“The bull sales have gone very, very well, probably exceeded expectations to be honest.”
Over the last ten days, PGG Wrightson had been “doing the rounds” in the King Country at on-farm bull sales, and Morty was happy with what he saw.
“The prices are very good, but what surprised us the most was the clearance – the numbers that had been sold - a lot of full clearances have gone.”
He said the sales that didn’t achieve full clearance had got close to it.
Prices were also great for beef calves.
Morty said they were “something out of the ordinary”.
He put it down to where all the schedules were sitting at the moment, and the confidence in where they were going in the future.
“If you’re looking two or three years down the track, it is looking pretty good, and there is confidence out there.”
Now for the bad news.
While the schedules for sheep had been on the up, the numbers were dropping in the sheep meat industry.
Morty said that to avoid the drought, King Country sheep farmers had sent their lambs to the East Coast or other parts of the country where there was rain and grass.
Listen below:
While this was a positive, it now left a dearth of stock.
“It’s certainly left a big hole, coming into the winter, as far as any winter trade lambs are concerned.”
This was affecting the meat processing plants, he said.
“A couple of our local works here have already put one shift off, and another works has laid off 40 staff, they’ve closed early for maintenance.”
Morty could see this being an issue later in the year.
“So, it’s not looking good going forward for employment locally, and where is it going to be come September, October?
“We just won’t have the numbers there for them, because there’s a decline in sheep numbers [plus] the season that we’ve just had.”
On a positive note, late Autumn had been kind to the King Country after a severe drought.
As a result, Morty said things were looking up for winter, although the steeper country hadn’t fully recovered yet.
“The good country has responded very, very well, though.”
On a personal note, Morty can’t make it to Fieldays this week, but he has something to look forward to on Sunday - a farmer’s golf tournament in Piopio.
He said anyone could join and encouraged those interested in supporting the event.
“Especially if they want to bring a cheque book and want to be an onboard sponsor, we’ll never say no.”
From strong bull sale clearances to the challenges facing sheep numbers, Kevin Mortensen paints a real picture of what’s happening in the King Country right now.
Whether it’s navigating shifts in stock supply or seizing the momentum of buoyant beef prices, PGG Wrightson’s Livestock team is working alongside farmers to help make sense of the ups and downs.
For more expert insights like Morty’s, plus updates on pricing, genetics, on-farm sales, and anything else livestock-related, check out the PGG Wrightson Livestock Hub.
Because whatever the season brings, they’re there to help keep things moving.
Click through to see how they can help you make the most of your livestock operation.
