MARKETS REVIEWED

Taranaki Daily News, 3 November 1934, Page 11

MARKETS REVIEWED

TARANAKI STOCK SALES DECLINE IN FAT SHEEP PRICES. STORE WETHERS IN DEMAND. ■ The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company’s market report states: — The position in the fat sheep section of the market is rather obscure. Prices are showing a downward tendency, and, with more ewes coming on the market every day, a further decline can be looked for until prices are stabilised by the works, which should be fairly soon. Wethers are not in great demand, and are not very' plentiful. Hoggets ' are in Short supply, and have not receded in Value to any great extent. Very few fat lambs are ready for drafting, hut another week or so should see the works in full swing. . Lambs generally are looking remarkably well. In South Taranaki percentages have been good, and everything points to a successful fattening season. There has been a decided slide in values of fat cattle, owing largely to the number of good young cows coming forward from the dairy herds, and these are being bought in preference to prime station cattle.

The demand just now is principally for store wethers, and these are not very plentiful, quotes being hard to obtain. A fair amount of business has been done in forward buying of breeding ewes, but the volume is not so great as in former years. There has also been a certain amount of buying forward of black-face Jambs.

Store cattle of all classes are dull of sale, in sympathy with the decline of beef values.

Most operators have now filled their requirements of yearling heifers, and ■only spasmodic buying is taking place. The best prices lately have been about £3 5s for top quality cattle, other sorts being dull of sale. In South Taranaki the selling season for dairy cows and heifers can now be definitely said to be finished, only occasional small sales being made. In North Taranaki the demand is always later, and good prices are still being paid fpr quality cattle. There is still a good demand for milk cart horses and three-quarter draughts, but very few horses are left for sale in the province. .

Large yardings of pigs continue to come to the sales, but values have declined to some extent, as is only natural at this time' of the season. Export prices are still the same as last week. Most dairymen report a good season for production to- date; in fact, many farmers are beating their last year’s figures. Feed is very plentiful, and cattle are doing well/

QUIET TRADING WEEK

BULK OF SALES IN YARDS. EASING IN PRICES OF FATS. ' ( The Farmers’ Co-operative Organisation Society in its weekly review of the stock markets states that a quiet week of trading has been, experienced, business being practically confined to the sale yards. The weather has been particularly mild, bright sunny days following the warm rains which fell in the early part of the week. Pastures everywhere show . renewed growth difficulty now being experienced generally in controlling the growth. Early crops of ensilage and hay are assured, the making of ensilage having commenced on some farms. Although production in many cases is increasing, generally it appears to be lower than at this time last' year. The welcome rise which started last week in dairy produce has continued during the week, with the latest quotations for cheese at 53s to 53s 6d, with firm offers circulating at encouraging figures. Butter has also shared in the improvement, the latest quotation of 71s on an active market giving more encouragement. Wool values differ little from thoge ruling in the last report, with the recent values at the Sydney sales being maintained. The lamb trade generally on the British market remain slow with a slight easing in values making itself felt. No alteration in the schedule has taken place from that last quoted. In Taranaki a few have taken advantage of the 8d schedule, killing operations having commenced at the works. Values for bacon remain firm with a slight easing in Britain being noticeable in pork, with as yet no alteration in the local schedule. This one time sideline to the dairy farmer is proving a boon during the period of low prices for dairy, produce. Values of all’classes of fat sheep are Inclined to show a slight easing tendency, with, shorn sheep predominating on the market. Fat ewes (shorn) range m value from 17s 6d to 19s, with fat wethers from 22s 6d to 255. All classes of fat cattle are inclined to ease slightly in value, quotations for best % prime fat heifers ranging from £6 10s to £7, prime fat cows £6 5s to £6 15s and fat cows and heifers £6 to £6 10s. Sales during the week include a line of 210 fat cows and heifers on a spread delivery basis of several months at £5 7s 6d. A very keen demand exists for all classes of store sheep, extreme difficulty being found in obtaining quotations. Values of two-tooth wethers remain zlrm at from £1 to 21s for shorn sheep With few quotations available. Ewes with lambs at foot are keenly sought after, with here again a sparcity of quotations.

An all-round easing in values of store cattle is noticeable, due no doubt to the rush of demand -.aving passed. The demand for young cattle at slightly lower values remains keen, sales during the week including 60 2-year P.A. and Hereford heifers at £3 11s 6d and 80 yearling P.A. steers at £3 Bs. Store bullocks where yarded continue to meet keen competition at from £5 5s to £5 for 4 and 5-year cattle. The demand for Jersey yearling heifers has eased considerably, the bulk of the demand having now been filled. Yard sales at all .centres have been well supported, values for cows from the dairy meeting a “sticky” sale.

