Excellent Romney Sale At Little River

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30998, 2 March 1966, Page 23

Excellent Romney Sale At Little River

By any standards young Romney ewes met an excellent sale at the annual Little River fair yesterday. One hundred and one pens out of the 140 pens of two-tooth ewes offered sold for £5 or more and 22 pens sold for £6 or more.

The feature of the sale was the generally high level of values. The leading prices of the day were not so far ahead of last year, but for 16 pens sold yesterday and a similar number of the same vendors’ sheep sold last year, the margin in favour of yesterday’s sale was almost 10s, and this is probably a fair picture of the trend of the market. It may have been in the mind of some vendors that they were in for extraordinarily high prices yesterday. They may have been disappointed to a degree, but in fact their sheep had a remarkably good sale, and as one vendor remarked before the sale began boom prices actually did the sale no good in that buyers tended in succeeding years to go to other fairs in search of more reasonable sheep. Bigger Offering The offering of young ewes was considerably bigger than last year. It totalled 8130 compared with 6747 a year ago. Again there was a magnificent array of young ewes with pen after pen of top class sheep. In fact the supply may have been just a little too great and the market tended to fail off a little in the closing stages. But for all of that it was still an excellent sale and if prices were not quite at boom levels, they were not far off it.

The sale started off at a hot pace with the first pen of the day making £6 2s 6d and 10 pens had been sold before a sale was made at below the £5 mark.

The best of the young ewes made from £6 to £6 17s, with good at £5 10s to £6, average

at £5 to £5 10s, others at 90s to 98s, and email at 60s to 77s

The honour of taking the top price of the day went to the Springvale Estate of Little River. Their top pen of 70 made £6 17s. Last year’s top price was £6 13s. Springvale Estate also had another 70 at £6 7s and for 493 selling from £5 2s 6d to the top price they average £6 Os 7d a head, which compared with their average of £5 16s lOd last year for 419 which ranged up to £6 ss. D. and C. Grigg (Hickery) realised £6 10s for 65 and they had another 60 at £6 6s and R. T. Masefield (Goughs Bay) sold 57 at £6 10s. For 177 young ewes selling from £5 17s 6d to £6 10s R. T. Masefield averaged £6 2s 9d a head. Last year for 175 also selling up to £6 10s, his average was £5 18s 9d.

For three pens containing 180 sheep, A. F. Helps (Mount Pleasant) averaged £5 19s with prices ranging from £5 17s 6d to £6 2s. J. R. Stanbury (Western Valley), who had 412 ewes selling from £5 6s to £6 5s averaged £5 16s Id. A year ago for 418 his average was £5 10s 9d Annandale Estate (Pigeon Bay again had a large entry of 1194 head and for these sheep ranging from 92s 6d to £5 14s their average was £5 4s 5d a head compared with £5 2s last year for 1122 Older Ewes

The older ewe yarding was again a small one, totalling only 2245 compared with 2834 last year, and it consisted mainly of five-year-olds. Compared with other years the selection was thought to be better, and for the better class of breeding ewes there was a sound demand.

The best of the five-year-old ewes made from 70s to 80s, with good at 60s to 68s, and average at 50s to 595. November shorn sheep in this selection were among the highest priced. Annual draft ewes sold from 60s

to 82s, and four-yaar-olda from 75s to 765.

Compared with last year's sale prices generally showed a modest advance of 3s or 4s a head, but there were cases where the improvement was considerably greater, but again an occasional vendor scarcely did as well as last year.

T. E. Armstrong (Mount Clair) headed the five-year-old section with 114 selling at 80s. For 61 November-shorn ewes W. B. Kellock (Puaha) realised 78s, and for 82 November-shorn Mrs N. L. Patten (Puaha) received 755. Last year the Mount Clair sheep of this age group sold to 695, and top price in the section was 71s.

