Feilding store stock sale

Sales are low at the Feilding store sale

As usually happens each year during August, sale entries begin a decline towards seasonal lows.

With a hogget fair calendared for the following week, albeit with what are likely to be much lower entries than in a "normal" year, lamb entries were especially affected and not much more than half of last week's and the sheep sale finished well before the cattle sale for a change.

Scanned in lamb ewes continued the firming trend of late in spite of many ewes being later lambing than common in this area. Maata Kotahi Estate, Taihape, sold a line of 272 big, woolly mixed age ewes for $180.

The most noticeable reduction in lamb entries was in the male lamb section with roughly only a quarter of the yarding being male lambs.

Many of the better male lambs will have been saved for the hogget fair but it does indicate a general decline in lamb numbers as the males have been killed earlier in the slaughter season.

The day's top price was $144 for 98 cryptorchids from MA Bedingfield, Dannevirke and the Sue Bros, Ohakune, sold 135 males for $141. The top ewe lamb money was $136 for 148 shorn ewe lambs entered by MB & VB Cottrell, Taihape.

As the sale entered the medium ewe lamb section, a new buyer, acting as a buying agent, entered the market and this helped contribute to what was a significant lift in lamb cents/kg which would have been around 20 cents/kg in round figures.

Many of the lambs offered were rather plain, indicating what has been a difficult winter lamb finishing season for most.

The difficult season also had an impact on cattle demand with buyers again being selective and picking up the better bred cattle.

Those with the coastal feed lots are still operating in the older steer section but many potential buyers do not want more cattle at home at this time.

The total yarding was also lower than last week but with quite a number of pens with small lines, also reflecting the time of year. The heavier, shorter term cattle traded in a tight range selling to those who can handle them.

DH Sweet, Rangiwahia, sold 11 rising three year Angus steers for $1970 ($3.06) and AN & SK Knight, Apiti, sold 12 rising two year Angus steers for $1880 ($3.06) illustrating the tight range.

Two lines of Angus yearling steers sold for $1110; 13 from Hillview Grazing, Pakihikura, at $4.20 and 12 from Rorokoko, Masterton, at $4.15 with both younger steer sections easing.

Older bulls were almost completely absent and the younger bull numbers increased again. The younger bull cents/kg eased back and traded in the day's widest range with, naturally, the lighter and younger bulls making many more cents/kg and not greatly cheaper than the bigger older bulls.

The heifer section was nothing startling with the heaviest heifers, two lines of Hereford/Friesian cross heifers, trading at levels relating to the local trade schedule. An attractive line of 20 rising yearling Angus heifers from Mt Mabel, Kumeroa, caught the eye selling for $1070 ($3.69).

This cattle market is in a bit of a holding pattern while the inter persists.

Sheep (7,688): ewes (1,807); SIL (1,163), $107-$180; RWR (268), $113-$122; lambs (5,881); 36-41kg, $118-$144, $3.10-$3.68, lift; 31-35kg, $103-$123.50, $3.10-$3.70, lift; 25-30kg, $79-$119, $3.20-$4.06, lift.

Cattle: steers; R3 (54), 493-642kg, $1400-$1970, $2.83-$3.34, steady; R2 (237), 310-615kg, $870-$1880, $2.80-$3.27, slight ease; R1 (91), 198-267kg, $645-$1110, $2.94-$4.38, slight ease; bulls; R2 (15), 468-510kg, $1465-$1540, $3.02-$3.13; R1 (248), 141-275kg, $635-$950, $3.34-$4.60, ease; heifers; R2 (100), 347-515kg, $890-$1370, $2.56-$3.16, slight ease; R1 (192), 193-290kg, $600-$1070, $3.22-$3.72, ease.