THE STOCK MARKETS

Taranaki Daily News, 23 March 1935, Page 11

THE STOCK MARKETS

FAT CATTLE HARDENING FIRM PRICES FOR FAT SHEEP. ANTICIPATION OF SHORTAGE. The New Zealand Lean and Mercantile Agency Company Ltd. reports on the week’s markets ai follows:—In. the fat sheep section the position is practically the same aS at' the date' of the last report. Holders of fat ewes are firm in their quotation*, anticipating a shortage of supplies later in the year. The . sama remarks apply to fat wethers, of which there in not a large supply. The supply of fats to the works is now dropping considerably, which is usual at this time of the year, arid most of. the works'are now killing only about three days a week.

Fart cattla are hardening in price all the time and. a pleasing feature is that works buyers are operating to a limited extent. Bull# arid cows from the dairies have advanced strongly in price owing to the increased competition. Consequently bigger yardings are being penned. r The demand for *tore lambs has slackened very much owing to the lateness of the season and to the fact that the quality of. lambs offering is not very good. There IS still'a very, strong Inquiry. for store ( and forward wethers but supplies appear to be short and quotation* are difficult to obtain. A steady demand is noticeable iOr breed-ing-ewes, either in lamb or to go to the ram, and they are in fihort supply. Boner and ktofe cows are selling very much better at . present J owing to the competition of works buyers. Weaner heifers are. in vfery poor demand; There -is a, very large, proportion of undersized, cattle this season,, evidently because of .the dry spell, and this rial* of stock is very hard to quit, most of the heifers being only useful as hold-overs. ' Prices paid for top quality range from 25s to 3te. So far there has .not been a very strong ' Witry for ydaiiy :'heifers' r from outside districts arid," although 1 ' several loti have been sold’ for forward delivery, htvPTwwi cannot be said to be brisk. Prospects for sellers this, season do not appear to be very- bright with butterfat values a* they are, and it is to be hoped that matters will improve quickly. Weaner pigs and small stores are still yUing at very low prices but large stores and porkers are realising good values. Yardings are not nearly so large as they were a month ago. Good quality unbroken draught and half-draught horses are in keen demand. There is a very short supply Over the whole of the Dominion, and the firm does not look for an improvement in Supply for a considerable time.. dairy markets firm

young cattle in keen demand, fat sheep inquired for. The Farmers’ Cd-Operative Organisation Society in its weekly review states that a steady week of trading has been experienced. The weather for the most part has been particularly mild and growth is evident everywhere. Dairy produce markets remained firm during the week on a level with values last reported. It is felt in many quarters that with the satisfactory stock position and the increased supplies arriving from Australia and New Zealand, a firming tendency is likely. It is difficult to account for the drop from the level ruling a few weeks ago. Values for all classes Of fat sheep remain firm on late rates with fat ewes at from 1?« 6d to 18s 6d and fat wethers at from 24s to 25s 6d. All classes of fat cattle remain firm, best prime fat heifers being quoted at from £6 to £6 IQs and best prime fat cows-at from £5 5s to £5 15». Store stock values remain firm with a spasmodic demand for breeding ewes, mO Kt clients’ requirements being satisSales by private treaty in store include 500 2-teOth wethers at 21s, 250 2*toOtH Wethers at 20s, 120 5-year at 21s and 200 b.f. lambs at 13s. Store cattle of every description comS attention, sales during the week Included 50 4 and 5-year steers at £5 15s 25 s*y4ar steers at £5 15s and 25 5yaAr steers at £5 2s 6d. Young cattle remain in keen demand, with quotations limited. Sales at all Xnires have been well supported, keen fjlm resulting. At Opunake on MonJay a median yarding of store cattle and oigs was submitted for auction, a totol clearance resulting in satisfactory £ SL Realisations were:-Store cows -qi. 35 s to £2, paddock cows 5* - « S » « «> ® lte . M. a 5. to «4 1»«. igs to £2 weaner heifers 15s to 200, meaner pigs 5s 6d to 6s 6d. Manaia on Tuesday there was a nftdium yarding of all classes of store S'£ d to«.«’X , SS'6d,Si ? ,« i fid £5 £5 5s to $ 5 Ta 6d, bulls 30s, £2 78 Wife 6d £3, £3 7s 6d - 23 15s te £4, ' !a nIS 7s 6d & 6d, 9s 6d to 10s S » M. * «■ » “■ SOW IlSera on'Thursday there was an . n ; store cows and bulls l fiZ well » advance of values Jwt met »t sale: well rn aava entFy ’’SX^eAve B attracted considerable was most the Laiority of the edlves being small and mder-slzed and commanding no attention ' XtevTr. There were a few P&* of top

