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The Country's Rowena Duncum is joined by PGG Wrightson's GM for Livestock, Peter Moore, to chat about New Zealand's livestock market.

June was a more typical month compared to earlier in the year for stock flow, with the freezing works freeing up, sale yards back in operation, and online platforms running smoothly, Moore said.

Although an impressive 8.3 per cent rise in the Global Dairy Trade Auction this week had so far had no immediate impact on confidence for New Zealand - it was still great to see prices heading in the right direction - particularly during winter, Moore said.

The really good news came from the significant price lift for Whole Milk Powder (WMP).

Some amazing bull sales had taken place recently, with one in Wairoa going for $104,000 NZD. Duncum asked Moore what he thought was driving this price increase.

Genetics played a big part, said Moore, as farmers were looking for "outstanding genetics with good growth rate and good meat production".

Duncum finished the interview by asking Moore what the next few months might look like for the livestock industry.

Moore said that this was normally a quieter time of year - but feeder calves were starting to hit the market.

South Island Livestock Manager Shane Gerken joins Mark Leishman on CountryTV for this edition of the Livestock Roundup.

This week PGG Wrightson's South Island wool procurement manager Rob Cochrane joins The Country's Jamie Mackay to look at the wool market this month.

The 2019/20 wool season wrapped up yesterday with 17 thousand bales on offer across both islands, and there are a lot of growers still resisting and holding onto wool.

Mid-micron and crossbreed growers may be concerned that they were losing as much as 50 per cent compared to last year, Cochrane said.

Mackay said that from a historical perspective, the wool market had never seen a slump like this.

Cochrane agreed, reflecting back on 1969 when wool prices were around 23 cents per pound.

It was criminal that prices continued to fall, Mackay said, with Covid-19 still affecting the market in terms of boarder restrictions, imports, and offshore processing.

Cochrane added perspective by saying the price of wool had gradually been going down over the past few years, and people don't necessarily have the money to buy wool.

Mackay noted that until there were alternate sustainable long-term uses for crossbreed wool, the industry was "buggered".

Cochrane agreed, but stressed that traditional uses of wool, such as carpet and internal furnishings would still help the industry in the long run.

Traditional shearing competitions season-opener, the New Zealand Merino Shears has been cancelled this year, as organisers work to mark its 60th anniversary post-Covid in style in 2021.

The championships in Alexandra were to have been held on October 2-3.

The NZ Merino Shears usually attracts over 100 shearers and woolhandlers and is the only fine wool competition on the Shearing Sports New Zealand calendar of almost 60 shows each summer.

The cancellation has also led to the axing of the 2020-2021 National Shearing Circuit, of which Alexandra has been the traditional compulsory opening round.

It also impacts on the annual home-and-away transtasman series, with the two competitions providing two of the three shearers in the New Zealand team each summer.

Incorporating a final for the McSkimming Memorial Triple Crown at the Golden Shears each March since 1973, the circuit had already been hit by the cancellation of this year's New Zealand Agricultural Show which would have staged third-round event the New Zealand Corriedale Championships.

The cancellation of the Alexandra event was confirmed by New Zealand Merino Shearing Society chairman Greg Stuart who said it was "due to the pandemic".

The Covid-19 crisis has had severe impacts, as it had across the country and the world, he said, and his committee "needed to make the call" about an event which runs on a budget of up to $50,000 – at a time when the lockdown made negotiations almost impossible.

The committee didn't want to "embarrass" or pressure anyone and decided it wanted to guarantee still being around for the 60th year, particularly for the sake of those who had supported the event over the years.

"Some of them have been with us from way back," Stuart said.

The National Shearing Circuit committee is also due to meet in the next fortnight to consider the possibilities as the event heads to the celebration of its first 50 years, including the last 18 known as the PGG Wrightson National.

PGG Wrightson Wool have been sponsors at all five shows in the circuit, along with providing the major prize of a year's use of a Hyundai Santa Fe for the winner, currently Marlborough shearer Angus Moore, who won this year's final less than three weeks before the Covid-19 lockdown.

Meanwhile, the Waimate Shears, which would have included the second round of the circuit, will is "definitely" on October 9-10, said chairman Warren White.

Canterbury show shearing organisers are considering still staging their championships, in a woolshed at the station which provides its sheep.

Later in the season, the Rangitikei Shearing Sports in Marton in February, which would have been the fourth round, will be held on a Sunday as shows avoid a clash caused by the timing of Waitangi Day.

It will provide three competitions within three days with Dannevirke A and P Show on a Friday (February 5), the Aria Waitangi Day Sports on the Saturday (February 6) and the Rangitikei event on February 7.

Photo credit

Marlborough shearer Angus Moore, winner of the PGG Wrightson Wool National Shearing Circuit final at the Golden Shears in March. Photo / Pete Nikolaison

 

Credit: Article by NZ Herald / The Country