COMMERCIAL

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4562, 20 April 1942, Page 8

COMMERCIAL

DISTRICT SALES OF STOCK TE AWAMUTU SALE The Farmers’ Co-operative Auctioneering Company Limited reports as follows: At our tri-weekly Te Awamutu sale on Thursday a large yarding of beef met a keen demand. Values were fully equal to late rates, and a total clearance was effected. Forward-con-ditioned store steers also sold freely, and a small offering of young steers met a ready sale; boners also sold at fully equal to late rates. A small entry of store lambs and aged breeding ’ewes sold readily at unchanged values, a full penning of all classes of pigs came forward, with values for baconers remaining firm at late ruling rates. Porkers and butter-milk pigs were slightly firmer, but store pigs and weaners were still somewhat dull of sale. We quote;— Sheep: Light fat wethers 245, woolly store lambs Ils Id to 12s, cull lambs 7s to 9s, aged ewes r.w.r. 14s 3d to 15s 6d, small store wethers 14s. Cattle: Prime ox beef £ll Is to £ll 14s, lighter fat steers £lO 2s 6d to £lO 6s, unfinished steers in forward condition £9 4s to £9 6s, fat beef cows £6 to £6 12s, fat Polled Angus and Hereford heifers £6 5s to £7 17s, fat Jersey cows £5 5s to £6 12s, heavy boner cows £3 8s to £4 4s, medium £2 18s to £3 ss, cull cows 15s to £1 ss, potter bulls 10s to 15s, 3-year Shorthorn steers £8 6s to £8 17s, 2iyear Shorthorn steers £7 6s, 18-month Shorthorn steers £4 16s to £5 ss, Shorthorn steer calves £3 18s, cows and calves £4 Is to £5 13s.

Pigs: Heavy choppers £2 to £3, lighter £1 to £1 18s, prime heavy baconers £4 to £4 6s, medium £3 12s to £3 17s, light £3 5s to £3 10s, heavy porkers £2 16s to £3 3s, medium £2 8s to £2 12s, light £1 18s to £2 ss, small porkers £1 10s to £1 16s, large stores 18s to £1 ss, medium Ils to 16s, slips 5s to 9s, weaners to 4s. MORRINSVILLE SALE The Farmers’ Co-operative Auctioneering Company Limited reports as follows: At our weekly sale at Morrinsville on Friday a medium entry of fat sheep and a large offering of store lambs came forward. Prices for all classes of mutton showed an improvement, but values for store lambs, although fully up to those ruling at other centres, were slightly easier than at last week’s sale. A medium entry of fat cattle was slightly easier of sale, but an exceptionally heavy yarding of store and boner cows met keen competition from export buyers, and in most cases prices were in advance of schedule rates. Dairy cattle, close to profit or in milk, created interest, and good-coloured Jersey heifers were keenly sought. A full yarding of fat pigs and a large Sntry of stores and weaners, came forward. Competition for baconers and porkers was very keen, and values were in advance of last week’s prices. Topweight baconers made to £4 Bs. Stores and weaners were dull of sale. Quotations:—

Sheep: Prime fat wethers 29s 3d to 29s sd, other fat wethers 26s 6d to 28s, fat ewes to 16s 4d, prime woolly fat lambs to 26s 6d, fat lambs 22s 6d to 245, killable to 22s lid, forward-well-grown store lambs 16s to 18s 7d, others 13s 4d to 15s Bd, medium store lambs Ils 6d to 12s 9d, small 9s to Ils 2d.

Cattle: Light fat steers £9 10s to £9 15s, heavy fat Shorthorn cows £6 10s to £7 15s, heavy fat Jersey cows £5 4s to £5 15s, prime heifers £6 to £7 15s, light fat Jersey cows and heifers £4 10s to £5 19s, heavy boner cows £4 5s to £4 16s, medium £3 10s to £4, store cows £2 5s to £3, cull cows £1 to £1 15s, bulls 10s to £1 Is, dairy cows close to profit £7 10s to £8 10s, ditto in milk £B, springing heifers £5 5s to £B, heifers in milk £5 to £7 10s, best weaner heifer calves £3 2s to £3 14s, others £1 15s to £2 16s.

