LIVESTOCK MARKETS

Taranaki Daily News, 13 April 1935, Page 11

LIVESTOCK MARKETS

TENDENCY IN TARANAKI ■ FAT EWE PRICES HARDENING. w FAT CATTLE ALSO IN DEMAND. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company reports:— Fat sheep prices remain practically on a par with last week, except that values for fat ewes are hardening, as the firm predicted. Supplies are not heavy, and fat ewes and wethers must be good holding. There are comparatively not many fat lambs left-in the district. Values for fat cattle remain steady, but the film is of the opinion that beef is also good holding. Most of the fat cows from the dairies are now cleaned up. There is keen competition for heifer and young cow beef from butchers, who are adopting a very cautious policy in their buying. At the Hawera sale on Thursday there was a very good demand for store lambs, and practically the whole yarding was sold at prices that were an advance on last week's rates. Fattening ewes were in demand, and are now very hard to obtain. . ... The works are still operating fairly •well on cull and boner- cows, and these are being well cleaned up. Station cattle are being inquired for, and several large drafts have been sent away from the back country. . For weaner heifers the demand is still very disappointing, and very few weaner. heifers have been sent our of the .district compared with previous seasons. Prices remain practically the same as last week. .

In dairy heifers again business is very slow, no demand of any consequence coming from other districts. Several lots have been disposed of at up to £5 10s for later delivery, but the volume of business is very disappointing. Prices for store pigs have slipped. Quite a number of weaners are being bought for wintering, and good sorts are selling from 6s to 10s. ■ Prices at the firm’s sales have been as follows:— . . Douglas: A record yarding of over 1000 head was penned,- comprising mostly steers of the store variety. Shorthorn steers made from £3 10s to £4 15s, P.A. steers to £3 15s, P.A. heifers to £2 15s, fat cows £3 10s to £4, store cows 17s to 31s, bulls £2.10s to £4 ss, forward cows £2 to £2 16s. . Kakaramea: There was a fair yarding with good competition. Fat cows made to £4, bulls to £4 10s, store cows to 355, forward cows to £2 16s, weaner heifers to 255. Stratford: A good yarding and P ric ®s were quite good. Fat cows made £3 to £3. 10s, forward cows £2 5s to £2 15s and store cows £1 to 295. Hawera: There was a fair yarding and prices were good. Store wether lambs made to 13s 6d, fattening ewes 9s to 12s 6d, fat and forward ewes to 14s lOd, fat lambs to 16s 6d, weaner pigs 6s to 10s, stores to 18s, fat Jersey heifers to £4 ss, fat cows-to’ £3 15s,’ bulls £3 10s to £4 10s.,

