EWE FAIR SEASON

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28234, 23 March 1957, Page 9

EWE FAIR SEASON

NOTABLE SERIES OF SALES

A notable ewe fair season ended at Coalgate on Tuesday. It has been a sellers’ market through l out with values in many cases fully twice as high as last year when the series of fairs were held in the midst of a prolonged drought. A feature of the current season’s sales had been the strong market for older ewes. These have become. steadily dearer as the season has advanced and over the last month they must have appreciated by 10s to 15s a head with the margin between four and five-year-olds narrowing in the process. Towards the end of the fairs few pens of either four or five-year-olds were selling at under 60s. By comparison with younger ewes they looked dear at all times. The two-tooth market has been sound without being spectacular, apart from the exceptional sale at Little River where Romneys were at their highest point since the boom year of 1951. Best twotooths have' showed little change in values during the fair season, and it has been apparent that for good class sheep buyers have been prepared to go to £5 readily enough but thereafter bidding has slowed down. Sometimes lighter and plainer two-tooths have looked distinctly dear in relation to the better class.

Altogether- about 200,000 sheep have been offered at the main fairs. In the main the sheep have been well brought out. In particular vendors at some of the northern fairs and at Little River

deserve commendation for the troub.le they have gone to in preparing their sheep for the market. It has been pleasing to see wellmatched tidy pens of ewes. Genrally North Canterbury twotooths have been smaller than usual this year, no doubt because of the dry season they had to go through as lambs last year.