VALUES FOR LIVE STOCK

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 206, 28 May 1938, Page 7 (Supplement)

VALUES FOR LIVE STOCK

Analysis Of Existing Position

The three influences that rule the live stock market at this season, in order of importance, are the exports markets, the feed position and the local market’s influence.

Broadly speaking, the export values are “set fair,” being steady and at a remunerative level. The feed position throughout southern districts of the North Island is very good at present. Feed is very plentiful and still growing, frosts are late in coming, the soil is warm and so good growth for winter may well be seen for a few weeks yet. On present prospects we face an easy winter.

The local market has now made its influence felt on fat stock and early fattening stock values. This is an influence that will rule largely for the next five months, as is normal.

Altogether this May has been very much like May of last year under all three headings. There are some differences, however. For one. Hawke’s Bay was last year suffering from a prolonged, late autumn drought, but in other districts feed conditions were excellent. Export values were higher a year ago—lamb 9Jd., compared with Bd. lb. to-day, wool 50 per cent, up, and hides and skins almost double present prices. Wool and pelt values must be taken into account when comparing mutton values now ruling with those of May, 1937.

A year ago the budding chilled-beef industry faced a crisis in that fattencfs could not get their cattle drafted from mid-April to the end of June. Many chose to accept 3/6 a 1001 b. less and have the cattle frozen at 28/6 a 1001 b. Others held on and in some cases the cattle lost condition. Fortunately, the winter was short and easy and feed generally was plentiful. • The hold-up was, even so, a severe blow to fatteners.

This season has seen no repetition of the hold-up, nor is there any prospect of one seen. It will be more a case of difficulty for works to get chillers, in face of butchers’ competition, than of getting cattle away. The current season’s rate of 35/- to 36/- a 1001 b- for chillers has been 3/up off the rate ruling last season, 32/-. Through this month the local trade has been pushing prices above export value, and 39/- a 1001 b. has been paid at Westfield for choice ox. At Johnsonville £l4 to £l5 has been paid for prime heavy bullocks, a rise of 15/- on a month ago.

Female beef cattle have sold well, P.A. cows in Taranaki making up to £B/15/- to. £O. Ex-dairy beef has not risen on last month and is selling at precisely the same values as a year ago. Top Jerseys are at about £O/10/- and medium cows £4/5/0 to £5/10/-. A year ago, choicest beef sold at Westfield at 30/-. The chiller hold-up accounted for that. At Stortford Lodge best P.A. bullocks made £l2/17/0, other prime ox £ll/10/-, and good P.A. cows £W-. Up north, the excema epidemic among .sheep is held to have diverted public favour to beef, with a resultant increased demand lifting prices.. Store Cattle Trading. The great autumn cattle fairs held in April saw a buoyant market, but in May a reaction was seen, one that was also apparent this time last year. Dull cattle markets have ruled in May of both years. A feature of this autumn’s trading

was that, despite a 10. per cent, rise in export fat beef values, store cattle barely maintained the prices of a year ago. The principal cattle dealt in, weaners, were, a shade below prices and 'prices have eased -5/- to 7/6 this past’month. There are now, of course, few good lots left to market. At tile height of trading few lines, made over £5 in all the North Island. A year ago that was a more common price, ........ To-day values for good P.A. weaners may be quoted at £4/15/- for steers and £3/5/- for heifers. Exceptional lines would make 5/- to 7/6 above those standard rates.

Good average P.A. fattening cows are making £5/5/-. It takes a good 20-monfhs steer to beat £B, and for 2J,vear steers £9 to £9/5/- appears general. Older bullocks are valued on condition, falling into two classes, carryover or fatteners for the spring ahead. In the earlier stages of the chilled beef industry two or three years ago, there .was a tendency to over-value young store cattle. Now that the first flush of enthusiasm has passed, values are on a more sober basis.

Generally the current prices seem reasonable. The breeder gets about £-1 on. an average for his weaners, of both sexes.. Steers selling at £4/15/- appreciate at about 35/- a year, giving a value of £B/5/- for a true store 2J-year steer. Fattened at 3J years, he is worth about £ll/10/-. His value will be. varied from, this, by .extra good “doing,” but the prices and figures given, broadly indicate the present day basis of cattle values as set by. the open market. • ■ Dairy Stock. The only real market as yet determined for dairy stock in the lower North Island is in Taranaki. There, for the past three-months, a market has been 'created for weaners and in-calf heifers. This is-because of Taranaki quality and Waikato buying power.

Markets for the stock in Manawatu, Wairarfipa, and Hawke’s Bay have been but a poor reflection of Taranaki values, evefi' for really good dairy heif-. ers/ and weilners have been about 20 per cent, -'below value. • Possibly they will nbW rise tsharplv In Taranaki,' ruling values for weaners are: Tops, £5 to £5/11/-; good, £4 8/--to £4/16/-; medium, £3/10/- to £4. At- sales within '5O miles of Palmerston North prices-of 27/6 to £2/15/- have ruled.' • '■

' Again,’, in Taranaki, springing heifers are worth £7/15/- to £lO/10/-, with fair average ’sorts, in large lines, selling ‘at £B/10/-'-to £9. ' As yet a dairy cattle market has not been made in the Wellington and Hawke’s'Bay-, provinces. The clearing sales now due should soon create one and I believe it will-be a strengthening one.

