Markets summary

(PRECEDE)

Livestock agent ROSS ELLIS of McDougall & Sons will provide a fortnightly summary of local livestock sales in our Rural Links pages – keep an eye out for his updates ongoing…

The past two weeks has seen a lower supply of Livestock to the weekly sales. This can be attributed to a few things:

1. Drought forced growers to destock

2. Rain has seen some welcome winter crops

3. Growers desperately trying to restock and stabilise numbers

4. Covid-19 and its effect on the buying fraternity

The markets for all the above scenarios have seen the cattle market go from strength top strength as growers push the wholesalers and feed lotters to try and restock.

Good light conditioned and young breeders are very sought after, vealer steers selling to $5.00/kg, vealer heifers to $4.15/kg. Whilst the exporters may be quieter the wholesalers and feed-on buyers are keeping the market up.

On the sheep and lamb side the story is much the same as growers scramble to provide numbers to the sales. Th high end lambs (weight wise) are suffering as the export slows with processing and shipping problems. A higher number of new season lambs on southern markets going to wholesalers and butchers rather than being kept for export weights later in the year has led the market steadying.

Lambs in the 18kg to 23kg dwt are still performing well for the producers up to $190. Ewe Lambs are particularly strong to appease. The replacement trade ewe and lamb units are still very strong, Mutton numbers have been very steady with fewer bigger runs available.

The same story applies in the pig and calf section with numbers lacking and buyers waiting. Pork has maintained its rates with spit pigs being rightly sought after by processors.

Goats remain in very high demand with orders far outstripping supply.

– ROSS ELLIS, McDOUGALL & SONS