Pigs: Choppers £1 5s to £2 17s, prime heavy baconers £4 4s to £4 Bs, heavy baconers £3 18s to £4 2s, medium £3 12s to £3 15s, light £3 5s to £3 10s, heavy porkers £2 18s to £3 2s, medium £2 10s to £2 16s, light £2 to £2 6s, unfinished £1 10s to £1 16s, large stores £1 to £1 6s, smaller Ils to 15s, slips 6s to 10s, weaners 2s to 4s-

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company Limited reports as follows: At our Morrinsville stock sale on Friday a large yarding of fat and boner cows came forward and sold before a full bench of buyers, competition being keen. A good yarding of rat and store sheep met good competition. Pigs came forward in good numbers, and sold at ruling rates. We quote:— Cattle: Heavy fat Shorthorn cows £6 5s to £7 12s 6d, fat Shorthorn heifers £5 7s to £6 7s 6d, heavy fat Jersey cows £4 15s to £5 12s 6d, heavy boner cows £4 to £4 12s 6d, medium boner cows £3 5s to £3 19s, light boner cows £2 10s to £3 2s 6d, potter bulls 15s to 22s 6d,.medium weaner Jersey heifers £2 10s to £3 ss, small ditto £1 15s to £2 7s 6d, dairy heifers in milk £5 to £6 10s. Sheep: Medium fat lambs 21s to 22s 6d, light fat lambs 19s to 20s 9d, forward-conditioned wethers 24s to 265, good store wether lambs 12s 3d to 13s 6d. Pigs: Light baconers £3 to £3 12s, heavy porkers £2 5s to £2 15s, light porkers £1 10s to £2 4s, good store pigs 15s to £1 3s, medium store pigs 10s to 14s 6d, weaners 5s to 7s 6d. SPECIAL DAIRY HEIFER SALE The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company Limited reports as follows: At our special dairy heifer sale at Morrinsville last Wednesday more than the advertised number of heifers came forward, approximately 500 being yarded. There was a large attendance of buyers, and interest was added owing to the fact that it was the first heifer fair of the season. Competition for good-quality heifers was good, but small and backward sorts were rather dull of sale; how-

ever, most of the entry changed hands, but at prices slightly below those of previous sales. Quality heifers sold on behalf of Mr E. A. W. Webber made £8 10s, and two pens on behalf of Mr F. Freegard realised £8 5s to £8 10s. We quote:—

Good-quality two-year Jersey heifers £8 to £8 10s, medium ditto £7 5s to £7 15s, backward ditto £5 10s to £6 15s, three-year Jersey heifers £6 5s to £7 10s, Shorthorn heifers £7 5s to £7 15s, dairy cows £5 to £6 ss. A BELATED SEASON DECLINE IN BEEF KILLINGS t The most marked movement in the meat returns in the first half of the current year, when compared with the figures for the corresponding period of 1940-41, was the decline in the quantity of frozen beef, the totals being 205,758 and 279,859 quarters respectively (says the Wellington Dominion). The reduction, however, may be more than made good in the remainder of the season, because it is attributed, in part, to the conditions that have prevailed in the chief grazing and fattening districts. There has been, on the whole, ample feed for stock, so that farmers, in order to keep the pastures in good order, have held their beef, cattle a little longer than usual. It might be termed a belated rather than a late season, as far as this branch of the meat industry is concerned. In a late season there is delay, and perhaps difficulty, in getting the stock to a really prime condition, but in a belated one the slowness in dispatching stock to the works is due to the need for it on the properties. Later delivery may also suit the requirements of the meat works, with the beef coming to hand after the peak of the lamb and mutton killings has

been passed. As all the beef now has to be boned more labour than usual will be required. A decline of fully 25 per cent in killing totals of any section in the first six months would, in normal times, be regarded as excessive. There are, however, several factors that must now be considered, and the annual returns will probably show that later deliveries of beef cattle were responsible for the fluctuations in the first half of the year.