feed conditions good WEAKER HEIFER MARKET ACTIVE. beef outlook seems bright. The Farmers’ Co-operative Organisation. Society of New Zealand, Ltd., re-ports-an exceptionally'good week as far as feed conditions are concerned, the weather being ideal and the whole province assuming a spring-like appear'markets for daily produce remain on a par, butter being quoted at 78s, with the market reported to be quiet, and cheese 45s for white and 4os 6d for coloured, on. a dull market. The schedule for fat sheep has once again been threatened _ with a further drop, and', the position is obscure. The season has ‘been disappointing to all who purchased lambs with a view to fattening. At the time that the bulk of purchases were lambs were difficult to procure and the schedule was rising, making store lambs too dear in the light of the continuous schedule reductions which have taken place over the last six' weeks. This, together with the fact.. that the lambs have not done as well as usual, has made the season disappointing: The beef outlook, however, is apparently bright, the works offering good prices for ox, cow and heifer beef, while boners continue to sell well compared with the price offering some time ago. There, has been decidedly more activity in the weaner. heifer market in the last week, with several lots changing hands at prices in advance of earlier quotations, while prices offering in the yards have been better. Sales are recorded of good weaners at 30s to 355, with medium cattle at about £l. Further activity in the dairy heifer market is still evidenced, and sales have been made to outside purchasers in truck lote f ° r June delivery at from £4 15s to £5 5s for choice heifers, with bigger lots selling at £4 to £4 5s for good cattle. The medium heifer and the heifer for immediate delivery is still practically unsaleable. . „ • • In the store cattle 'section the inquiry is more or less confined to forward cattle fit to go into the paddock, and although isolated sales of other classes have been made, no business of any magnitude has been concluded. Sales of forward cows are recorded at £3 10s to —4, bullocks at £4 15s to £6 3s depending on size and condition, and fat and'forward P A heifers at £4 ss. Practically no sales of store sheep have been made during the week, very few being available for sale and sales in this section being practically confined to fat sheep. Fat ewes are becoming more difficult to procure in any quantity, and) sales at £1 for first class prime ewes are more frequent. The bulk of the ewes sold during the week realised prices from 17s to 18s 6d. . , Entries at all sales have again been most satisfactory for the time of year, and large yardings of store cattle continue to come forward. At the Waverley sale on April 5 a fanyarding of store cattle and sheep, with a small yarding of pigs, was subnptted to auction. There was a good attendance of buyers, and a satisfactory sale suited in a total. clearance. Realisations were: Store cows 245, 28s, 32s 6d to 39s 6d, weaner heifers 225, 24s to 28s, fat heifers £4 15s, bulls £3 Ils, £3 16s to £4 Is, wethers 13s 6d to 18s 9d, m.a. ewes 20s 2d and weaner pigs 6s, 7s, 9s to 10s. ‘ The Okaiawa sale on Monday drew a good yarding of store cattle and bulls, sales at satisfactory prices being effected under the hammer. Padd’cck cows changed hands at £2 10s, £2 16s, £3 2s to £3 7s 6d, fat cows £4 Is to £4 8s 6d, bulls £4, £4 10s, £4 17s 6d, £5 5s to £5 12s 6d, bulls 18s, 235, 28s, 335, 38s to £2 3s. The Stratford sale on Tuesday drew a good yarding of reject cows, supplemented 1 by a moderate yarding of weaner heifers. In the store cattle section particularly good, rheaty cows came forward, bidding being very good, and the prices realised were a little *n advance of late rates. Tire entry in the weaner heifer section was rather disappointing, but good competition resulted in a total clearance at very satisfactory prices. The realisations were: Good heavy works

cows £3 7s 6d to £3 14s, lighter condition sorts £2 7s to £2 18s, good store cows £1 12s to £2 Is, lighter sorts £1 8s to £1 10s, boner cows 14s, 17s and 235, well-bred fawn Jersey weaner heifers, medium size, £2 Is, Jersey-cross heifers,- fair to good £1 12s, others £1 3s -6d to £1 ss. At the Inglewood sale and horse fair on Wednesday an exceptionally large yarding of store cattle and bulls came forward, as well as about 25 horses. There was a good attendance of buyers and spirited bidding resulted.' in a satisfactory sale. In the horse section, unbrokens met a ready sale at prices ranging from £2O to £3l 10s, while brokens failed to meet vendors’ reserves, but were disposed of privately after the sale at satisfactory realisations. Prices were: Unbroken geldings £2O, £24 to £3 10s, one eight-year gelding £3O, mare and foal £l6, hacks to £3 10s; fat cows changed l hands at £3 15s, £3 17s 6d, £4, £4 2s 6d, £4 7s 6d, £4 10s to £4 17s, weaner heifers £l, empty heifers to 27s and ewes to 23s 7d. At the Stony River sale on Tuesday a large yarding of all classes of cattle was submitted for auction and a sale at prices well up to late ruling rates was effected. -Fat cows- realised £3, £3 ,10s to £3 15s, Tighter sbrts and Jerseys to £2 14s, boners to 18s and bulls £4, £4 ss, £4 10s, £4 15s, £5 to £5 12s.

