TARANAKI STOCK MARKET

Taranaki Daily News, 23 November 1929, Page 15

TARANAKI STOCK MARKET

SUPPLIES MORE PLENTIFUL PRICES FOR FAT SHEEP EASING. DAIRY CATTLE STILL IN DEMAND. Supplies of beef and fat sheep are becoming more plentiful in Taranaki. Prices for beef remain firm but fat sheep prices have a tendency to ease. The store sheep market is steady, store and forward cows and dairy cattle are in good demand and a strong demand exists for pigs. Reviewing the market for the week, Messrs. Newton King, Ltd., state butchers’ requirements for beef are being filled at prices on a par with those last week, the majority through the medium of private treaty. There are fair numbers submitted at fortnightly sales, and although second quality beef has had a tendency to ease, well finished lightweight young cows and heifers are meeting with keen competition and are realising prices pleasing to vendors, this being due to the fact that butchers prefer a few lighter cattle to kill during the summer. Supplies are increasing for all classes of fat sheep and prices may have a tendency to ease. For the most part ? requirements for North Taranaki consumption are being filled with shorn sheep. The prices ruling are: Heavy prime fat wethers, 27s 6d to 28s; lighter sorts, 26s Gd; heavy fat ewes, 20s to 21s; lighter sorts, 19s. As yet no freezing prices for North Taranaki have been announced, but sales of lambs to New Plymouth butchers have been' effected at '23s 6d to 25s 6d. As was the case last week most quotations in the store sheep section are for 4 and 5-year-old ewes for sale on a forward delivery basis, but few sales have been effected in North Taranaki. The demand in the southern part of the district is good and. sales are steadily being effected. They are not as plentiful as at this period last year, owing to the uncertainty of the market. With the Wellington and Wanganui wool sales as a guide prospective buyers may operate more freely, rices for 5-year-old ewes have been 22s to 235, while straight lines of 4-year-olds have changed hands from 23s 9d to 245.

There is good inquiry for younger sheep, but few sales are being effected. Quotations to hand for 2-tooth ewes range from 33s to 345, but to date the highest price realised is 335, a line of 700. being sold at this price to a South Taranaki purchaser. Two-tooth wethers off the shears are being quoted in fair numbers, and prices have ranged from 22s Gd to 23s Gd. -Increased quotations for lambs for sale on a forward delivery basis are also to hand, but as yet little is doing with this class. Hawera effected a sale of mixed sex November shorn,

for delivery in January, at 18s Gd. Generally speaking the prices expected by vendors are in advance of this figure. The offerings of store cattle consist of store and forward cows, with good numbers of yearling heifers. Male cattle are conspicuous by their absence. The demand for the first-mentioned class is very g00d,.; and where any young goodframed cattle come under the hammer and good prices are the order of the day. Few yearling heifers of top quality are being submitted, and the market has a tendency to ease a little. For the most part vendors are meeting the markets. A fair entry at the Inglewood sale on , Wednesday changed hands at the following range of prices: Good quality Jersey and Jersey cross heifers, in excellent condition, up to £7 14s; medium sorts, £5 6s to £5 14s; mixed coloured sorts, £4 18s to £5 ss. Hold-over cattle of fair quality changed hands at from £3 14s to £4 ss. These prices are on a par with those- ruling at other centres. Good numbers of. works cows are being yarded, and now the freezing companies have started operations full clearances are the order of the day. There is still a good demand for dairy cattle of good quality and close to profit and spirited competition is in evidence when anything good comes under the hammer. For the most part the yardings are of poor quality and are more or less dull of .sale. Most vendors meet the markets.

There exists a strong demand for large store pigs arid as there are insufficient offering; the smaller sorts are subject to spirited competition. On Friday an exceedingly strong demand was in evidence, and the prices ruling were higher' than previously. The Farmers’ Co-operative Organisation Society, Ltd., reports that generally speaking the beef market is unchanged since last week, and the price continues firm on quality cattle, butchers finding it hard to fill their requirements. Heavy fat bullocks are £l5 to £l7, lighter sorts £l4 to £l5, fat cows £ll to £l3 for best weighty sorts, lighter cows £lO to £ll, forward cows to £9, and good young paddock cows £7 l'os to £8 10s. The price for fat sheep has had an easing tendency for the past week or so, as many fat ewes are coming on the market as farmers are getting their shearing done and getting drafts away. Prices for fat wethers are 2Gs to 28s. fat ewes 20s to 22s 6d,‘ hoggets 27s 6d, all off shears,'2-tooth ewes with lambs at foot £2, store' wethers 2-tooth 22s to 22s 9d, ditto 4-tooth 23s to 245. Many sales of forward delivery lambs have been effected and sales of M.S. Romney lambs in wool have been made at 19s. There is little inquiry for B. F. lambs forward delivery. The works’ prices *are not yet out, ' but it is expected fat ewes will bring 16s to 17s and wethers 265, while best fat lambs will probably reach 255.

