Sheep with lambs are selling well at the moment.
The sheep sale was again a very brief affair with similar numbers to last week.
Ewes with lambs at foot still look to be reasonable shopping to this observer with this week's highest price being $98 for 25 ewes and 29 lambs from the Estate AM Richardson, Beaconsfield. Considering the healthy state of the mutton market, buying the right ewes could be rewarding.
Over 1000 spring lambs were offered with the market a little stickier this week than last week and agents having to do a little post-auction work at times.
Graeme Skou's Mt Curl Estate, Marton, sold 113 mixed-sex Poll Dorset cross lambs for $118 to be this week's top price and the lightest lambs dropped down to $67.50 as this market eased slightly but still remained at very acceptable levels.
A handful of hoggets were sold, mostly woolly ewe hoggets and mostly tail end clean-up lines.
The cattle sale was more substantial with numbers each week seemingly governed by the number of yearling bulls offered. Interest in good steers certainly firmed up and these prices lifted by around 10 cents/kg.
Line honours went to F Jurgens, Bulls, who sold 9 Charolais three year old steers for $1950 ($3.32), a figure that was nearly matched by Mark Windley, Kiwitea, selling 15 Angus two year steers for $1930 ($3.25).
A large number of top Angus yearling steers from Okapua Station, Waipukurau, were offered and the top 33 sold for $1335 ($3.61) to a buyer who had earlier sold older steers so he immediately locked in a trading margin.
The yearling bull section was a real "pick and mix" with a wide range of cattle to choose from. 5 Simmentals sold for $1510 ($3.11) and a pen of Jerseys dropped down to $600 ($2.03).
An indicator pen of 12 Friesian yearling bulls from Sargent Dalen, Wanganui, topped out at $1130 ($3.01), a cents/kg level that has shown little change over rent weeks. Autumn-born bulls sold to firm demand for useful bulls. With so many bulls reared, there should be plenty around.
At least some older heifers turned up for sale this week. Prices were firm enough for the older heifers in spite of the vagaries of local trade. The yearling heifer section was also a "pick and mix" affair. Prices were quite unpredictable in many pens and paid little heed to the breeding offered.
The warm day may have helped the day but Hawkes Bay buyers were absent with their holiday weekend.
Sheep (1878): ewes (299) with LAF (337), $69-$98; lambs (1,014); 17-31kg, $67.50-$118, $3.54-$4.27, ease; hoggets (228), $75-$120, $2.46-$3.46.
Cattle (1023): steers; 3yr (13), 532-588kg, $1700-$1950, $3.20-$3.32, lift; 2yr (222), 375-593kg, $1220-$1930, $2.76-$3.47, lift; 1yr (273), 273-370kg, $1020-$1335, $2.77-$4.00, firm; bulls; 1yr (283), 131-376kg, $460-$1510, $1.98-$4.66; heifers; 2yr (77), 341-490kg, $955-$1380, $2.59-$3.02, firm; 1yr (155), 177-346kg, $440-$1070, $1.88-$3.59.