Manawatu stock sales
Feilding Prime Stock Sale Monday July 3
This was another very large sheep yarding with many pens to sell and the sale took much longer than usual to complete. Last week saw the highest prices paid for lambs so far this season, in spite of little movement in lamb schedules, and many of the main lamb buyers reported average buy-in levels last week that were quite high and not really sustainable. Consequently, when they saw the size of today’s yarding approaching 6,000 lambs, they viewed it as a chance to recoup. No one should begrudge them that opportunity because, like the British and Irish Lion supporters who were here watching the sale, these buyers take both the good days and the bad days in their stride and deserve a win every now and then. The vendors on the day were punished but only in comparison to the previous week as prices by no means crashed as such but did ease more as the sale progressed.
All aspects of the sale prices were reduced. The top price was $175, for 7 big lambs from PM Rowe, and cents/ kg was down for both the very heavy male lambs and the preferred medium-weight lambs and by a similar proportion.
There were twice as many store lambs on offer this week and they also eased back on a cents/kg basis. The store lamb numbers were higher than the prime sale can easily clear although many were forward store.
Ewe numbers jumped with scanning in full swing up in the hills but all the usual buyers were there or had made arrangements. Ewe sale prices initially appeared to ease very slightly but ended up virtually steady. One noticeable point regarding the ewe yarding was that the vast majority of the ewes were medium weight, reflecting their hill country origin, with not so many heavyweight ewes available.
By contrast, the cattle sale continued to decline in terms of numbers offered with no heifers and only a couple each of steers and bulls. The steers were dairy types and the sale price reflected that. One angus bull was too heavy and sold for $1222 ($1.30) but the charolais bull was in a better weight category and sold for $2285 ($2.75) so the extra 110kg cost the vendor over $1,000.
Cows eased slightly across the board with most being dairies and 1 angus cow managed $1242 ($2.07) with little else over $2/kg although a couple of good friesian cows sold for $1292 ($2.02).
Sheep (9,118): lambs (5,737); heavy prime (1,596), 50-65kg, $142.50-$175, $2.70-$2.85, ease; medium prime (2,926), 38-40kg, $114-$145, $2.80-$3.05, ease; store (1,215), 30-40kg, $80-$130, $2.60-$3.25, ease; ewes (2,918); good, heavy (334), 26-28kg, $118-$130, $4.50-$4.60, steady; medium (2,047), 21-25kg, $83-$115, $3.95-$4.60, steady; lighter (537), 16-20kg, $51-$77, $3.30-$3.85, steady; poor sorts, $41; 2ths (381), $64-$111; male sheep (82), $30-$93.
Cattle (62): steers (2), 445kg, $1219, $2.74; cows (58); good, heavy, 488-640kg, $941-$1292, $1.93-$2.07, slight ease; boners, 360-542kg, $612-$1046, $1.70-$1.92, slight ease; lesser sorts, 305kg, $430, $1.41; bulls (2), 830-940kg, $1222-$2285, $1.30-$2.75. Rongotea Sale Report June 28 There was another good selection of yearling jersey bulls at Rongotea with calf numbers tapering off as autumn calving winds down.
2 year friesian bulls 400 kg - 635 kg made up to$1630 ($2.12 - $2.57) and jersey bulls 585 kg made $1420 ($2.43).
2 year white face heifers 380 kg 525 kg made up to $1320 ($2.20 $2.51) and galloway heifers 335 kg made $650 ($1.94).
15 month jersey bulls 149 kg – 211 kg made up to $450 ($1.97 - $2.31), friesian bulls 188 kg made $690 ($3.57) and cross breed bulls 200 kg made $430 ($2.15).
Weaner white face steers 134 kg made $590 ($4.40), angus cross steers 157 kg made $600 ($3.84) and beef cross bulls 193 kg made $640 ($3.31). Friesian steers 118 kg – 135 kg made up to $350 ($2.59 - $2.70) and cross breed steers 235 kg made $620 ($2.69).
Weaner white face heifers 102 kg made $390 ($3.82) and beef cross heifers 185 kg - 235 kg made up to $680 ($2.90 - $2.97). Friesian heifers 117 kg made $355 ($3.02) and cross breed heifers 220 kg made $550 ($2.50).
In calf jersey heifers made $510 $835 and RWB hereford cows made $1020.
Friesian boner cows 489 kg – 545 kg made up to $950 ($1.74 - $1.84) and cross breed boners 393 kg made $550 ($1.40). Hereford boners 440 kg made $760 ($1.73) and Jersey boners 320 kg made $350 ($1.09). Weaner pigs made $72 - $75. In lamb ewes made $56 and mixed sex lambs made $72 - $125.
Friesian bull calves made $250, white face bull calves made $370 and cross breed bull calves made $50 $100.