Reinvigoration of dairy beef improves prospects for calf rearers nationwide.

Dairy beef weaner calves are selling strongly throughout the country, with demand exceeding where it has been in recent years.

After commencing in Waikato in late October, the sales season in the upper half of the North Island is now beginning to tail off, while South Island sales should remain at their peak for a few more weeks.

In late November, at the first major fair of the season held in Temuka, 1400 100-kilogram calves met strong demand, with the average price achieved representing a satisfactory outcome for vendors, particularly calf rearers who have faced some challenges in recent years.

In Fielding a week later up to 1300 weaners were yarded, drawn from the greater Manawatu-Whanganui region. Prices firmed a little on the previous sale two weeks earlier, and despite some concerns in Hawke’s Bay around drier conditions, a strong bench of buyers from Wairarapa to Northland ensured a full clearance, including plenty of activity on bidr.

This year’s results indicate the reinvigoration of dairy beef throughout the country. On the back of a shortage of older cattle, strong demand for weaners at entry level pricing is providing farmers an additional opportunity to take advantage of favourable forecasts for beef. Such steady demand for weaners is most welcome among those who are selling, both calf rearers, and those dairy farmers who retain and raise a proportion of their calves each year.

North Island dairy beef weaner calf sales will be nearly completed by Christmas, while sales in the South Island will continue into early in 2025.