Manawatu stock sales

Feilding Prime Stock Sale, August 14

The prime hogget section was a ‘‘game of two halves’’ with similar numbers of heavy and medium weight hoggets offered but a definite premium paid for medium weight hoggets and a slight easing for the heaviest hoggets. It was still a solid sale and probably better than last week’s hogget fair but the number of heavy hoggets offered just kept the urgency to buy in check.

The top sale price was also lower at $177 per head for 113 woolly blackface male hoggets offered by N & V Kreegher and the cents per kilogram price dropped by at least 10c/kg.

Kreegher had a couple more pens making more than $170 and Terrington Farm sold 23 for $176 each. Medium weight hoggets with bloom was the market target, strongly influenced by the total yarding.

Store hogget prices were firm on recent higher levels.

The ewe market was steady on recent levels.

The heavier and better cutting ewes are selling at higher levels than the rest which includes most of the two-tooth ewes. Today’s two-tooth yarding increased again and all sold well.

The total cattle yarding dropped away again this week. All the heifers were dairy heifers and sold at levels reflecting their lower yield.

The situation was a little different in the cow section with better yielding beef cows selling to better demand. Four prime angus and angus/hereford cross cows from J Pease sold for $1567 ($2.09/kg).

Only two males were offered - an angus steer and angus bull which sold at similar levels.

Sheep (4119): hoggets (2368); prime heavy (1040), 51-62kg, $161-$177, $2.85/kg-$3.20, slight ease; medium heavy (1029), 40-50kg, $135-$160.50, $3.15-$3.40, lift; store (299), 31-42kg, $81-$142, $2.70-$3.60, firm; ewes (1,740); good, heavy, (354), 26-27kg, $120-$129, $4.60-$4.80, steady; medium, (633), 21-25kg, $89-$120, $4.25-$4.80, steady; lighter, (217), 17-20kg, $76-$87, $4.00-$4.35, steady; poor, $40-$55; 2ths (536), $61-$116; male sheep, (11), $40-$45.

Cattle (55): steer (1), 590kg, $1628, $2.76/kg; heifers (8), 367-595kg, $792-$1541, $2.16-$2.59; cows (45); good, heavy, 490-750kg, $995-$1567, $2.03-$2.09, firm; boners, 433-540kg, $809-$977, $1.60-$1.87, steady; poor, 330kg, $478, $1.45; bull (1), 460kg, $1283, $2.79.

Manfeild Park Calf Sale, August 14

Another big yarding of 550 calves was put in front of the buyers. These numbers seem to be steady for now at both the Monday and Thursday calf sales. Sale prices were described as solid again with good numbers of friesian and hereford/friesian bull calves put up.

Bulls: friesian; good, $200-$230; medium, $150-$200; hereford friesian cross; good, $300-$385; medium, $220-$290; charolais cross; good, $420; speckle park; good, $230.

Heifers: hereford friesian cross; good, $165-$205; medium, $120-$150; charolais cross; $330; speckle park; $360.

Feilding Store Stock Sale, August 11

Sheep entries continued their seasonal decline, also influenced by Wednesday’s hogget fair, and were this season’s lowest numbers so far but there were some sales of interest. The first pen of ewes with lambs at foot, 11 ewes and 16 lambs, sold for $79. To put this into perspective, Maata-kotahi Estate, Taihape, sold 101 romney two-tooths, scanned with twins for $187. The scanned ewe market was reasonably steady considering much of the offering was due to lamb relatively late for this region.

The Feilding/marton Hogget Fair generally resets hogget prices from now on and sale prices today for a reduced yarding were firm at the new levels. Three pens of male hoggets gave $150 a nudge; 101 from M & S Wyeth, Gladstone, at $150; 71 woolly cryptorchids from Bloomfield Station, Dannevirke, at $149.50; and 26 males from Massey Latu at $149.50. Bloomfield Station also sold the top ewe hoggets, 159 also very woolly for $143. Many of the hoggets offered were carrying a full fleece of wool and many of those had an extra burden of lice to put up with. Overall, sale prices gave the impression of trading in a reasonably tight range but there was the odd pen that sold for much increased cents/kg but with hardly any selling for greatly reduced cents/kg.