cattle with excellent butter-fat backing, the highest price being £2 Is, for a pen of very good calves on account of Mr. C. H. Butler, while Mr. R. E. Harrison’s , pen averaged £2. Good average marked r calves realised 32s 6d to 37s 6d. Grade weaners were very difficult to sell, the top price for good medium cattle being 27s 6d. Inferior calves were difficult to Sell at any price. Sheep met a restricted demand, the majority of the yarding being medium and cull lAmbs. An unusually heavy yarding of cattle sold well and met a better derfiand. Quotations were: B.f. lambs (good) 14s to 17s, medium and cull lambs 7s to 12s, w.f. wether lambs (medium) 8s fid to 12s, ewe ’ lambs (medium) 14S, fat lambs 17s to 235, , fat cows arid heifers £3 to £5 10s, bulls b £2 10s to £4 10s, Store cows £1 to £1 10s, 1 baconers £3 to £3 ss, porkers 25s to 30s, ‘ stores 14s to 21s, weaners 5s to 10s. i .. ■ — s ! ; LARGE SALE YARDINGS : EXPORT BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT. J 1 FIRMNESS, AT INGLEWOOD FAIR. t • — ‘ ? Newton King Limited's Stock market rdport for tho week states that trading ’ during the week has been restricted : mainly to auction, and . the yardings at the regular sales have been large. These ; for the most part have consisted of cull cows and weaner heifers, with oddment lines of sheep. Realisations of the former 1 have for many years been exceedingly 1 helpful to dairy farmers, and the delayed ' activity from freezing companies, because of the restriction on the export of boneless beef is regarded seriously. It is pleasing, however, to report a slight improvement from several quar--1 ters of the export business during the week, this applying mainly to meaty boner cows which have reached the 25s to 30s mark, and to boner bulls, freely competed for on the basis of 10s a hundred. Weaner dairy heifers are aridther class which has suffered a severe decline in values compared with previous years, and the future of this class depends largely upon the barometer of dairy produce export values. Graziers with confidence in the future, purchasing at present prices, , which are well below cost of tearing, have little to risk in their .investment. At Inglewood during the 1 week the annual weaner fair was held and drew a capacity entry of 500 head. The general trerid of values was IGs to 15s a head less than the corresponding sale last year, with a firm tone evident at the low limits. Sheep remain in strong favour with limited supplies offering. Store lambs, particularly wethers, nave receded slightly compared with the earlier markets, but ewe lambs find ready favour, with breeding ewes of genuine ages, but breeding ewes Of any consequence are few in number. Sales of store sheep effected privately during the week have been 300 2-topth wethers 20s, 350 store wethers 17s 6d, 190 wether lambs, shorn 13s fid, 270 Woolly Wether lambs‘l3s 6d, 550 wether lambs 10s 6d, 300 small b.f. lambs. 10s 6d, 500 full.and failing-mouth ewes 13s 6d, 400 full and failing-mouth ewes Ils 6d. < • Fat sheep are firm at last week’s rates, supplies for local consumption being available at the following prices: Ewes 16s to 17s, wethOrs 23s to 24s 6d. Freezing companies’ drafts of wethers range mainly from 22s to 22s fid. With fewer ewes offering there appear to be prospects of their appreciation in value in the neat future. The export schedule for ox and heifer beef is unaltered, and fat cattle values are therefore oh a par with last week, butchers having to exceed export values Slightly for well-bred heifers to secure requirements. Sales have been made at from £5 4s to £6 and of well-bred cowS from £4 15s to £5 10s. Auction offerings of beef ere mostly confined to cows from dairies, which range from £2 10s to £4 ss, according to weight, quality and colour. At the Tarata sale an entry of 150 store and forward bullocks gave a good indication Of the demand that exists for this class. The Friesian breed predominated, and these made from £3 10s to £4 14s, according to condition, whilst Hereford and Polled Angus breeds realised up to £5 ss. Station cattle of all breeds and both sexes are firming arid show signs of reaching last spring’s levels, the present export schedule for Ox and heifer beef, coupled with the fact that there are limited lines of station cattle offering, being contributing factors to the position. No alteration can be reported in the dairy section. Isolated sales of in-calf heifers have been made, mostly on a forward delivery basis, but local inquiry to date has been practically nil. There are many thousands of in-calf heifers offering in Taranaki, and generally speaking vendors have their cattle marked down to low figures with a de- : sire to make early sales. At the Tarata Sale on March 15 a full entry of both sheep and cattle met with : a free sale throughout. Lambs constituted the bulk of the sheep offering, and i sales were made as follows: Fat lambs ■ 20s 10d, 20s 4d, 20s; very forward lambs 13s 9d, 18s; good woolly wether lambs 14s 9d to 16s; shorn wether lambs 12s to 13s 3d; medium 10s to 11s 6d; medium ewe lambs 13s 6d to 14s 7d; medium 1 mixed-cex lambs Ils 6d to 12s 9d; med- 1 ium 4-tooth ewes 23s 2d; 5-year ewes 20s 7d, 19s 6d, 18s 2d; full and failingmouth ewes 10s to 13s; small two-tooth • ewes 18s to 21s 6d; fat wethers 22s lOd ' to 23s 9d; 2-tooth wethers 19s Bd, 18s, ■ down to 15s Id. Bullocks made up the bulk of the cattle offering, and sold as follows: 4-year-old Polled Angus cross and Hereford bullocks £4 17s 6d to £5 s§; fat arid forward bullocks, mixed col“ours, £5; 4 and 5-year-old Friesian bullocks in forward condition £4 16s; 4-year-old store and forward Friesian bullocks £3 10s to £4 8s; 2i-year-old Polled Angus steers £3 17s 6d, £3 10s; 2-year-old steers; mixed colours, £2 9s. A large ' entry of fat and boner cows and also j bulls was cleared under good inquiry, j The entry of dairy heifers was the only j class that did not command any attention 1 on the day. , i The market at Stratford on Tuesday i was: Forward wether lambs 15s 7d to 17s I 9d; fat ewes 15s 3d; weaner Jersey heif- ‘ ers 22s to 30s. The usual entry of boner i ’and fat cows was fully cleared. _ ;

