $1120-$2250, $2.87-$3.15; 1yr (311), 207-418kg, $660-$1210, $2.64-$3.46, ease; heifers; 2yr (32), 346-522kg, $1065-$1555, $2.91-$3.14; 1yr (295), 217-361kg, $640-$1180,
Rongotea Sale Report 8th November 2017
A good crowd of regulars plus a few new faces vied for a large yarding of cattle in the Rongotea rostrum. An obvious drawcard was the entry of well-bred, friesian/ hereford cross yearling heifers and steers from one vendor. Their quality was rewarded with impressive prices.
2 year white face steers up to 662 kg made $1,990 ($3.00).
2 year white face heifers 335 kg – 445 kg made up to $1250 ($2.50 $2.98).
Yearling white face steers 215 kg – 378 kg made $660 - $1300 ($3.37 $3.61).
Yearling white face heifers 205kg – 348 kg made up to $1135 ($2.64 $3.28), angus cross heifers 213 kg - 231 kg made up to $690 ($2.90 - $3.22).
Yearling friesian bulls 387 kg made up to $1030 ($2.66). Cross breed bulls 234kg - 356kg made up to $920 ($2.57).
Autumn born white face steers 120kg – 136kg made $490 – to $640 ($3.77 - $4.71).
Autumn born white face heifers 134 kg - 167 kg made up to $580 ($3.46 - $4.10).
Autumn born cross breed bulls 167 kg – 188 kg made up to $735 ($3.07 - $4.07).
Weaner friesian bulls 104kg – 140kg made $400 - $535 ($4.00 $4.80), white face bulls 107kg – 260kg made $500 - $765 ($3.00 $4.65) and cross breed bulls 128kg made $430 ($3.36)
Weaner white face heifers 130 kg – 148kg made $440 - $590 ($3.38 $4-00), and crossbreed heifers 105 160kg made $270 - $580 ($2.09 $3.62).
Crossbreed boner cows 345 kg – 415 kg made up to $840 ($1.47 $2.02), angus & white-face cull cows 470kg – 528kg made up to $1040 ($1.72 - $1.97).
In the calf pens, white face bulls made $210 - $390 (small ones $150 $200). Friesian bulls $180 - $340, white face heifers $250 - $330 (small $150 - $200), belted galloway bulls $160 - $200 & heifers $90 - $130. Weaner pigs made $70 - $92. Ewes made $70 - $120, hoggets made up to $70 and mixed sex lambs made $68 - $109.