We're now well into bull selling season, lamb schedules are continuing to rise and the Karaka Autumn All Age Sale saw some great results. Read on to find our more of what's been happening around the country.

South Island

Bull sales have started strongly in Southland and Otago, with good clearances of Bulls and average pricing, up on last year. 

Lamb schedules are continuing to rise as lamb numbers ease. Schedules, making $7.20-$7.30/kg common reading on kill sheets. This level is something of a milestone for South Island lamb, surpassing the peak reached in late November and in turn marking a six and-a-half year high.

Store cattle pricing is meandering along as farmers transition into winter mode. M Bovis has had an effect on buyers confidence and the risk of potentially contracting the disease is seeing them only source stock from farms they are confident that are not infected.

North Island

Another month has gone by and we are in the home straight for 2017/2018 season. The second half of the financial year has seen some record breaking prices on sheep meats especially, with cattle being solid. In fact cattle were humming along nicely in the first half of the year with values being above expectation so a game of two halves so to speak.

We are in June now and the weather has turned and we are heading into winter mode, the store markets have reacted to this and have eased across the board. Frosts and cold winds have halted growth and temperatures are hovering around 1-4 degrees in the High Country of the North Island.

The large Feilding market on Friday the 1st of June showed that farmers are offloading and this in turned put pressure on the market price due to caution with winter feed supply. Lamb was trading down this week by $6-$7 per head based on last week with values being $3.60-$3.80 being the norm with heavier lines trading below that at $3.40-$3.50. 

Cattle has continued to trade especially with Micoplasma Bovis ever present.  Cattle yarded in Feilding on Friday were picked over and good lines sold well and lesser lines not so popular.

R3 Angus Steers with good cover made $2.80-$2.92cpk With xbreds down as low as $2.75 cpk.

R2 Angus Steers and the odd exotic line faired better with 450-550kg Steers $2.90-$3.02cpk and not a lot of lighter Steers on offer.

R2 Heifers 300 to late 300kg live weight  $2.55-$2.75cpk depending on quality. 

Dairy

MPI and the government’s decision to eradicate Mycoplasma Bovis has been the major talking point within the agriculture sector and across the wider public. Whilst there are pros and cons either way the industry needs to be united if we are to eradicate this disease.

31st May / 1st June dairy transactions have just been settled, and in general terms it was very successful. The early onset of winter in some areas caused some minor BCS issues.

The movement of stock and how best to mitigate any potential risks is raising lots of questions – please if you have any concerns visit the MPI or Dairy NZ websites.

Standardbred

The 2018 Karaka Autumn All Age Sales saw a new National record of $120,000 for a weanling, a sale record yearling price of $150,000 and a highest ever sale turnover of $1,364,050. No one could argue with the new record weanling price as the purchaser Jean Feiss of Victoria has shown an excellent eye for judging her purchasers over a number of years. 

The record yearling was a withdrawal from the February sales and a triumph for technology. The vendor allowed us to post on our website a ‘before and after’ video of the upper respiratory endoscopic examination of the horse. 

Both top priced lots came from the Clevedon based Woodlands Stud. Huge interest is drawn by staging the sale the day before the ‘Harness Jewels’ meeting at Cambridge and resulted in an extremely good clearance rate of 92%.

Genetics

Bull sale season is well underway throughout the country and so far results are on par, if not stronger, than last year. Already we have seen a Springdale Angus Stud (Taumarunui) bull sold for $62,000 to Tangihau Angus Stud in Gisborne, a fantastic result early in the season. 

There have been a few more video sales added to the sale calendar since the National Video Sale in Palmerston North, with the modern concept generally being well received by buyers. 

With plenty of bull sales still left on the calendar and a growing PGW Genetics team, it will be exciting to see what the rest of the bull-selling season holds.

Click here to see upcoming bull sales.