Feilding Prime Sale

There has been a drop in lamb entries at the latest Feilding stock sale.

There was a welcome drop in lamb entries at the Feilding Prime Stock Sale yesterday with about 3000 fewer than at the last sale, but still well over 5000 lambs were sold.

This was well timed, as there was also a reduction in the number of active buyers this week. The sale started a little slowly and prices were slightly easier in the initial stages.

This sale also had the largest entry of medium weight ewe lambs seen so far this season.

These always sell to the firmest demand and usually further into the sale so, once these lambs began to dominate the offering, sale prices improved and the overall sale ended up fairly steady on last week.

Top price was $150 for eight big males consigned by Hancock & Davis with "Rowenda" and Pilet Contracting both selling pens of male lambs for $141.

Forward store and straight store lambs sold to firm demand and at levels that were higher compared with last Friday's store sale. A fine day did help them, though.

Ewe entries were further reduced on last week but scanning is under way in the earlier flocks and this will determine ewe entries going forward.

As with the lambs, the buying ranks were very shallow and one buyer bought the bulk of the yarding with prices firming as ewe weights increased. Lighter grazing ewes were steady.

The cow offering did not sport the number of higher yielding beef cows that went through last week but still offered plenty of dairy boners. As a result of these lower yielding cows, cents/kg levels eased. Works buyers were able to operate again yesterday with paddock buyers not so busy and there were a few in-calf cows put through at prices similar to the better boners.

The steers and heifers offered were all dairy cross with lighter weights as a consequence and cents/kg for these cattle was also reduced somewhat and it was another large heifer offering.

Two big service bulls at over 1 tonne of liveweight each were sold and penalised for cents/kg in the usual fashion.

Sheep (6315): lambs (5272); prime (4578), 40-64kg, $108-$150, $2.30-$2.60, steady; store (694), 28-40kg, $76-$114, $2.65-$3.10, firm; ewes (984); good, heavy, 26-30kg, $113-$128, $4.20-$4.35, lift; medium, 21-25kg, $83-$109, $3.95-$4.35, firm; lighter, 16-30kg, $60-$81, $3.75-$4.05, steady; poor sorts, $30-$35; male sheep (59), $40-$109.

Cattle (484): steers (5); 410-520kg, $1095-$1404, $2.67-$2.70; heifers (98); 290-453kg, $639-$1223, $1.96-$2.70, ease; lesser sorts; 383-400kg, $574-$684, $1.50-$1.71; cows (367); good, heavy, incalf; 420-650kg, $802-$1285, $1.76-$2.05, ease; boners; 352-602kg, $500-$1168, $1.41-$2.03, ease; bulls (14); 190-1030kg, $498-$2031, $1.25-$2.80.

Feilding Calf Sale

A much reduced offering of 30 calves sold to an easing market yesterday, even with some useful calves being put up. The season is drawing to a close, however.
Bulls: Friesian; medium, $140; H/Fr X; good, $300-$360; medium, $230-$260.
Heifers: H/Fr X; good, $240; Simmental X; good, $300-$330.