' At Urenui on Monday a moderate entry of sheep arid cattle was cleared as follows: Woolly wether lambs 14s lid, 14s 6d; shorn wether lambs 12s 9d; medium mixed-sex lambs 13s sd; fat and forward 16s 6d; medium woolly ewe lambs 13s fid; fat cows £4 3s fid, £3 17s 6d, £3 Ids, £3 7s fid, £3 3s 6d, down to £2 10s for light and young Jerseys;, good coloured paddock cows 30s to £2; meaty boner cows 20s to 30s; 4-year-old bullocks £4 2s 6d; boner bulls 30s to £3 12s fid; springing dairy cows £3 10s to £4 10s.

At Ingle ./odd on Wednesday the annual weaner fair was held in conjunction with the fortnightly sale. The fair attracted an entry of 500 head, of which 430 were sold. For the first two or three pens very little competition was forthcoming, but after that vendors met the market, with the result that keen competition was evident throughout the remainder of the offering. Although limits were low, vendors’ reserves in the majority of eases were exceeded. The following is the range of realisations: Weaner Friesian steers 25s to 275; weaner Friesian heifers 20s; best quality Jersey heifers unmarked 25s to 325; well-done Jersey and Jersey-drdSS heifers 20s to 255; good quality heifers, medium in size and condition 15s to 20s. Sates below the former were negligible. Two races of sheep also came forward for this sale, but inauiry in this section was dull, the only sales effected being: Medium mixed sex lambs 12s 3d; fat and forward lambs 17s; 5-year ewes 18s 6d; full and failingmouth ewes 7s 2d to 13s fid. In the store cattle section the entry was larger than usual, made up of cows from dairy herds and boner bulls, the whole of which was cleared under keener competition than has been the case of late.

At the Whangamomona supplementary sheep fair on Wednesday realisations were made as follows: Medium wether lambs 10s 8d; medium ewe lambs 13s 3d to 14s 7d; 2*toOth wethers 18s 7d to 19s Sd; f.m. ewes 18s; medium 2 and 4-tooth ewes 255.

Large offerings of pigs are being made at the main pig-selling centres, and, as usual at this time of the year, small pigs have receded considerably in value. .'Thete is not a big percentage of store pigs offering,’ and their price is relatively higher than for smaller pigs. Realisations of porker pigs at auction in ;most cases make fully up to, and sometimes in advance of, export schedule. The yarding at the New. Plymouth haymarket yesterday was Of full capacity, with a preponderance of weaners and slips, but in spite of this last week’s prices were fully maintained. There were not many porkers offering. The range of prices was: Small weaners .5s to 6s 6d, medium 7s to 8s 6d, extra good 10s to 12s, choice slips 12s to 15s, lighter porkers 18s to 23s 6d, medium 25s to 28s, heavy 32s to 355, lighter baconers 39s 6d to £2, sows in farrow £3 2s 6d. The sale of purebred pigs that was conducted at the New Plymouth showgrounds on Thursday was entirely successful, 65 of the complete offering of 93 being sold at an average of 4Jgns. In many cases realisations exceeded expectations and the lets sold Were distributed over Taranaki. Berkshires and Tamworths were in most favour. The following is a brief summary of prices: ■ Tamworth boars of serviceable age 4j to 6jgns; boars 3 and 4 months, 3 to 4|gns; sows of serviceable age, 5 to 7gris; 3 and 4-month sows 2j to 4Jgns; Berkshire bears of serviceable age 4* to Bghs; 3 and 4-month boars 2 to Signs; sows with litters 3| to 7jgns; sows of serviceable age 4i to Bgns; 3 and 4-month sows 2 to 3gns; Large White sows of serviceable age 5i to Signs; 6-month boars 4 and 3Jgns. SALES OF POULTRY. NEW PLYMOUTH PRICES. L. A. Nolan and Co. report full peris for poultry sales at New Plymouth yesterday, when the following prices were realised: Hens 1/1 to 2/3, pullets 3s to ss, cockerels 1/1 to 1/9, ducks 1/6 to 2/-, ducklings 1/6 to 2/-, geese 2/to 2/6, bantams 5d to 7d, turkeys 6/to 6/6.