STORTFORD LODGE

Wanganui Chronicle, 3 October 1946, Page 8

STORTFORD LODGE

(P.A.) Hastings, Oct. 2. The new season’s meat schedule prices were reflected in the stoic cattle section at Stortford Lodge today, when there was a yarding o£ about 550 head, which sold at advanced rates generally. Quality lines, as usual, were in the best demand. It is conservatively estimated that there was an advanve of about £1 a head on most classes by comparison with recent rates. The demand was for quality lines, which sold readily. Poorer sorts, however, met with a steady demand at favourably comparable prices for the season. The price of £9 Is was secured for yearling steers. There was, in fact, a ready market for all cattle of all sizes in this age group, which recently had not been in great demand. Other pens made to £8 19s, smaller sorts ranging from £7 6s to £7'l2s 6d. locks changed hands at from £l5 13s to £l6 9s. Rising two-year-old Hereford steers made £9; in-calf cows up to £9 6s; plain lising two and three-year-old steers up to £lO 10s; and empty cows up to £8 Is. Quality was outstanding in several offerings making up the best of the beef yarding of 193 head. There was a good representation of genuine ox, which met with animated buying. There was also more than an average offering of heifer beef, but the demand for pick offerings in this class failed to come up to vendois’ valuaation as prices generally were wed up to i ecent late winter market rates. Prime and outstanding Hereford bullocks ranged from £2O 11s to £25 18s 6d, the latter being the top price for the sale, and they averaged out at £23 18s 3d. Among the A.A. offering was a line of 12 well-finished ana attractive bullocks which sold at up to £24 8s 6d to average £23 Another good line ranged from £lB Is to £l9 13s 6d, these being judged to weigh up to 7i cwt A line of prime Shorthorn and Shorthorn-cross heifers realised from £l4 11s to £l5 18s 6d Prices for store sheep also reflected the recently announced increased stabilised schedule prices, and the prmising outlook for the new season’s wool. There was a yarding of about 3000, and except for top line ewe hoggets, average grade types predominated

Ewe hoggets made up to 36s 9d, about the best figures for the season Other pens made from 28s 6d to 30s 2d Wether hoggets were well sought after, and sold at from 27s 6d to 32s 4d, for it was practically a hogget market Again up to 23s 9d was paid fora pen of old ewes with forward docked ’Down-cross lambs at foot, this being a butcher’s bid There was a particularly strong market for culled types of wether hoggets Some plain and small sheep sold out at from 24s to 26s

With only a small yarding in the fat sheep section there was little change in market valuations Some small but good conditioned and quality pens were in good demand Spring lambs passed at 30s Id; shorn ewes made from 21s l()d to 23s Id, fat wethers up to 4l<; lOd, and fat hoggets ranged from 28s 7d to 35s Two-tooth ewes were quitted at from 29s lOd to 30s lOd, and woolly ewes made from 27s Id to 31s 7d