STOCK MARKET REVIEW

Southland Times, Issue 23676, 26 November 1938, Page 19

STOCK MARKET REVIEW

FIRMER PRICES FOR FAT CATTLE

KEEN DEMAND FOR PRIME • SHEEP Steady rises in the price of fat cattle in Dunedin have at last enabled Otago buyers to compete at this week’s Lorneville stock sale and stimulate values which have been receding slightly in Southland in recent weeks. Canterbury prices are still on a lower level than in the south, and values are only slightly above normal seasonal levels. There has been less evidence of a serious shortage of fat cattle in Southland during the last few weeks since the feed position improved and it became more easy to fatten stock, but numbers are still below normal for the season of the year. The stock offering during the last fortnight has been of fairly good quality, with only a small percentage of heavyweight cattle forward. An extra prime heavy bullock realized up to £24 10/-, this being for an exceptionally well-forward bullock of great size and condition. Prices generally for fat cattle showed an improvement on the previous week of about 15/- a head. The entry was I smaller than for the previous week and northern buyers made competition very strong. Following is a range of prices:—Extra prime heavy bullocks realized up to £24 10/-; prime quality mediumweighls brought £l5 10/- to £l6 10/-, handyweights £l3 15/- to £l4 15/-, lightweights £ll 10/- to £l3. Prime quality ' cows made up to £l3 10/-, good quality £ll to £l2, medium £9 15/- to £lO 10/-, and aged and unfinished £6 to £7 10/-; good quality mediumweight heifers made up to £l2 10/-, handyweights £ll ' to £ll 15/-, lightweights £9 10/- to £lO . 10/-. There was also a firmer tendency in | the fat sheep market The entry was bigger than for the previous week, but country butchers were present and competed strongly, for good quality sheep. The bulk of the entry was ewes, mostly of medium quality, with a small number of good quality sheep. The greater part of the entry was of shorn sheep. In the early stage of the sale prices were very firm at an increase of from 2/6 to 3/- a head, but the demand was fairly well filled after two or three races had been sold and prices then eased slightly. Prices were as follows:— Prime woolly wethers realized up to 34/6, good quality 31/6 to 33/-, medium 27/— to 28/6; prime heavy shorn wethers made up to 29/6, good quality 25/6 to 26/6, and medium from 23/- to 24/-; prime young woolly ewes made up to 30/-, prime heavy 27/6 to 28/6, good quality 24/6 to 25/6, medium 22/- to 23/-, and unfinished from 18/- to 19/6. Prime shorn young ewes made up 'to 25/-, prime quality 22/6 to 24/6, good quality 19/6 to 21/-, medium 17/- to 18/-, and unfinished 15/- to 16/-. The entry of fat lambs was a small one, but it met keen competition, values ranging from 24/- to 33/6 for good heavy butchers’ lambs. There was again a good demand for store cattle. The entry was only half as big as that of the previous week and the cattle offering met a ready sale at enhanced prices. Three-year-old steers brought from £9 to £lO, and a pen of two-year-old Hereford steers was sold at £8 14/-. Empty cows sold well, best-conditioned sorts bringing up to £6. Medium cows brought £4 5/- to £5 5/-, with nondescript sorts down to £2. Yearling heifers realized £3 6/-, and a pen of mixed sex yearlings of mixed breeds was sold at £2 10/-. There was a good entry in the dairy section, but there were not many good cows in the yarding. Good sorts sold at last week s rates, the best bringing from £7 to £7 15/-. There were quite a few bulls yarded and these met with a good sale, best yearlings bringing up to £l3 10/-; .two-year-olds sold at up to £lO 10/-, with small and indifferently-bred sorts down tu £3. The big entry of store sheep consisted almost entirely of ewes and lambs for which there was a good inquiry at satisfactory prices. Best lines sold up to 15/1, with medium quality sorts from ’ 11/- to 13/- and culls down to 8/-. A pen of shorn ewe hoggets was sold at 27/6.