L. G. Maginness (Whakamoa) realised 82s for 245 annual draft ewes, and for the limited selection of four-year-olds the top money was 76s for 74 from Owenga Farm (Flea Bay). A good many of the sheep in the offering remained on the Peninsula, going to local buyers, but purchases were also made for the West Coast, Rakaia, Southbridge, Halswell, Kaiapoi, Ohoka, and Cheviot. The following is a range of values, with figures being given for last year’s fair for comparison:

Details of sales were (sheep are Romneys unless otherwise stated): TWO-TOOTH EWES Pyne, Gould, Guinness Ltd., sold on account of:— R. D. Hunt, Pigeon Bay: 68 at £6 2s 6d, 62 at £5 6s, 66 at £5 10s, 64 at £5 2s, 70 at £6 Is, 64 at £5 2s, 60 at £5 ss, 57 at £5 ss. Springvale Estates, Little River: 60 at £6, 70 at £6 3s, 64 at £6 2s, 70 at £6 7s, 70 at £6 17s, 68 at £5 15s, 57 at £5 2s 6d, 34 at £5 9s. J. R. Stanbury, Western Valley: 70 at £6 ss, 67 at £5 17s, 74 at £5 Ils, 67 at £5 17s, 65 at £5 6s, 69 at £6. Annandale Estate, Pigeon Bay: 53 at £5 12s, 57 at 955, 71 at £5 9s, 51 at 965. A. F. Helps, Mount Pleasant: 60 at £5 17s 6d, 60 at £5 17s 6d, 60 at £6 2s. Knights Estate, Lavericks Bay: 64 at £6 3s, 64 at £5 15s, 70 at £5 12s 6d. O. G. Jenkins, Port Levy: 67 at £5 4s, 66 at £5 Is. T. F. Latham, Wairewa: 64 at £6, 67 at £6 4s, 39 at £5 13s. P. T. Johnston, Le Bons Bay: 63 at £5 8s 6d, 25 at 955. K. A. Rhodes, Flea Bay: 66 at £6 le, 74 at £6 2s 6d, 40 at £5 7s. D. and C. Grigg, Hickory: 60 at £6 6s, 65 at £6 10s. J. A. Howden, Port Lovy: 59 at £5 6s. I. C. Stanbury, Te Oka: 60 at 955. J. H. Mathias, Port Levy: 71 at 92s 6d, 36 at 80s. E. B. Hurst, Takamatua: 70 at £5 17s, 47 at £5 13s. D. O. Masefield, Goughs Bay: 54 at £5 12s 6d. M. V. Oborne, Heads Farm: 68 at 89s. C. E. Jenkins, Port Levy: 33 at 86s. E. W. Coop and Sone, Port Levy: 47 at 925. E. W. Turrell, Kaituna: 25 at 90s. National Mortgage and Agency Company of New Zealand, Ltd., sold on account of:— Estate E. Hay, Annandale: 53 at £5 3s, 68 at £5 3s, 47 at £5 2s, 62 at £5, 70 at £5 14s, 38 at £5, 63 at £5 13s. J. B. Hay, Glenralloch: 60 at £5 9s, 50 at £5 Bs, 80 at £5 14s, 70 at £5 10s, 75 at £5 10s, 60 at £5 7s. Buchanan and Hay, Kinloch: 66 at 93s 6d, 60 at 945. D. J. Blakely Children’s Trust, Purau: 76 at 955, 64 at 98s, 86

