Mt Clive Farm of Eketahuna received a premium price of $595/head for these Speckled Park bulls.
Mt Clive Farm of Eketahuna received a premium price of $595/head for these Speckled Park bulls.
These 15 Friesian bull calves sold for the $515/head.
Nearly 700 weaner calves went under the hammer at the first weaner bull sale of the season in Dannevirke, about 100 down on 2017's first sale.
Prices for Friesian Weaner Bulls were $30-$50 down on the first sale last season but the sale started very well all of the first10 pens selling for more than $500/head before prices started to drop into the high $480/head range.
The best Friesian bull price went to Sinclair Bros at $550/head.
These pens of Friesian bulls sold for between $480-$508/head.
Friesian beef X bulls were in demand with the top price being for Mt Clive Farm Speckled Park bulls ($595/head), white-faced bulls ranging between $535/head and $570/head, the few Angus and Charolais being similar in price.
Friesian X heifers were less sought after, ranging between $450 and $522/head the latter top price going to Elmwood Dairying.
PGG Wrightson livestock agent Tim Pickering said the sale reflected prices around the country so far and also reflected the farmer concerns about Mycoplasma Bovis and the possibility of a summer drought.
A good crowd of locals and Hawke's Bay buyers were there to see the first prices of the season.
PGG Wrightson auctioneer Bjorn Anderson said there had been a good lineup of calves reflecting a good spring. He said most were sold but vendor expectation was a little high.
Phill Robson of Carrfields Livestock says the next sale will tell the real story as the first draft of calves were in this sale.
