Rick's Beef: Lack of warmth holds back stock

Rick Burke.

While spring is well established and grass is growing, the lack of sunshine in many regions has been holding stock condition back.

While the moisture has seen grass respond, a lack of sunshine and warmth has meant there is very little grunt in the pasture, and stock condition is not where it would typically be at this time of year.

Indications from the dairy sector within the Western Bay of Plenty suggest production is back 15 to 20 per cent, so I guess this is a good indicator of where we are on our dry stock farms at present, with reports suggesting things are around two weeks behind normal.

New season lambs are struggling to get to finishing weights, and there could well be a gap in lamb supply in November once the run of old seasons is finished.

Weaner calves are also slow growing this season. This has not been helped by the shortage of calf milk powder, with some being fed lesser quality substitutes.

Beef: The stand off between farmers and processors looks set to kick in through November, particularly for bulls. The money for bulls this week has held largely steady at $5.10/kg, although the range drops to $4.90/kg.

There are a steady flow of prime cattle coming forward, having finished better than bulls through the winter. Money for these has largely held up at $5.40-5.50/kg.

Lamb: Lamb schedules look set to fall from next week onwards. While theoretically there is another week before the last Christmas trade boat leaves, the supply of old season's lambs has many East Coast plants full.

The volume of old season lambs being supplied this late has surprised many processors, and there is some pressure to find space before teeth cut.

New season's lambs are still few and far between. The money this week for lamb was between $5.90-$6.30/kg regardless if old or new season.