The first thing that caught the eye in the store cattle line up was the large entry of rising two year friesian bulls. A large offering usually attracts more buyers and the auctioneers were happy with the results. Both age groups are now featuring larger numbers of autumn-born bulls which is increasing entries. Of the friesians; Cheltenham Dairies sold 9 rising two year friesian bulls for $1690 ($2.97) and No Tillage, Bulls, sold 20 yearling friesian bulls for $1060 ($3.09). The good autumn-born rising two year friesians from Andrew Dalley’s entry attracted a premium as did the odd pen of beef bulls. There was a wide cents/kg range in the yearling bulls which were a little easier.

Steers were not in great supply and, with the very wet conditions prevailing plus all the negative comment on the beef market, the edge is just coming off cattle prices a little. JG Florence, Tangimoana, sold the heaviest steers, 13 rising three year hereford/friesians for $1730 ($2.93) and Tony Brown, Kimbolton, sold 22 rising two year angus/ herefords for $1695 ($3.07). A mouth and four hooves on heavy steers can do a lot of damage, at present. The lighter yearling steers did not enthuse the buyers much, either, and also probably eased a little.

Little stood out in the heifer offering today. Weights in both sections were less than last week, which may not have been a problem, but the heifers were in their winter clothes and just failed to excite. The traditional heifers mostly cleared $3/kg easily enough and the yearling heifer numbers were also lifted by more autumn-born cattle, this time hereford/friesians which widened the Rongotea Sale, August 9 This week saw the calf pens full to capacity and a good yarding of two year heifers.

Two year red devon bulls at 515 kilograms made $1500 ($2.91/kg). Two year white face heifers weighing 352kg - 517kg made up to $1400 ($2.61 - $2.93). The 18 month angus heifers at 345kg made $935 ($2.71).

Yearling white face steers 210 kg – 435 kg made up to $1100 ($2.53 $3.76) and belgian blue cross steers 247 kg made $765 ($3.09).

Yearling friesian bulls 227 kg - 330 kg made up to $860 ($3.57 - $2.61), white face bulls 195 kg – 290 kg made up to $840 ($2.90 - $3.59) and jersey bulls 154 kg - 270 kg made up to $500 ($1.85 - $3.01).

Yearling white face heifers 207 kg - 285 kg made up to $1030 ($3.60) and friesian heifers 157 kg – 196 kg made up to $550 ($2.57 - $2.80). Belgian blue cross heifers 245 kg made $680 ($2.92).

Autumn weaner white face steers 195 kg made $700 ($3.59).

Autumn weaner friesian bulls 120kg made $510 ($4.25).

In calf cross breed cows made $965.

Friesian boner cows 535 kg – 600 kg made up to $970 ($1.57 - $1.62), cross breed boner cows 445 kg made $695 ($1.56) and angus boner cows 382 kg made $690 ($1.80). Weaner pigs made $42 - $80. In-lamb ewes made $100, dry ewes made $80 - $97 and ewes with lambs at foot made $76 all counted. Mixed sex lambs made $69 - $121.

Big friesian bull calves made $180

Feilding/marton Hogget Fair, August 9

Rain fell throughout the main hogget fair in the North Island. Numbers are slowly reducing each year with just over 13,700 offered of which easily two-thirds were ewe hoggets. There was also a significant number of store hoggets offered today, many being forward store though, and those buyers (not many) with the luxury of available feed were able to secure those.

Those who attended last Monday’s prime sale would have noted that the cents/kg levels paid at that sale exceeded those paid today at its peak but Monday’s levels were quite extraordinary for the season so far and some large buyers did not operate today, such was the firmness of the market.

John Turkington, Marton, has long targeted this sale with massive hoggets and today was no exception. Turkington sold 52 males for $201 and 54 shorn ewe hoggets for $170 to top both sections and both those sale prices triggered a donation to the Cancer Society which was fundraising over the course of the sale.

Other notable prices were $188.50 for 442 males from Gordon Downs, Kairanga, and $188 for 81 woolly blackface males from Fairdale Stud, Kairanga.

A large Hawke’s Bay lamb trader was dominant in the store hogget section, especially for the shorter term hoggets. Many hoggets were carrying a full (and wet) fleece, such is the state of the wool market.

This sale usually sets the market for the remainder of the season and is generally the last major offering of hoggets for the season.

Total: 13,717 hoggets; 50-64kg, $170-$201, $2.97-$3.46; 40-50kg, $129-$159, $2.99-$3.54.