News

Solid schedules sustain positive values for cattle and sheep Wet weather resulting in slower spring grass growth has delayed the normal motivation to re-stock after winter, setting back the flow of cattle through the saleyards. However, demand for good well-bred cattle with weight on has remained...

Currently working out of Alexandra where McKay asks Duffy if he managed to find an inside job amongst the snowfall yesterday - Duffy confirmed and said he had to locate his merino clothing for both days. Fortunately, they had finished the Spring Cattle Sale on Tuesday as the Old Man Range, seen from...

PGW’s eight strategic priorities include ‘Our Differentiated Offering’, which is a competitive advantage for the company. One aspect of PGW’s differentiated offering is the leveraging of its Technical Team, who are dedicated to growing technical knowledge and ability across the company, our clients...

Rowena Duncum from The Country touched base with Steve Wilkinson, the Lower North Island Regional Manager for PGG Wrightson Livestock, based in Wairarapa. With spring finally here, has there been any change in livestock pricing coming through? Steven agrees - the covers are coming off, weather's...

New Zealand’s virtual saleyard now operating regularly in eight North Island saleyards Reflecting the growing appetite for online transactions in many other industries, bidr, New Zealand’s virtual saleyard, continues to make solid progress as farmers increasingly appreciate the convenience of...

Values holding firm, though tallies reduced for cattle and hoggets Winter weather has impacted North Island livestock tallies, with a noticeable reduction of the flow of stock into saleyards. Solid processor schedules continue to underpin the strong market for cattle and hoggets. When hoggets are...

Jamie Mackay from The Country took his monthly survey of the rural livestock market, getting the inside story from Joe Higgins, Mid South Canterbury Livestock Manager for PGG Wrightson. The big topic is rainfall. Has it stopped yet? Joe confirms that it has - a beautiful, clear, frosty day in...

The Southland Charity Hospital Trust was established in 2019 following Blair’s highly-publicised battle with terminal bowel cancer. After his diagnosis in 2018, Blair was told he had weeks to live, but chronic under-resourcing of the health service in Southland meant he was unlikely to see a...

Bull selling season is underway. What were the results like in Northland? Bernie points out that the season is almost at its end, with a good result so far. There's still a Hereford sale and an Angus sale to come toward the end of July. They've seen about an 80% clearance - from Angus through to...

Second annual online semen sale will showcase elite beef genetics Trans-Tasman. PGG Wrightson’s second annual online bull semen sale is scheduled for 24 August 2022. This is an excellent opportunity for the country’s premier stud businesses to showcase their elite genetics to the Trans-Tasman market...

Right at home in Waikato North Waikato is home for Stephen Hickey. Not only did he grow up on his parents’ 250 hectare, 650 cow Te Kauwhata dairy farm, he sharemilked the property for them for 25 years. Then he became a livestock representative for PGG Wrightson in 2017, initially for two and a half...

Taking off your business hat and becoming a friend Before he went into livestock, Paul Anthony spent 25 years bringing machinery and cars to New Zealand from all around the world, which taught him a few lessons, and left him with a public health warning attached. “Dealing with different people in...

High demand from motivated gallery results in excellent competition and notable prices This year’s Temuka in-lamb ewe fair, on 6 July, attracted plenty of interest, with high demand from a motivated buying gallery. As a result the better ewes in each class sold well. Compared to the 2021 sale...

Good demand for both store and finished stock As the availability of processing space for cattle became easier to obtain, the South Island market for store cattle has lifted. Finishers are paying premiums for cattle that can be finished in the spring. Due to raising schedules premiums are being paid...

Store markets, bull sales season and dairy calf prospects all solid through the winter Variable North Island weather in June reinforced that winter is here, accompanied by a rapid decline in grass and a battle against the mud. Inevitably, stock flowing to market through June was inconsistent, though...

Good year to sell bulls, even better for buyers This year’s two year old bull sales season started in May Overall it has been a good year to sell bulls, though an even better season for buyers. PGG Wrightson Livestock conducted 110 bull sales in 2022, and the quality of this year’s offering...

Vendors and purchasers urged to plan now, or miss out later Early July signals the first in-milk cows coming to the market. Based on projections for the dairy payout, demand for quality cows is trending to the positive. However, farmers looking to increase herd size in the spring need to realise...

Rearers need on-sell commitment now on probable margins before taking calves to carry through to 100 kilograms Northern feeder calf sales started relatively well in early July, and will progress through the rest of the country to reach Southland by mid-August. While the early well-bred calves will...