VALUES RECEDE AT ADDINGTON SALE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19271, 7 January 1931, Page 3

VALUES RECEDE AT ADDINGTON SALE.

BEEF PRICES FALL TO LOWEST FOR MANY YEARS A dragging sale met all classes of stock offered at the metropolitan market at Adding-ton to-day. Fat cattle readied new low levels for a number of years, and fat lambs were well back on the sale last week. On account of the shortage of feed brought .about by the dry spell, there was practically no interest in the store sheep sale, and very many lines were passed. Pat Cattle. The entry of fat cattle was not a very large one—42o head about—but was a little larger than is required to meet .butchers’ requirements for one week at this period of the year, especially when the hot weather is taken into account. There were no cattle forward from outside sou-rces, and the general quality or the entry was not above the average. Throughout the early stages of the auction the basis of values upon which bidding was being made Was a long way short of that ruling at the last sales af last year. There was a general decline for all classes of up to £2 a heal, and the best beef in tlie yards was not bringing any more than 35s per JO olbs0lbs and in-odd cases about 37s per lOOlbs. This is the lowest level reached in beef values for a great many years. Pat Lambs. \ Fat lambs were yarded in very large 'numbers, and met a dragging - sale from; the start, with values considerably down on those ruling at the last sale. The supply was much in excess cf butchers , requirements, and freezing buyers c l crated extensively. The fall in price was equal to about three shillings a head. Store Sheep. For the first time this season store lambs were sold separately from store sheep. There was a fair yarding of some ISOO head, drawn principally from within the province, with one or two lines from Kaikoura and Blenheim. The bulk of the entry changed hands at auction, though at prices considerably below those obtained at the last sale on December 23. A drop in values was expected, though not such a marked one. It is partly explained by the fact that very few of the lambs were up to the general standard of the last sale, nor were there single outstanding lines like that of 122 shorn Romney lambs from the Chatham Islands that brought 12s Id on December 23. Best price today was Ss 6d, obtained for a line of 71 local Southdown-cross. These were in good condition. The few other lines that showed forward condition ranged round about 7s, the others dropping back to as low as 4s. There was a good attendance of farmers at both the store lamb and the store sheep sales, but in each case competition was very slack. The seven-day spell of nor’-westers has had a distinct detrimental effect on local pastures and farmers generally are loth to burden themselves with more sheep until the weather This was clearly evidenced in the store sheep pens, where out of the first 2000 sheep offered little more than 300 changed hands. The local offerings would have been ample to meet the restricted requirements, so the large consignments from Blenheim, totalling about 1500 young wethers, served to swamp the market and turn the sale into a procession. At the end of the sale a little more interest was shown, and the top price was obtained for a line of 76 two-tooth half-bred ewes’. Top price for wethers was Ss, lOd, obtained for a line of 76 two-tooth half-breds. Values were:— STORE LAMBS. Seventy-five mixed sex half-bred at 5s 6d; 147 mixed sex half-bred at 7s 6d; 70 mixed sex Down cross at 7s; 356 mixed sex half-bred at 6s; 68 mixed sex cross-bred at 3s sd; 78 mixed sex crossbred af 7s 8d; 40 mixed sex half-br,ed at 73 lid; 172 mixed sex half-bred at 7s, 3d; 71 mixed sex Southdown cross at 8s 6d; 28 Southdown cross at 5s 9d; S2 mixed sex half-bred at 7s; 120 mixed sex half-bred at 6s 4d; 72 mixed sex half-bred at 5s sd; 73 mixed sex halfbred at 5s 3d; 77 mixed sex half-bred at 4s. STORE SHEEP. Ewes—47 three-quarter-bred soundmouth pwc3 and 4S lambs .at 7s; 47 four and six-tooth half-bred at 4s lOd: 30 half-bred aged at 2s; 103 six and eight-tooth cross-bred at 10s 4d; 5.3 full-mouth three-quarter-bred ewes at 3s 6d; 68 half-bred ewes and 59 lambs at 3s lid; 76 two-tooth half-bred ewes at 13s 2d; 83 sound-mouth half-bred at 3s; 24 sound-mouth cross-bred ewes and 22 lambs at 7s. Wethers—l39 two-tooth Oorriedale cross at 6s; 73 two-tootli half-bred at 5k sd; 76 two-tooth half-bred at 8s lOd; 72 four and six-tooth half-bred at Ss 4d. _______________________________