No end to increasing lamb numbers

Lamb sale prices rose again yesterday. Photo / File

The seasonal nature of stock sales is having variable effects on the Feilding Prime Stock Sale yarding with cattle numbers dropping on the back of fewer cows being consigned but ewe scanning is bringing forward more ewes and there seems to be no end to the lambs coming forward.

Another aspect of this time of year is the size of the lines with many pens occupied with small numbers, mostly in the lamb section but also in the ewe pens.

Lamb sale prices rose again yesterday with one recently inactive buyer having been given the "all clear", getting his hands out of his pockets again and making a welcome return to buying action.

The medium carcase weight lambs still seem to be selling well above schedule but the heavy male lambs are making the spectacular money.

452 lambs sold at or (mostly) above $150 with two pens of 21 and 13 large male lambs from "Totara Grove" selling for $180 and $176.

Such was their size that their teeth were checked to be certain that they were indeed lambs. A greater proportion of the lamb yarding was heavy male lambs yesterday but they are selling easily with all the main players active in bidding.

Store lambs are matching any Friday sale strength with ease.

Scanning is bringing the ewes forward with three-quarters of the ewe yarding being of medium weight carcasses and not so many heavy ewes. This would suggest those big fat dries have been picked before now. Grazing ewe numbers also eased back a little. Sale prices were firm on last week with a lot more two-tooths put up.

A few more beef cross steers and heifers with weight came forward this week which helped underpin the firmness in the prime cattle section. One good Hereford steer sold for $1834 ($2.78) and a couple of prime Hereford/Friesian heifers from G & D Brogden made $1786 ($2.77). Numbers overall were not high, however.

Cow numbers also dropped back with beef cows helping market firmness as well. Baz Fox sold a couple of beef cows for $1382 ($2.11) and the dairy boners were also firm on lower entries.

There was some contrast in the bull section with a whopping 1100kg Angus bull selling for $1.44/kg and lighter store Hereford/Friesian bulls selling for $3.07/kg.

Sheep (7311): lambs (5003); heavy prime (1875), 50-65kg, $138.50-$180, $2.60-$2.80, lift; medium prime (2468), 40-50kg, $116-$141, $2.75-$3.00, lift; store (660), 24-38kg, $63-$121, $2.62-$3.24, lift; ewes; good, heavy (191), 26-34kg, $115-$140, $4.10-$4.40, firm; medium (1294), 21-25kg, $79-$115, $3.80-$4.60, firm; lighter (212), 16-20kg, $52-$79, $3.30-$4.00, firm; 2ths (584), $87-$109; male sheep (27), $25-$100.

Cattle (98): steers (12), 233-660kg, $706-$1835, $2.76-$3.03, lift; heifers (7), 380-645kg, $840-$1786, $2.21-$2.77, lift; lesser sorts, 340kg, $557, $1.64; cows (70); good, heavy, 600-655kg, $1260-$1382, $2.05-$2.11, firm; boners, 350-590kg, $572-$1203, $1.71-$2.06, firm; bulls (9), 216-1100kh, $663-$2132, $1.44-$3.07.