August review: Cattle buyers left wanting

A shortage of stock has seen a big demand and soaring prices for both store and prime animals.

Cattle, or rather the lack of them, were the story of August at Stortford Lodge.

A number of factors have come together to create a shortage of stock, a big demand and soaring prices for both store and prime animals.

It is not just Hawke's Bay where the effects of the shortage are being felt. Cattle buyers nationwide are looking for stock.

PGG Wrightson auctioneer and stock agent Neil Common said some farmers had gone out of breeding cows in favour of trading stock which, combined with a big cow kill in the drought of 2013, had led to a shortage of stock for sale.

With the dairy downturn, dairy farmers were keeping their cows at home over winter rather than paying sheep and beef farmers to feed them.

This left room on farms for more cattle to eat the grass, meaning more demand for a limited supply.

Yearling friesian bulls which not long ago could hardly be given away are making more than $3/kg at sale. Good beef-breed steers around the 200-300kg mark were also reaching that mark with yearling cattle regularly breaking through the $4/kg barrier.

"At those prices there will be tight profit margins, especially as meat companies have warned that they could not continue to pay such high prices for beef."

He said farmers needed to consider other options than beef.

"We also have to hope more young cattle are bred."

Mr Common said a grass market demand had not taken effect yet and he wondered what prices would do when it did.

In other stock classes prices also continued to rise as contract lamb finishers went looking for stock.

Ewe lambs were popular because at this time of year they can be finished faster than male lambs before they cut their teeth. Many pens broke though the $100 mark.

Older in-lamb ewes continued to arrive at the sales in small numbers as a lack of grass growth in the dry winter and autumn forced farmers to make some decisions.

Ewes with lambs at foot continued to sell steadily with good types with terminal lambs making between $70 and $75. The best of them made up to $82.50 all counted.

In the prime pens, ewes lifted gradually throughout the month as supply dwindled.

Prime lambs continued to increase in price as some big numbers of quality stock were offered. August and September are generally peak months for prime lambs.

The storm of last week could cut lamb numbers again. Many of the farmers hit last week also suffered in torrential rain last September.

The latest storm did not last as long but the cold southerly wind and heavy rain will have taken a toll as lambing and calving hit their peak in the back country.