INQUIRY FROM GRAZIERS DEMAND FOR BEST DAIRY CATTLE. STORE SHEEP DULL OF SALE. / : The report of Newton King, Ltd., on the stock market states that the district enjoyed further warm rains followed by spring-like conditions during the middle of the week. It is many years since pastures have displayed such a green and , healthy appearance at this period and the reflection on stock is exhibited in the good condition in which most classes are yarded. Business during the week was for the most part conducted under the hammer, and some large consignments of reject cows were dealt with. While expectations in most cases were fully realised it was unfortunate that congestion of space in tire local works occasioned an easing in dbmpetition from export buyers, a result being that some inconsistency in realisations was noticeable.

Concerning the grazing side of farming activities, the report says, it cannot be said that the market is as free as was expected earlier. The demand for male cattle, however, is reasonably strong, and their transfer- in most cases has been effected without difficulty, but empty heifers and fattening cows have not been so eagerly^followed, and a slight receding irt values for these classes is noticeable.

Outside inquiry for dairy cattle continues, .but only the best cattle due early are sought. The demand cannot, be classed as strong, however, while a demand for under-sized and underfed animals can hardly be said to exist, the small numbers of these offering at auction meeting little support. Some of the sales recorded through the firm’s agency during the week include 65 good quality two-year heifers for immediate delivery at £4 10s, 26 for May delivery at £4 10s, 64 three-year in-calf heifers at £4' 10s, and 40 at £3 15s, both lots being for June delivery. Truck lots of choice two-year heifers for immediate delivery have been purchased at up to £5 ss. The easing of supplies has brought about a better demand for weaner and 18-months empty Jersey heifers, as a result of which the better-bred and done cattle have been subject to freer bidding with slightly higher priebs ruling. At auction: few. cattle that could be classed as tops were yarded, from 15s to 25s being the usual price, while-sales by private treaty have.been recorded at up to 30s for good cattle. One , line of 70 average to good quality weaners sold included a number of hold-over cattle at an approximate average of 245, while 55 good quality 18 months empty Jersey heifers changed hands at £2 6s. Regarding the store sheep section, it has to be said that inquiry has waned to such a degere that changing is now negligible. The firm’s fortnightly sales continue to draw small entries, but only good sheep meet respect. Lambs are difficult to dispose of at vendors’ values, owing no doubt to the recent receding in the export schedule. Breeding ewes are seldom seen on the firm’s open markets, but values for those quoted privately are on a par with earlier rates. Sales since the ■ last report include 450 four and six-tooth wethers at 20s. The mutton and fat lamb sections have been subject to reductions in export schedule during the past fortnight, lambs having been reduced to 6|d, with rumour of an early further reduction, while ewes and wethers through this medium are worth approximately 13s and 20s respectively. Supplies, however, do not seem overplentiful. Fat ewes are saleable at from 17s 6d to 20s, according to quality, while wethers sell at from 24s to 255.

The beef market is reasonably firm at late rates, but here, too, rumour is afoot that an early reduction in the export schedule is expected. Most requirements for local consumption are satisfied through private treaty, well-bred cows being saleable at from £5 to £5 ss, while P.A. and Hereford heifers are quoted at up to £6 10s. At auction the better class of fat cow ex the dairy meet good competition from local butchers, the best selling at from £3 10s to £4 ss, while older and lighter sorts change hands at from £2 7s 6d to £3.

Sales since the last report include a special cattle fail- at Douglas on Monday, when 1000 head of station-bred cattle of all classes was yarded. Male cattle were in strong demand and values well up to late rates were recorded, but while a fair percentage of the female section changed hands the bidding fell a little short of expectations and a small percentage of this section was passed. On the whole, the sale can be classed as a successful one, the following being the realisations: Forward Red Polled and Shorthorn bullocks £5 3s, forward Shorthorn and P.A. cross bullocks £4 19s to £5, stores £4 to £4 16s, 34-year Friesian bullocks £3 16s, 34-year crossbred bullocks £3 10s to £3 18s, 2J-year Hereford steers £3 Ils, inferiod-bred .24-year Hereford steers £2 11s to £2 18s, 20-months empty P.A. | heifers £2 15s, forward shorthorn and P.A. heifers £2 16s, forward P.A. cows £4 Is, fat cows, Jersey sorts, £2 17s 6d to £3 13s, meaty to killable £2 Is to £2 15s 6d, heavy works cows £1 8s to £1 13s, boners 20s to 23s 6d. The yarding included a good entry of two-year in-calf Jersey heifers, and these met a much freer bidding. than was expected.

