Livestock report: Shortage of cattle and sheep affecting prices

PGG Wrightson's Joe Higgins says there's a livestock shortage around the South Island at the moment.

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A shortage of livestock is resulting in great prices at the Temuka store cattle sales, according to PGG Wrightson’s Mid/South Canterbury Livestock Manager, Joe Higgins.

Higgins reckoned it wasn’t just a local phenomenon either.

“[High prices are] due to a general shortage we’ve got of all forms of trading livestock, not only in Mid and South Canterbury, I think it’s generally the whole of the South Island really,” he told The Country’s Jamie Mackay.

He had a couple of theories for the lack of livestock.

“On the back of the drought we had earlier on and the poorer prices, there’s just less stock taken through the winter and now we’re paying the price for it.

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“We’ve got a big trading area nowadays, particularly in Mid Canterbury, [there’s] not a lot of breeding stock there and so those fellers continue trading cattle, and lamb for that matter, all the time and we’ve hit a wall trying to replace the stock that’s going out.”

Speaking of lambs, they were currently fetching reasonable money, Higgins said.

“It’s going good at the moment. We do have quite a big winter trade in my area, there’s a lot of lambs that get bought in the autumn and taken through to the spring.”

He said the market had “certainly lifted,” and was sitting on $7 per kilo or “a bit over” which was quite early for August.

“We usually don’t see it until later on.”

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This made it tricky to work out where prices would land.

“I don’t know where it’s going to end up; it could go another 40 or 50 cents.”

Again, this price jump was due to a lack of stock in the province.

“I think sheep numbers, or lambs in the South Island are generally down all around and that’s what’s caused the issue really … it’s procurement-driven to some extent.”

Mackay asked if New Zealand was going to run out of lambs.

While Higgins didn’t want to be negative about the situation he had noticed a trend of people “going out of sheep” and “looking to do other things”.

Also in today’s interview: Higgins talked about a special offer on PGG Wrightson’s Go product range which helps farmers manage cash flow, and discussed his beloved South Canterbury footy team’s chances in the NPC.