Feilding stock sale

Although there have been a fall of ewe entries, it has not made great impact on sales.

A small decrease in the size of the lamb yarding and a reasonable fall in the ewe entries had little effect on sale prices at yesterday's Feilding Prime Stock Sale, with both sections remaining essentially steady and showing no real change in direction.

The start of the lamb sale featured one vendor with over 500 big male lambs in three lines and all selling for nearly the same money at $160-$167.50. A couple of hundred of those lambs were very heavy, and that dragged back on the cents/kg levels.

One big woolly ram lamb actually sold for $180 later in the sale, but he was a whopper.
Heavy prime lambs, numbering a fraction more than last week, and medium prime lambs, also with a fraction more, all sold for very similar cents/kg to last week with a hint of weakening late in the sale as one main buyer packed up and left.

Store lamb numbers halved and the forward store lambs were steady but the lighter, long term lambs eased a little in line with Friday's store sale trends.

We may have expected more ewes but the hill country breeders are not delaying and have been selling into the strong cull ewe market as soon as they can so there is no build-up on-farm. Ewe sale prices were also very steady, with most of the number decrease in the medium and lighter ewes.

Cattle numbers are still falling. 5 Angus steers that sold for $1713 ($3.06) today might have sold for more at the Friday store sale and perhaps also the 4 Angus heifers at $780 ($2.33).

Cow numbers are really falling, and sale prices were stronger for what was there. The cows were all either Friesian or Hereford/Friesian cross.

One big Angus service bull made virtually the same money as 3 other bulls that were 420kg lighter, but he has done his job, presumably.

Sheep (6834): lambs (5466); heavy prime (1636), 50-70kg, $145-$180, $2.60-$2.85, steady; medium prime (3177), 37-50kg, $115-$147, $2.80-$3.05, steady; store (653), 23-40kg, $59-$120, $2.60-$3.10, steady; ewes (1344); good, heavy (320), 26-28kg, $117-$126.50, $4.50-$4.60, steady; medium (728), 21-25kg, $85-$115, $4-$4.60, steady; lighter (166), 16-20kg, $51-$75, $3.30-$3.80, steady; poor, $11-$43.50; 2ths (130), $50.50-$129; male sheep (24), $20-$131.

Cattle (56): steers (10), 390-460kg, $764-$1835, $1.96-$3.06; heifers (4), 335kg, $780, $2.33; cows (38); good, heavy, 483-600kg, $1120-$1212, $1.99-$2.32, lift; boners, 428-548kg, $774-$1080, $1.81-$1.93, lift; bulls (4), 510-930kg, $1302-$1331, $1.40-$2.61.