Feilding stock sale results

The number of lambs offered was quite manageable. Photo / File

A moderate yarding of 16,500 sheep were presented on a fine and blue sky day. While not ideal for the start of duck shooting, it allowed most of the lambs to present well which, with the amount of wool some of them are carrying now, was good.

A handful of average run-with ram ewes went through at the start and the first pens of lambs gave a strong indication of the likely direction of the sale when they eased back from the last few weeks.

A downwards correction in store lamb values has been looming for the past few sales with other regional sales easing and the large number of store lambs offered at last Monday's prime sale also eased.

The correction was not great - around 10 cents/kg - but it was felt across all weight ranges. The number of lambs offered was quite manageable and all sold but the buying ranks were reduced with few local buyers operating.

The day's top sale price was $115 for 253 woolly ewe lambs from Kotuku Farm, Marton. They saw off the heavier male lambs with 362 woolly Romney cryptorchids from GP Alabaster, Taihape, making $113.50 and both Champion Farming, Pahiatua, and Makotutu, Taihape, sold male lambs for $113.

Lines of mixed sex lambs continue to sell at a discount and, as mentioned, many lines of lambs are ready for the second-shear. Ewe lambs ranged a little more widely with regard to cents/kg and some sold at quite good prices occasionally. Every week it seems that lambs in a 5kg lower weight bracket sell for nearly the same money as those above and this week was no different.

A noticeable aspect of the cattle sale was the number of dairy-cross cattle and "brindle" coloured cattle. While it is true that it would not be much of a sale without such cattle, they do not command premium prices by any means. Coupled with the fact that many local cattle grazers are still too wet, this sale was on the back foot a little.

Older steers were barely steady on a small entry - "The Pinnacles", Waitotara Valley, sold 14 Angus and Angus/Hereford cross steers for $1600 ($3.03) - and the younger steers eased on good numbers. A small line of 4 prime Simmental cross rising two year old steers from Te Mahora Trust, Durie Rd, did stand out and sold for $1820 ($2.92) but little else caught the eye.

In comparison to last week's large entry, the older bull section was very small but had a greater ease. Hedgeley Partnership, Taihape, sold 15 rising two year Friesian bulls for $1405 ($2.86) as an indication. There were probably too many weaner bulls for the number of buyers present too and some pens were unsold. "Unisen Farm", Masterton, offered a pen of 32 weaner Friesian bulls for $940 ($3.83) as the bull section was the day's weakest.

Dairy and dairy cross heifers made the heifer section somewhat of a struggle as well as the heifer section tracked the steers. A pen of 11 Charolais cross rising two year heifers from David Smart Farm, Lees Road, stood out and sold for $1390 ($2.79) but the Friesian and Friesian cross rising yearling heifers were hard to sell. Buyers do tend to shy away from such cattle as winter approaches.

Sheep (16,576): ewes, RWR (297), $67-$116; lambs (16,279); 41-45kg, $103.50-$115, $2.46-$2.79, ease; 36-40kg, $87.50-$111.50, $2.42-$3.22, ease; 31-35kg, $90-$106.50, $2.66-$3.15, ease; 25-30kg, $85-$102.50, $2.84-$3.38, ease.

Cattle (1,469): steers; R3 (50), 473-551kg, $1310-$1600, $2.67-$3.03, steady; r2 (357), 347-622kg, $910-$1820, $2.49-$3.36, slight ease; R1 (46), 148-270kg, $600-$1025, $3.79-$4.52; bulls; R2 (43), 425-491kg, $1130-$1405, $2.59-$3.00, ease; R1 (351), 142-286kg, $380-$940, $2.58-$4.55, ease; heifers; R2&3 (404), 246-502kg, $680-$1390, $2.61-$3.11, slight ease; R1 (118), 133-234kg, $275-$810, $1.95-$4.14, ease.