Feilding Prime Stock Sale

Sheep and lambs sold well in Feilding.

This sale was all about sheep as lamb and ewe numbers virtually doubled at yesterday's Feilding Prime Stock Sale.

Spring lambs are coming forward in greater numbers now, and this is putting pressure on slaughter space for ewes, so these higher numbers are unloading on to a market that now has a little less appetite for those ewes than it had as recently as last week.

Consequently, 8743 ewes sold at prices that were as much as $10-15/head below last week.

These prices are still quite acceptable on an historical basis, but it was still a noticeable decline. The majority of the ewes were station ewes that had reared a lamb or two and were generally good or medium types, with relatively few grazing ewes offered. The price decline was across the entire weight range with no particular type of ewe singled out for extra punishment, and wool continues to offer no appeal to the buyers.

Earlier in the sale, spring lamb numbers increased to 2264 and these sold at levels that were just slightly back on last week's strong prices. 112 very good lambs from "Atahua", Kiwitea, started the sale and sold for $170, which remained the day's top lamb price and was followed by "Kontiki Farm" and SJ Taylor both selling smaller lines of lambs for $158.
Store lambs also sold at prices that eased very slightly.

Hogget and fresh two-tooth numbers dropped away even further but always sell to those buyers looking for a slightly cheaper feed than spring lamb.

Once again, no steers were offered for sale in the cattle pens and the bulls were big lads with all clearing $2000/head.

The heifers mostly had some beef influence and sold firmly enough, considering local trade seems to have edged back. Some heavier beef cows also sold to firm demand but there really are still only a few cows being offered at this sale for now.

Sheep (11573): lambs (2264); prime (1944), 34-54kg, $113-$170, $3.15-$3.50, slight ease; store (320), 22-32kg, $55-$111, $2.50-$3.50, slight ease; hoggets (501), $60-$166; ewes (8743); good, heavy (2,336), 26-34kg, $128-$158, $4.65-$5.00, ease; medium (5366), 21-25kg, $92-$128, $4.50-$5.10, ease; lighter (1006), 17-20kg, $72-$91, $4.50-$4.70, ease; 2ths (35), $95-$127; male sheep; 2th (16), $101-$118; adult (49), $40-$70.

Cattle (67): heifers (13), 390-590kg, $936-$1669, $2.40-$2.87; cows (50); good, heavy, 485-715kg, $1015-$1709, $2.0-$2.39; boners, 380-522kg, $706-$1085, $1.82-$2.19; lesser sorts, 450kg, $729, $1.62; bulls (4), 710-900kg, $2002-$2340, $2.28-$3.00.