FINANCE AND COMMERCE

Taranaki Daily News, 27 April 1931, Page 12

FINANCE AND COMMERCE

TARANAKI STOCK MARKET DEMAND FOR WEANER HEIFERS. HEAVY CULLING OF DAIRY HERDS] Newton King, Limited’s stock market report for tlm week ending April 25 states:— Little alteration in valueih 111 the ptock market luia l-akeri ellect Aince the last report, and bitffinws through private treaty roiiliiiiivH to be confined io weaner mid lii enli' heiiers. Sales ol the best wen liens am bein-r ellccted on a, largo wale. 111-call' heifers are not keen It sough I. niter, mid continued difference of opinion coiiceiniiig values is the order. However, I here has been heavy culling of dairy herdo and. the ; ym.'dings of cull | eowo during the week have awclled iieeordingly, giving ample evidence that good mimbero of replacements will bo required. Provided, prices expected by vendors of dairy heifers are in keeping with proapectivo purchasers ideas little difficulty should be experienced in finding an outlet for the supplies available. Reports from the southern end of the. district reveal that a stronger inquiry exists for station cattle, but no hardening of values is yet noticeable. .Increased sales are being made and prospective vendors at the autumn fairs should yard with more conlidcnce in a market awaiting their supplies. , r With the exception of cow beet, works prices remain on a par, cow best having suffered a reduction ot Is per 1001 b. The demand tor local consumption shows no increasing tendency and. values remain on a par with late quotations, best fat cows and heifers being wortli up to £5 10s. whilst others range from £4 to £4 10s. Moderate business with fat bullocks continues with works buyers, and approximately 20s per 1001 b. ‘is the order. _ . ■ Reports from other districts show & hardening , of prices for fat sheep, and this fact is also noticeable locally, luri ewes are becoming very scarce and realign tions during the week have been recorded up to 10s 6d. Wethers do not seem to be in plentiful supply, and. generally speaking butchers’ requirements are not easily filled. Prices for fat wethers are also on the up-grade. Quotations up to 15s are being received, but as yet sales at this price have not been effected, values ranging from 12s 6d to 13s 6d. Works prices throughout this section remain on a par with late quotations. The greater percentage of requirements in store sheep having been fulfilled, naturally there is an easing in the demand, and prices offered for the sheep yarded at the various fixtures durincr the week have fallen short or vendors’ ideas, and passings have beep frequent. Wethers continue to constitute the bulk of inquiry, but quotations are few, and ready sales are. effected of the lines available, the .majority of quotations being in the. vicinity of 12s. Good ewe lambs are being inquired for, but only limited, quotations of these are available. Prices for the best sorts have been recorded at up to Ils, while other realisations have been from 9s to life. Best wether lambs find a market at up to 8s 6d, and smaller sorts 6s to 7s. Rape lambs are subject to keen competition and. realise from 9s to 10s, according to condition. . As a result of the heavy culling by dairy farmers, the yardings of works cows during the week ha Ye been considerable. The Inglewood Sale on Wednesday drew 150 odd head, while at the Rahotu sale the following day approximately 100 of the sanie class were offered Works buyers operated freely at both fixtures and. full clearances were effected at prices , equal to late rates. Meaty sorts of cows made up to £3 10s, lighter conditioned sorts £2. 5s to £2 15s and boners £1 10s to £1 15s. Paddock epws have improved in favour a little, and where good-coloured young sorts are submitted, a little bettei competition is in evidence, and realisations from £3 to £3 10s are the order.. Sound empty cows have been yarded in fair numbers, and this class seems to be a little more keenly sought after. Realisations at Inglewood for young Jersey cattle ranged from £3 10s to £4. Twoyear empty heifers are inquired for, but few quotations are available and difficulty is experienced in filling requirements. Of the sales eflected up to £4 has been, paid for good quality cattle, while other realisations have ranged from £3 5s to £3 10s. The strono- inquiry which was expressed in flie last report for. weaner heifers continues, i but the business is mostly confined to paddock sales, and with the large numbers that have been absorbed during the last month a difficulty is experienced, in finding quotations of good cattle. Generally speaking, prospective buyers’ ideas of values

for the best sorts are in the vicinity of £3, and many good lines at approximately thift figure have been put together. At Inglewood on Wednesday an offering of our 150 head was submitted, but most of the entry consisted of small and crossbred cattle, for which there was little demand, and although a nlimber of the vendors were prepared to accept the meagre figures offering, passings were frequent. There were, however, one or two small pens of good cattle and these realised from £3 3s to £3 ss. Sizey cattle in good condition but not straight Jerseys realised from £1 15s to £2 2s, while the in-ferior-bred and small cattle changed hands at from 20s to 30s.

