Hogget numbers dropped but ewe numbers were up.
At least there were enough cattle to make it worthwhile holding a sale this week as lot more cows turned up to the Feilding Prime Sale yesterday.
Sheep numbers were very similar to last week with the drop in hogget numbers matched by an increase in ewe numbers.
Each week the auctioneers say hogget numbers must be about to run out but again this week there were more than 3300 hoggets. Sale prices lifted from the start of the sale and remained strong to the end.
There were some large lines too - one was 546 strong - but there were also many small pens. Of the main lines; Neville Kreegher sold 204 for $181 and 125 for $185 but two small lines sold for more when Oranga Trust sold nine for $187 and E Furness sold three for $188.
The increase in values was across the board, with the heavy hoggets lifting by a similar cents/kg to the medium hoggets. Demand for hoggets with lambs' teeth shows no sign of abating, and the gap to fresh two-tooths narrowed this week.
Store hoggets were firm, but this was governed by teeth, with heavier but "gummy" hoggets selling for less than lighter hoggets with teeth.
Dave Petterson sold a nice line of 74 blackface spring lambs for $147 and Peter Green sold nine slightly lighter spring lambs for $149.
Under 1000 ewes sold at lifting levels from the start, and sale prices increased further as the ewe sale progressed. One buyer mused aloud that he could put his earlier purchases up again and make an immediate profit. As with the hoggets, sale prices lifted for all weight ranges.
Virtually all of the cattle offered were dairy or dairy cross types and, really, could only be graded as boners, hence the similarity in the cents/kg levels. Prices were reasonably steady for the cow and heifer offering, considering the type of cattle.
One big Hereford bull sold for $1632 at only $1.70/kg, such was his size, and the other lighter bulls were store types.
Sheep (4394): lambs (95), 25-38kg, $110-$149, $3.92-$4.40; hoggets (3320); heavy prime (1809), 51-64kg, $160.50-$188, $3.00-$3.30, lift; medium prime (1260), 40-50kg, $131-$164, $3.10-$3.40, lift; store (251), 34-38kg, $110-$125, $3.00-$3.47, firm; ewes (939); good, heavy (443), 26-30kg, $131-$158, $5.00-$5.30, lift; medium (414), 21-25kg, $98-$132.50, $4.70-$5.30, lift; lighter (68), 16-20kg, $77-$97, $4.75-$4.85, lift; poor, $11-$60; 2ths (11), $132; male sheep (40), $30-$140.
Cattle (79): heifers (17); 380-570kg, $763-$1476, $2.01-$2.59; cows (59); good, heavy, 500-650kg, $930-$1287, $1.81-$2.01; boners, 370-542kg, $666-$1057, $1.76-$2.01, steady; bulls (3); 340-960kg, $812-$1632, $1.70-$2.39.
Manfeild Park Calf Sale
Calf sale prices bounced back yesterday for the roughly 100 calves offered with a strong market for the good beef cross calves and Friesian bull calves remaining at least steady.
Bulls: Friesian; $70-$85; H/Fr X; good, $250-$300; medium, $150-$180; Sim X; $180-$200; Ang X; $130-$170.
Heifers: H/Fr X; $145-$180; Ang X; $50-$70.