at >OB. 61 at 88a. M at 77* 6d R. T. Masefield, Goughs Bay: 60 at £6 Is, 60 at £5 17s 6d. 57 at £6 10s. R. R. Haylock, Onuku: 50 at £5 10s, 50 at £5 10s. D. C. Hay, rnveralloeh: 40 at £5. E. Scott Craw, Chorlton: 70 at £6, 42 at £5 9s, 20 at £5. H. P. Hamilton, Onuku: 70 at £5 17s. D. O. Masefield, Goughs Bay: 57 at £5 10s. Kaihope Farm. Ltd., Charteris Bay: 59 at £5 4s. Estate R. O. Bradley, Charteris Bay: 84 at £5 4s. T. B. Morton, Bayview: 32 shorn at 71s. Dalgety and New Zealand Loan, Ltd., sold on account of: — G. W. Stewart. Barrys Bay: 66 at £5 4s. 43 at 87s. H. P. Hamilton. Onuku: 60 at £5 13s, 68 at £5 ss. T. E. Armstrong. Mount Clair: 63 at £5 Bs, 56 at £5 14s. 55 at £5 Ils. Annandale Estate. Pigeon Bay: 67 at £5 6s, 51 at £5 7s, 71 at £5 10s, 61 at 995. Mrs Z. M. Partridge. Little River: 60 at £5 Bs. 50 at £5 3s. 63 at £6. P. R. Blunden. Port Levy: 60 at £6 2s. 22 at £5 Bs. J. S. Williams, Little Akaloa: 63 at £5 7s. 57 at 935. W. and L. Innes, Pigeon Bay: 50 at £5. Owenga Farm. Flea Bay: 55 at 91s. W. B. Kellock, Puaha: 29 at £5 ss. R. R. Turpin, Port Levy: 71 at 935. New Zealand Farmers* Cooperative Association of Canterbury, Ltd., sold on account of:— V. Craw, Chorlton: 65 at £5 17s, 55 at £5 14s, 60 at £5 14s, 58 at £5 7s, 70 at £5 12s 6d. 65 at £5 9s. 22 at 965. Annandale Estate, Pigeon Bay: 61 at £5 13s, 51 at 92s 6d. 71 at £5 14s, 75 at 965. 53 at 955. Knockindale Estate, Pigeon Bay: 57 at £5 4s. 63 at £5 6s. J. G. Haylock, Barrvs Bav: 56 at £5 ss, 57 at £5 6s. S. W. Birdllng, Birdling* Flat: 60 at 86s. H. P. Hamilton. Onuku: 40 at 86s. New Zealand Farmers' Cooperative Association of Canterbury, Ltd., in association with Dalgety and New Zealand Loan, Ltd., sold on account of:— E. Thomson, Halkett: 63 at £5 17s. OLDER EWES Dalgety and New Zealand Loan -Ltd., sold on account of:— Mrs N. L. Patten, Puaha: 82 five-year-olds at 75s (November shorn). Owenga Farm: 86 five year-olds at 645, 74 four-year-olds at 765. T. E. Armstrong. 114 five-year-odds at 80s. V. S. Shadbolt. French Farm: 50 five-year-olds at 42s (shorn). Aorangi Estate: 114 five-year-olds at 70s. Estate L. D. Stan-bury. Lucas Bay: 95 five-year-olds ait 655. A. K. Quentin-Baxter, Te Oka: 120 five-year-olds at 55s (late shorn). J. M. D. Flynn, Little River: 54 five-year-olds at 465. W. B. Kellock, Puaha: fil five year-olds at 78s (November shorn). Fyne, Gould, Guinneea Ltd., fold on account of:— E. B. Hurst: 93 five-year-olds at 595. J. H. Mathias: 45 five-year-olds at 575, 100 at 735. W. S. L. Mcßae, Forsythe: 103 five-ye ar-olds at 70s, 60 four-year-olds at 755. W. H. Moore and Sons, Hickory: 79 five-year-olds at. 58s. D. A. P. Macfarlane, Okuti: 57 five-year-olds at 635. National Mortgage and Agency Company, Ltd., sold on account H. C. Vanstone, Little River: 108 five-yea r-olde at 53a, 101 twoshears at 58s. I. S. Kay, Duvaucheile: 67 five year-olds at 50s. Buchanan and Hay: 72 five-year-olds at 555, 140 at 61«. New Zealand Farmers* Cooperative Association of Canterbury, Ltd., sold on account L. G Maginnese, Whakamoa: 245 annual draft ewee at 82«, 30 at 60s.

1966 • to • 1965 S to 9 Two-too'tih Ewe S’— Best 120 137 117 133 Goad 110 120 100 116 Average to good — — 90 99 Aver. 100 109 80 90 Other 60 95 50 75 Older Ewes— Best 70 82 69 78 Good 60 68 60 65 Aver. 50 59 50 58 Other# 42 48 43 48