No improvement in the demand, for in-calf heifers can be stated, although dairy herds are being freely inquired for, and increased, sales on a forward delivery basis is the order. Young herds of good quality have been sold at up to £ll 10s, while other realisations have been in the vicinity of £lO, and there is evidence of a ready market awaiting good young cows at approxinrately £lO 10s. Best quality heifers where selected in one-truck lots are quoted at from £8 to £9, but few sales at the latter figure can yet be reported. Crossbred cattle of size and in good condition are available at approximately £7, while inferior and smaller cattle are quoted, at from £5 5s to £6 ss, but little demand exists. A full yarding of pigs was submitted at the New Plymouth haymarket sale on Friday, but the demand was not strong. However, a full clearance was effected under the hammer at approximately late rates. A number _of Tat pigs were, also offered and realisations for these' were: Heavy baconens £2, best porkers to 31s, lighter 23s 6d to 245, unfinished sorts 20s, slips to 10s, best weaners to Bs, smaller 5s to 6s 6d.

PIG AND POULTRY SALES. NEW PLYMOUTH MARKETS. Messrs. Nolan and Co. report sales at the following prices: Hens Is. 6d. to 2s?. 6d., pullets 2s. 9d. to 75., cockerels Is. 7d. to 45., ducks 2s. to 2s. 9d., ducklings 2s.' Id. to 2s. 5d., geese 3s. to 3s. 6d., bantams 6d. to 9d. Webster Bros, report that, egg prices for the week have been: Mixed 2s. 7Jd. to 2s. IOJd., hens’ 2s. Bd. to 3s. Supplies are reported to be scarce. PEDIGREE CATTLE SALE. HOBSON FARM FRIESIANS. The current depression had its effects on the fifth sale of pedigree Friesian stock held by the Hobson Farm, Ltd., at Wharepapa, Auckland, on Thursday. Although the offering totalled 87' lots, including many animals known in prizerings all over New Zealand, the highest price for the sale was 46J guineas, paid by Mr. H. Findlay, of Maramarua, for tlie nine-year-old cow Nettie Ollie Korndyke De Koi, a successful show and butterfat record cow. Of the total offering fewer than 25 were sold, the rest being either passed in or .not offered. Young bulls were almost unsaleable, the general opinion being that it was inadvisable to buy in the early autumn and then have to carry the animals foi' several months.-:>Anotlier factor militating against the .realisation of reasonable prices was the poor attendance of wellknown. Friesian breeders. Most of the buyers present, says the New Zealand Herald, were local men, more intent on building up a good average herd than paying high prices for pedigree imported stock and their progeny. The highest price for a young bull was 20 guineas, paid by Mr. J. Cooper, of Cambridge, for Hobson KobaJl3th, a son of Springbrook Belle Westport by Springbank Zozo Mercena. Few other young bulls realised more than 15 guineas, the majority! failing to receive the minimum bid of 10 guineas. The best price for a heifer was 161 guineas, paid by Mr. G. E. Child, of Maungakaramea, for Hobson W. Springhill Pontiac Hez, by Hobson Ensign Zozo from Hobson W. Springhall Pontiac 2nd. The sale was conducted by Dalgety and Co., Ltd., and Wright Stephenson and Co., Ltd., in conjunction. STOCK SALE AT WANGANUI. GOOD CLEARANCE OF CATTLE. Wanganui, April 23. Most interest centred in the cattle section at the weekly stock sale yesterday. A total of 600 head were yarded, mostly comprised of run-bred empty and incalf cows. Vendors were prepared to meet the market, and although passings were fairly heavy many lines were sold under private treaty. Generally there was a good clearance. Prices were as follow:—Fat wethers Ils. 6d. to 12s. 6d., fat b. f. two-tooths Ils. 6d., fat ewes 7s. 10d., 9s. 4d. to.9s. 6d., fat and forward lambs 9s. Bd., two, four and six-tooth ewes to S.D. rams 135., medium ewe lambs 7s. 7d., medium m.s. lambs ss. 4d. to ss. Bd., medium wether lambs 6s. Id., cull lambs 3s. to 45., heavy porkers 38s. to 405., porkers 275., 285., 295. 6d. to 325., stores TOs. 6d., 20s. to 225.,. weaners 6s. to Bs. 6d., prime Hereford and P.A. cows £5 4s. to £5 95., heavy fat cows £5 4s. to £5 12g. 6d., fat cows (ex dairy) £3. 7s. 6d., £3‘ 10s. 1 to £4; empty P.A. cows £2 15s. to £2 165., P.A. cows to P.A. bull £2 145., low-conditioned Hereford cows to P.A. bull £2 65., empty Hereford cows £2 10s., £2 12s. 6d., £2 14s. 6d., 21-year S.H. heifers (small) £2 55., 20-months dairy steers 17s. 6d. to 215., small m.s. weaners 15s. to 17s. 6d., Jersey weaner heifers 355. to £2 Is.,’ works bulls £1 to £2 15s.