The cattle were of an average class, and the best changed hands at from £3 2s 6d to £4, while the poorer sorts sold at £2 13s. Good quality weaner Jersey heifers made to 265, small and inferior-bred 16s to 17s.

Empty two-year Jersey heifers were also keenly competed for and sold at from £1 18s to £2.

At the Ohura cattle fair on -Thursday more than 500 head of station cattle were handled. The quality of the entry was good, young cattle especially meeting a strong demand, but inferior-bred met little respect, practically the whole yarding changing hands at the following range of prices: Forward P.A. and Shorthorn bullocks £5 Is, £5 13s 6d, £5 15s, store P.A. and Shorthorn-cross bullocks £4 5s to £4 12s 6d, Jersey-cross and coloured bullocks £3 18s to £4, 2J to 3-year Red Polled steers £3 5s to £3 17s, 24 to 3-year P.A. and Hereford steers £3 12s to £3 15s, mixed colours Shorthom-cross £3 3s to £3 Bs, thin Jersey-cross steers £2 to £2 14s 6d, good 20-months Hereford steers £3, 15 to 20-months Shorthom-cross steers £2 15s to £2 16s, 20-month P.A. and Red Polled steers £2 4s to £2 Bs, m.s. Shorthorn and P.A. weaners 30s to 345, weaner P.A. bulls £3 to £5, fat P.A. heifers, light, £4 3s, P.A. cows r.w. P.A. bull £2 12s, thin Hereford cows -r.w. Red Polled bull £1 16s, fat Jersey-cross cows £3 15s to £4, kiljable £2 10s to £2 15s.

At Rahotu, Stony River and Waiwakaiho sales held on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday respectively, capacity yardings of reject cows came forward, and there was practically a total clearance in each case. Unfortunately, congestion of space at the local works was reflected in some realisations, but generally speaking, prices were little below schedule. An appreciable feature of works’ buyers’ activities in these centres was the keen bidding for potter bulls, resulting in pleasing prices for sellers. The following realisations were record? ed: Heavy fat cows of Holstein breed £4 to £4 4s, fat Jersey cows, young, £3 10s to £4, lighter £2 14s to £3 Is, meaty works cows £1 10s to £1 15s, good-framed boners £1 6s to £1 16s, thin and aged 15s to 225, heavy bulls £4 5s to £5, medium £3 5s to £3 15s, light £2 to £2 12s 6d. | The export schedule for both pork and bacon has not changed since the last review of the position, but with the approach of winter there is increasing difficulty in disposing of the good yardings of slip and weaner pigs that are coming forward to the firm’s centres. Large stores, however, especially those in good condition, continue to meet good support and values arc on a par with late rales. At the New Plymouth haymar-

ket sale yesterday a capacity yarding was dealt with, but weaners were diffi-. cult to dispose of. Good-conditioned stores met reasonably good competition, as did porkers, and practically a full clearance* was effected at the following prices: Good porkers 33s 6d, lighter 28s to 30s, good-conditioned stores 24s to 255, smaller sorts 20s to 225, well-done slips 14s 6d to Ifis, o'thers 13s, medium Ils to 13s, small 8s to 10s, choice weaners 6s 6d to 7s 6d, others 4s to ss. FULL POULTRY ENTRIES. PRICES AT NEW PLYMOUTH. Messrs. L- A. Nolan and Co. report full entries at their poultry sale, with medium prices ruling throughout. Prices were: Hens, Is Id to Is ljd; cockerels, Is to 2s 7d; turkeys, 2s 9d to 3s; ducks, Is 3d to Is 8d; geese, 2s to 2s 3d; pullets, 2s 6d to 3s 6d.