There has- been a good demand for the well-bred class of grazing cattle and the firm reports good clearance of anything yarded in South Taranaki, but at present the unusual dry spell is making farmers a bit uncertain about feed. At recent sales 2-year old empty Hereford heifers realised £7, P.A. ditto £7 ss, young Hereford empty cows £7 17s Gd to £8 ss; 3-year P.A. empty heifers £8 12s Gd,. Hereford cows in calf and -vyßh calves at foot £lO s’s. Jersey yearling heifers are scarce and any offering showing good quality command a good price, the best making £7 10s to £8 ss; second quality and coloured cattle £G to. £6 15s and hold-over yearling heifers £4 to £4 ss.

STOCK SALE AT WANGANUI. SHEEP VALUES ENHANCED. Messrs Freeman R, Jackson and Co., Ltd., report as follows regarding Wednesday’s stock sale at' Wanganui:—A good yarding of sheep and pigs camo forward, with a light cattle entry. The demand was a lot better than for

several weeks; in fact, it was perhaps the best sale we have had for sheep this spring, buyers bidding with more confidence. Sheep values showed a slight improvement on recent sales, and a good clearance was effected at satisfactory prices. The cattle section was a very mixed entry, very few well-bred cattle being penned. Pig e again met with a good sale, a total clearance taking place at auction. Sheep—Fat Romney hoggets, 30s■ fat woolly ewes, 275; fat shorn ewes, 18s to I 20s 7d; fat lambs, 23s Gd; woolly ewes 100 per cent. b.f. lambs at foot, 33s;’ 2-tooth wethers, 23s 3d to 23s sd. Cattle. Light fat cows, £9 2s Gdforward cows, £6 15 s to £7; <r O od store cows, £5 12s 6d to £6 10s; ao'ed cows, £3 to £5; yearling Jersey bulls. £3 7s 6d; small yearling steers, £2 5s to £2 10s; calved dairy cows and heifers, £7 to £B. Pigs.—Good porkers, £2, £2 2s to £2 3s; porkers, 30s, 355, to 38s; forward stores, 27s to 31s; good slips, 255; best weaners. 20s, 21s to' 225; sveaners, I4s, 16s to 18s; light vealers, £3 4s. LOAN AND MERCANTILE AGENCY. BALANCE-SHEET" PROPOSALS. Wellington, Nov. 22. Further details of the New Zealand I Loan and Mercantile Company’s ’balancesheet have been received by the local agents. They state that the annual meeting will be held in London on December 5. The revenue account shows that after paying taxes of £57,866 17s Cd, writing off premises at £lO,OOO, making provision for bad and doubtful debts and charging debenture stock interest, the balance is £179,715 15s Od. A sum of £lO,OOO is appropriated to the staff benevolent fund. The interim dividend to bo paid on the 5 per cent, cumulative stocks 'and on the ordinary stock, together with the dividend on the 6} per cent, cumulative second preference stock for the year, plus the dividends now proposed to be paid, will absorb £162,500. After including the amount brought forward from last year £51,196 7s 6d) there will be £53,412 3s 3d to be carried forward. The dividend proposed is a final dividend of 5 per cent, on the cumulative preference stock of 2j per cent, (making 5 per cent, for the year), and on ths ordinary stock a final dividend of 5 per cent, (making 5 per cent, for the year). Both are less two shillings in the pound in respect to the English income tax.

LONDON MARKETS. DAIRY PRODUCE. Mr. E. Griffiths is in receipt of the following cable from his London principals (Messrs A, J. Mills and Co.): — Butter. —Market slow. Finest New Zealand, 173 s to 174 s per cwt; firsts, 171 s to 1725; Danish, 188 s to 190 s; Australian, 170 s to 1725. Stored New Zealand is 4s less. Cheese—Market firm. New Zealand white, 95s to 96s per cwt; coloured, 93s to 945; Canadian white, 95s to 965; coloured, 94s to 955.