A good, but not exceptional, springing heifer is worth in “true value” £8 2/6, and a weaner of some quality £3 15/-. Those are fair and reasonable prices. Last year dairy stock sold dully 'till early. July and then rose sharply. The writer has no fears of dairy stock dropping because of the swing to sheep. Cull dairy cattle are being well paid for this month. Boner cows are selling at 16/- 1001 b., first quality freezing cows at 24/-, and seconds at 22/-, with butchers paying rather more, at £4 10/- to £5/10/-, for fair cows. Bulls are worth 20/- 1001 b. at the works. Fat Sheep. The exporters’ sole concern now is with lamb. The current schedule of Sd. is lid. below the 9|d. ruling a year ago. That means 3/- less on a 311 b. lamb and 3/6 on a 361 b. one. Lower values for pelts and wool, plus greatlyincreased freezing costs, account for the difference. Actually, in London, the carcase sells at the full value of a year earlier. Ewe and wether mutton values are based on the local market. Here, too, the skin and tallow prices are a big influence, being many shillings below those of a year before. Heavy export killings have depleted the available supply and so high prices are to be expected this winter. Ewes to-day worth 22/- were making 21/6 to 23/6 last year, and wethers now at 28/- were making 30/- to 32/6. Skins now return 6/- for ewes and 7/- for wethers. When the allowance is made for skin value increases since January, it is found that actual meat values have not appreciated to any extent since the middle of the freezing season. One then received 16/- for ewes and 24/- for wethers, close off shears. True winter appreciation of meat values has yet to come. By a month hence, both ewes and wethers should .have gone up substantially. 21 little incident of May 15 last year Is recalled. The countryside was absolutely sodden by continuous and heavy rains. At the Feilding sale that day was seen the greatest entry of fat ewes ever offered there, 1400 of them and mostly good quality sheep. For a big line of 200 a Sandon farmer was offered 22/6, but he wanted 24/-, and took them home. In these columns the opinion was expressed that he would soon get 26/-. The price came even sooner than expected. At the sale of ,the same date this year but 300 ewes were offered. Store Sheep. During April the store sheep market was depressed by the eczema threat, but this has now passed and values are on a normal basis again. Indeed, losses from eczema have now tended to increase the current demand and values

for some classes of sheep are rather high.

Carry-over lambs and in-lamb ewes arg the principal trade of late. Waikato demand is having an influence on the ewe market. This was noticeable at a recent Taihape sale. Prices do not, however, appear unduly high, certainly not by comparison with those of the early autumn ewe fairs. M.A. ewes at 22/6, and flve-year-olds at 25/- are current prices. An exceptional line of five-year-olds made 32/6, at Taihape. At Masterton, s.m. ewes sold at 18/to 20/-.

On current prices ewes appear much better buying than hold-over lambs of either sex. A year ago at Feildiug I saw sixyear ewes sejl at 18/3, and they were a very sound line. General prices of a year ago are of interest. Five-year ewes brought 25/- for good average lines, wether lambs 18/6 for the same class and 19/6 for tops, and ewe lambs 26/- to 28/-. Ewe Lambs Dear. For all practical purposes fattening lambs have ceased to be of interest. Ewq lambs are the fashion of the moment and are inclined to be quite overvalued. On prices paid one would think the winter was over. They have risen about 2/6 in the last fortnight. Good ewe lambs are selling at 28/6 to 30/6, and even higher. In passing, congratulations may be offered to Mikleson Bros., Taihape, on securing 31/8 for their line of §62 head at the Taihape sale of May 19. These must have been a joy to behold to make that price for such a line. For fairly good lambs 27/- is now being made, and almost any lamb at all, labelled ewe, will make 22/6. Buying a good ewe lamb at 29/shows this return: Wool, 7ilb. at lid., equals 7/-, less 1/3 for shearing and selling, a net 5/9; sale of the twp-tooth ewe next February, at 37/9, less commissicwi 1/6, nets 36/3, making a total return of 42/-. This shows a profit of 13/- on the 29/- purchase price for close on nine months’ grazing. From that “profit” must be deducted losses which cannot be left unconsidered, also the Inevitable tail-end found in all sheep. A 2/allowance for these is light enough. The true profit remaining is 11/- on 29/- invested, for nine months’ attention and grazing. In-lamb ewes or wether hoggets offer a better return.

Good wether lambs are selling at an average of 17/3. That is 12/- cheaper than ewe lambs. Their wool return is as good, they can be fattened and sold months earlier and will give all as much net profit on the investment of less capital and in two-thirds of the time.