A good yarding of all classes of cattle came forward to the Opunake sale. Bidding was keen throughout and satisfactory prices were realised for the entire offering. Dairy heifers changed hands at £4 15s, £5, £5 5s to £5 10s, yearling heifers 22s 6d, 30s, 35s 6d, £2 to £2 6d, yearling bulls 3-J to guineas, 2-year bulls 4' guineas, 5 guineas 6 guineas to 6j guineas, store cows 18s, 255, 32s to £2, paddock cows £2 Ils, £2 19s, £3 7s to £3 14s, fat cows £4 to £4 ss, weaner pigs 14s, 16s to 17s Gd, store pigs 20s 6d, 23s 6d to 25s 6d.

At the Manaia Sale there was a good yarding of all classes' of cattle and a satisfactory sale resulted. The cows had eased considerably, and more difficulty than previously was experienced in quitting this class. A small number of dairy cattle, mostly calved cows and heifers, met a ready sale, and considering the time of the season prices must be considered satisfactory. Pigs were

yarded in large numbers, and although an easing in values was apparent, the majority sold under the hammer. Prime fat. cows made £4 3s, £4 2s to £4, forward cows £3 10s, £3 12s to £3 15s, good paddock cows £2 5s to £2 10s. Medium store cows sold at late rates. Dairy cows (good) made £6, £6 10s to £7 5s with medium sorts at from £5, £5 5s to £5 10. Bulls came forward in small . numbers and prices were 3i to 51 guineas for yearlings, with 2-year-olds making up to 61 guineas. Pigs sold at prices showing a slight easing on previous sales, weaners making 14s 6d, 15s, 18s, store 21s to 24s and porkers 31s to 355. There was a moderate yarding of all classes of stock at the Eltham sale on Wednesday. There was a good attendance of buyers, keen competition in all sections resulting in some satisfactory prices being realised. Good calved heifers made £4 10s to £4 15s, smaller sorts £2 5s to £2 15s, good quality dairy cows (young), close to profit, £5 10s to £6 ss, calved cows (good), £6 15s to £7, yearling pedigree Jersey bulls, £5 ss, grade bulls, two years and over £3 to £5, well-grown yearling Jersey heifers £2 2s, weaner pigs (small) 11s 6d, others 13s, store and forward cattle selling at late rates. A very full yarding of pigs, a good yarding of store cattle and a surprisingly large number of dairy cattle, considering the lateness of the season, came forward to the Hawera sale. There was a small entry of fat sheep and a small pen of the first fat lambs of the season, these making 255. All classes of pigs were slightly easier but practically ■ a total clearance was effected, 300 being sold at prices showing a 2s 6d to 5s drop on those ruling a fortnight ago. The top price was £2 10s for a pen of light baconers and 38s to £2 2s for the best porkers. Store cattle showed a further Easing, the works not operating and the market being dependent on farmer graziers who .are buying to keep their feed in order. A large entry was disposed of, however, at prices showing Bn easing of 5s to 10s per head. Fat cattle also were lower, a noteworthy feature this season being the large number of fat dairy cows that are coming Into the yards at this time of the year. Fat sheep sold well at late rates. In the dairy pens some very good quality heifers sold at prices ranging from £4 10s to £5 10s. The bulk of the offering, however, comprised medium quality cattle, difficult to dispose of at from £3 to £4. Fat cows (good medium) made £5 to £5 10s, medium and lighter £4 to £4 16s, store cows (good forward) 25s to 32s 6d, stores 10s to 18s, empty heifers (2 year) 25s 6d to £2. Bulls met a very slack sale with a restricted demand. A yearling Holstein bull made £l2 12s, yearling Jersey bulls £3 3s to £5 ss, 2-year £3 3s to £6 6s, yearling heifers 28s 6d, 30s to 35s to £2, fat sheep (shorn 4-tooth) wethers, 245. to 24s 6d, 2-tooth wethers 19s 6d, 20s to 20s 6d to 21s jd, fat ewes 16s 6d to 17s 6d, fat lambs (this season’s) 255. Light baconers made £2 4s to £2 7s 6d, porkers 38s 6d, 40s, 42s to 42s 6d, good stores 30s, 32s 6d, 35s to 38s, weaners 11s 6d, 13s, 15s, 17s 6d to 19s. • At the Urenui sale on Monday a large yarding of all classes of cattle with the exception of dairy cattle came forward. A large attendance of buyers resulted in practically a total clearance. Realisations were: Fat light bullocks to £6 12s 6d; fat cows, £5 5s to £6 6s; lighter sorts and Jerseys, to £4 19s; vealers, to £l' 18s; hold-over Jersey yearling heifers, to £1 13s 6d, springing heifers, to £4 ss, springing cows, to £4 10s. At Mr. W. Eva’s sale at Lower Mangorei on Thursday there was a good attendance of buyers from all parts and a very satisfactory sale resulted.. .Of the cows, which were in fair condition, half were in milk and the other half in calf. A number of the latter were backward and no dates were available. The average for all was £4 a head. The horses were aged and made £ll and £2O respectively. All implements and sundries sold at very good prices.

