ADDINGTON MARKET Store Lambs Meet Good Demand

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30642, 7 January 1965, Page 10

ADDINGTON MARKET Store Lambs Meet Good Demand

There was a sound sale for store lambs at Addington market yesterday, all classes realising prices well up to late rates. Lambs comprised the bulk of the offering but there were not a great many top quality pens.

Many classes of store sheep and lambs were showing some effects from the dry weather and some of the adult sheep sold were those normally offered at ewe fairs in North Canterbury later in the season.

The best two-tooth ewes sold up to late rates, but inferior sorts met a weaker demand. The older ewe market was slightly disappointing, many pens making barely more than freezing price. Romneys were in short supply throughout the market, and most of the entries were fine-wool breeds. Store Lambs The market opened on a slightly weak note before a good gallery of buyers, but the gallery increased as the sale progressed and the market firmed to the pre-Christmas level by the end. Both good condition lambs and interior sorts sold well throughout the sale but medium sorts fell back slightly and in some cases were 2s cheaper by the end. Romney lambs were in short supply in both the ewe lamb and wether lamb classes but a good number of fine wools came forward and met a steady demand. The sale was notable for the very small yarding of all types of ewe lambs. A much greater yarding than recent sales was offered, 11,734 compared with 7042 at the last sale. Good condition wether lambs met a sound sale and nondescript types although offered in large numbers, met a better sale than had been generally expected.

Medium sorts were generally hard to sell and were back Is to 3s by the end of the sale. However, with most lines reflecting the dry conditions, demand was quite keen for all sorts. Few wether lambs sold under 40s and prices ranged up to 545. with several other sales over 50s.

Most wether lambs were in light condition and some of the culls will need much feed to fatten. However, this factor was not as evident in the buying as was expected. The best Romney wether lambs realised from 44s to 51s with odd pens up to 545, while medium made from 3fls to 42s and others up to 335. Fine wools sold on about a par with Romneys although the smaller types were easier to sell. The best sold from 46s to 545, medium from 40s to 455, and others brought up to 38s. Down cross lambs met a solid demand although coming forward in small numbers. The best realised from 40s to 49s 6d, while medium made from 35s to 39s and others down to 28s. A very small yarding of ewe lambs came forward and, apart from two or three pens of good stock, were nondescript in quality. There were hardly any Romneys and a line of Corriedales, from Waipara, brought the best prices. Inferior fine wools sold at slightly better than late rates but this may have reflected the small number offered. Values for the best fine wool ewe lambs ranged from 60s to 62s fid, while medium sorts made from 41s to 54s and others down to 19s. Insufficient Romneys were yarded for an accurate range to be made.

Apart for the top line, there was a tendency for ewe lambs to bring only wether lamb prices. Among leading sales quoted were:

Wether lambs: D. S. Anderson (Gibraltar Farm), 59 Down cross at 49s 6d, 341 Romneys at 32s to 535, with 112 at the top price; K. R. Milne (Culverden), 328 Down cross at 41s 6d to 47s 6dR. J. Sloss (Domett), 103 Romneys at 425; L. G. Maginness (Whakamoa), 293 Romneys at 36s to 465; C. Dwyer (Papanul), 35 halfbreds at 45s to 545; G. W. Bryce (Halswell), 528 at 34s 6d to 495; Hare Brothers Estate, Ltd. (Culverden), 503 Corriedales and Down cross at 41s 6d to 495; estate C. C. Douglas (Culverden), 166 Corriedales at 48s to 545; E. D. Crampton (Cheviot). 350 Corriedales at 34s to 50s; M. P. Bamford (Hurunui), 245 halfbreds at 30s to 455; estate R. L. Jameson (Rotherham), 700 Corriedales at 32s to 45s 6d; C. McCaskey <Waipara), 166 Corriedales at 44s 6d to 47s 6d; D. C. Wynn-Williams (Waipara), 295 Corriedales at 43s to 52s 6d, with 65 at the top price. Ewe lambs: R. J. Sloss (Domett), 93 Romneys at 54s 6d; C. L. Barry (Claverley), 89 Romney cross at 445; Watson and Topp, Ltd. (Waipara), 248 Corriedales at 60s to 62s 6d; M. P. Bamford (Hurunui), 149 halfbreds at 34s to 38s 6d.

Two-tooth Ewes Considering the time of year, the offering of two-tooth ewes, at 861 head, was not particularly large. Values for the best sheep were well up to late rates and in places could have been a shade better. However, medium and poorer sorts did not have such a good sale and in places could have been slightly weaker.

Most of the offering comprised fine wool ewes, many of which were from areas affected by the drought. Several lines entered yesterday are normally sold at North Canterbury ewe fairs later in the season, but were brought to Addington because of the weather and feed conditions. Romneys were in very short supply and one small line was sold at 635. Only a small gallery of buyers followed the sale, but generally, the tone of the market was sound. The first pen offered realised the top price of the day—Bls—with other good fine wool twotooths selling between 70s and 78s; medium sorts realised between 62s 6d and 68s, with others bringing up to 60s. Leading sales included:— W. Dampier-Crossley (Glenalbyn), 243 Corriedales at 65s to ’7os; W. J. Hoban (Parham Hill), 178 Corriedales at 68s to 78s; T. F. Northcote (Highfield), 121 halfbreds at 71s to 78s; Timpendean Farm, Ltd. (Waikarl), 70 Corriedales at 70s; J. H. Lawrence (Hilton Downs), 99 Corriedales at 69s to 81s (with 68 at the top price). Values in the older ewe pens were a little disappointing, many of the sheep coming forward realising only a fraction more than freezing price. The numbers, at 2842 head, were slightly larger than at the first sale of the season in other years, mainly because of the dry conditions prevailing in many parts of the province. Once again many of the sheep came from drought-affected areas and a proportion of the lines are normally offered at the ewe fairs. Overall, values were much on a par with those realised last year, but were not as good as the first sale of last season at Addington, when prices were abnormally high . The gallery following the sale was not particularly large, and buying power was somewhat limited, a definite preference being shown for the better class of sheep in good forward condition. Romneys were not offered in large numbers, and most of the pens in this breed type comprised' one-year ewes. A line of younger Romneys was passed at 625. Ewes described as five-year-old fine wools sold from 48s to 50s for the pick pens, with medium to good sorts making between 38s and 43s and others, 28s fid to 375. One and two-year breeding ewes brought from 37s to 42s for the best fine wools, while medium to good made 31s fid to 36s and the poorer quality types, 23s to 28s. One-year Romneys realised 35s fid to 435. Best sales of older ewes included the following:—P. Brown (Stroma), 114 five-year-old Corriedales at 475; Hare Bros. Estate Ltd. (Culverden), 458 five-year-old Corriedales at 37s to 425; B. and N. McMillan (Culverden), 286 five-year-old Corriedales at 50s; Timpendean Farm Ltd. (Waikari), 96 five-year-old Corriedales at 50s; Terrace Paddocks (Culverden), 207 fullmouthed Corriedales at fils to 425. Wethers Not many wethers came forward, approximately 450, and these consisted mainly of twotooths, with an odd pen of two-shear and one small pen of woolly wethers. The best fine wool two-tooths made from 47s to 535, with medium realising 42s to 46s and others up to 395. Two-shear wethers sold up to 46s and a line of three woolly wethers made 565. Leading sales quoted by stock firms included:—A. Graydon (Sheffield), 59 halfbred twotooths at 51s fid.