Focus on finding buyers as farmers move stock earlier than usual  

Early autumn focus in the South Island livestock market was on finding buyers for lambs, and more recently calves. Because of the dry summer influencing farmers to move stock on sooner than usual, plenty of activity has followed, with calf sales in the South Island at one location or another occurring daily. 

Due to the dry conditions Marlborough’s annual high country calf sale was brought forward by approximately three weeks to early April. While plenty of South Island calves are coming through into the sales this year, farmers are also selling calves privately in greater quantities, unable to delay until scheduled sale dates.

Buyers have become more selective as the season progresses, preferring heavier weight store lambs, enabling a shorter turnaround between buying and finishing them.

While most of the rest of the South Island has become dry, Southland and parts of South Otago have been the exception, enjoying abundant feed through summer and beyond. Key for winter crops will be prolonged late autumn rains. This would be most welcome throughout most regions, enabling some pasture growth before winter sets in.