GROWTH OF PASTURES _ 0 STOCK NEEDED FOR FEED. FATTENING CATTLE SCARCE. Newton King Limited's stock market report for the week ending to-day The district has enjoyed a week of ideal growing conditions, and its benefit is reflected by way of further advancement of pastures. While the general state of the market is inclined towards weakening, the need for stock to cope with the advance of feed may rekindle the demand, and with it a firmer market for classes that are now waning may result. Generally yardings are smaller. This may also assist the market io stage a recovery. The want of sufficient supplies of well-bred fattening cattle at values in keeping with buyers’ ideas has caused many would-be buyers of this class to draw their wants from the younger reject cows that are offering in good numbers at the fortnightly sales, and it is fortunate that this outlet is available, for were it not for the competition from this quarter the disappointment to sellers would be greater than jt is at the moment, for it must be said that low levels are the order. So far as yearling Jersey heifers are concerned it cannot be said that a free market is enjoyed. In fact, outside topquality and hold-over cattle few appeal. Good numbers have again been handled at all the firm’s sale centres, and operations have shown a decided leaning towards the purchase of good quality hold-over cattle. When values for these are compared with those ruling for better grown sorts it would seem that far-seeing buyers are operating in the hope that when their purchases gain the production stage values foi’ dairy cattle will have rebounded to figures that will show a good profit on to-day’s outlay. The Urenui sale on Monday drew an entry of 150 head of yearlings, including some good quality, well-done cattle. Bidding was, however, slow, and some difficulty was experienced in quitting at vendors’ prices, but most of the entry changed hands under the hammer. Good quality, well-done cattle sold at up to £2 10s, crossbred sorts in good condition £1 10s, good quality hold-over heifers £1 10s to £1 11s, and average sorts £1 8s 6d. At the Inglewood sale on Wednesday an average entry was handled and freer bidding was the order. Average to good quality cattle made from £2 5s 6d to £2 Bs, good quality suitable for late mating £1 18s 6d to £2, crossbred cattle in good condition £1 8s to £1 14s, holdover heifers of medium quality £1 4s to £1 6s.

Sales by private treaty include, one truck of good quality sorts at £2 13s 6d, while a line of average to good Friesian yearling heifers changed hands at £2. Considerable inquiry continues for all classes of store sheep, but business. is not of the magnitude that the inquiry suggests, for the reason that insufficient numbers are offering to meet the demand. Sheep off the shears are, however, now being quoted a little more freely, and their influx seems likely to increase the volume of trade. At the moment wethers are perhaps the most popular, sales during the week including a line of 1150 shorn two-tooths at 20s 9d. Quotations for this class in the main range from 20s to 21s. Regarding the beef section little local inquiry is in evidence, and the mar-

ket displays a weakening tendency, few butchers being prepared to make commitments in advance of immediate requirements. Quotations of the best cows and heifers range from £6 to £7, while others are quoted at from £5 to £5 10s. The oddments of Jersey and Jerseycross sorts offering at auction still rneet reasonably good competition, and from £4 10s to £5 5s is the order for the best cattle, while lighter, plain and those showing a little age sell at from £3 to £4. . . A cautious atmosphere also exists in operations in the mutton section, and here again only immediate requirements are being purchased, as rumours regarding the export schedule for grown sheep suggest that its announcement is likely to occasion a receding on to-day s figures. At the moment ewes are quoting at from 18s to 19s, while wethers are available at up to £1 ss, all shorn. Entries in the dairy cattle section are now very small. The advance of feed has, however, occasioned a little be iter inquiry in this section, and a slight improvement in prices in some centres has been noticeable. Most cattle are now in good bloom, and anything displaying quality meets good competition. At Inglewood on Wednesday average heifers, well forward, made from £4 5s to £5, and smaller crossbred sorts £2 15s to £3 10s. Dairy cows in full milk sold at up to £5, good quality springers £5 to £5 15s, and others £3 to £4 ss. The entry at Rahotu sale on Thursday met spirited competition, good quality heifers making from £5 to £5 ss, others £4 to £4 15s. At the Stratford sale on Tuesday a good entry of cows from the dairy was penned, and a clearance on a par with late rates was effected. The entry of dairy cattle included a few good quality heifers which excited keen competition. Yearling Jersey heifers were yarded in average numbers, good sorts meeting a spirited sale, but the poorer-bred were somewhat dull. Choice cattle made to £2 17s, average to good sorts £2 2s to £2 7s, crossbred £1 18s, hold-overs (somewhat poor) £1 2s to £1 6s, mixedsex woolly hoggets £1 Is 9d, average ewe hoggets in the wool £1 5s 9d, fat Jersey cows £4 to £4 Bs, meaty to killable sorts £2 6s to £2 17s 6d, good young paddock cows crossbred £1 18s to £2 2s, sound empty cows £1 7s 6d to £1 12s, young Jersey store cows 18s to 235, boners 7s 6d to 13s, good quality dairy heifers £5 10s to £6, average to good dairy cows £4 to £5 10s. At the Ohura sale on October 25 an average yarding of store and station cattle came forward, and practically a full clearance was made under the hmmer. Some well-bred yearling stud Polled Angus bulls were included in the offering, and these were subject to keen competition and sold at figures pleasing to vendors. The top price of the day was 20 guineas, while others realised to 16 guineas. Purebred Shorthorn bulls sold at up to 8 guineas, yearling Here-ford-cross steers (a little small) £2 11s, 2-year P.A. cross steers £3 to £3 12s 6d, grown Shorthorn-cross bullocks £4 6s, paddock cows light in condition £1 Ils to £2 3s. A good entry came forward at the Rahotu sale on Thursday and practically a full clearance was made at values a little in advance of those ruling at the preceding fixture. Average to good quality yearlings made to £2 7s, poorer-bred £2, crossbred cattle a little light in condition suitable for late mating £1 12s to £1 12s 6d, good quality hold-over heifers £1 Hs to £1 12s, crossbred sorts of poorer quality £1 5s to £1 Bs, 2-year empty Jersey heifers £1 15s, meaty Jersey cows £1 19s to £2 3s, killable £2 10s to £3, fat cows (Jersey cross sorts) £4 15s to £5 ss, young reject Jersey cows £1 2s to £1 ss, boners 10s to 16s. With no change to report in the export schedule for pork, little alteration in values for stores and younger, classes can be reported, and keen competition continues at all centres where pigs are offered. Thq New Plymouth Haymarket sale yesterday drew a smaller entry than usual, which met keen competition and sold at rates on a par with those ruling at the previous fixture. Porkers made to £1 19s, good-condition-ed stores £1 11s, smaller sorts £1 6s to £1 6s 6d, good slips £1 3s, others 18s to £1 Is 6d, good weaners 15s to 16s 6d, average 12s 6d to 13s 6d, small 9s to 10s. STEADILY RISING MARKET. LONDON BUTTER QUOTATIONS. Cables received yesterday report a steadily rising market for butter, which, closed with an upward tendency at 71s to 735. Reports are, last week’s figures being given in parentheses:— Newton King Ltd.: —Butter: Salted, 71s to 73s (68s to 71s, 81s); unsalted, 75s to 78s (76s to 78s, 108 s). Cheese: The market has advanced during the week and closes firm with an upward tendency; white, 53s 6d to 54s (525, 48s); coloured, 53s 6d to 54s (50s, 48s). Mr. E. Griffiths (Messrs. A. J. Mills and Co. Ltd.):—Butter: The market is firm; New Zealand finest, 72s (70s to 71s); New Zealand firsts, 70s to 71s (695); Danish, 118 s (110 s f.0.b., 102 s (100 s Australian, 72s (70s). Cheese: .The market is firm; New Zealand white, 53s to 53s 6d (51s to 525); Canadian c.i.f., 52s to 53s (47s 6d). New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company Limited: —Butter: New Zealand choicest salted, 71s to 72s per cwt. (68s to 70s); the market is firm. Cheese: White, 53s to 54s per cwt. (51s); coloured, 53s to 54s per cwt. (50s); the market is quiet. NEW PLYMOUTH POULTRY PRICES. L. A. Nolan and Co. report the following prices at their poultry sale at New Plymouth yesterday: Hens, 2s to 3s Id; pullets, 2s to 3s; roosters, Is 8d to 2s 3d, cockerels, Is 4d to Is 10d; chickens, 31d to 7d; small chickens, ljd to 2Jd; ducks, Is to Is sd; ducklings, Is 2d to Is 4d; extra good ducklings, 3s 4d.