PRICES for store cattle and sheep in Hawke’s Bay have soared in recent weeks with outside buyers in keen competition for stock to fill their paddocks.
The store market for beef of all ages has been buoyant at recent sales while farmers are getting $45 to $50 more for lambs than they were this time last year.
Weaner steers are selling strongly with good-quality exotic cattle making 260c/kg to 270c/kg at recent fairs at Stortford Lodge in Hastings.
One top-quality Charolais-cross line sold for $785 a head or 260c/kg two weeks ago and good Angus steers made 260c/kg to 280c/kg. Weaner heifers have been making 270c/kg.
The weaner fairs have had only about half the yardings of last season, reflecting the drop in the breeding cow herds as a result of the dry conditions over the past two seasons.
While the high prices are expected to continue until farmers have filled their paddocks and numbers being offered begin to decrease at the end of autumn, the rise in the dollar is likely to take the edge off some of the recent market gains.
PGG Wrightson livestock manager in Hastings Paul Bayes (CRRCT) said a lot of farmers who had set themselves up for dairy support were now coming back into the market and looking for dairy cows that they could take through the winter.
“A lot of weaners have gone out of the area to where the feed is,” he said.
Despite some rain in February and this month, Hawke’s Bay does not have the feed that is available further south in Manawatu, Marton and in the Taupo-Waikato area.
Mr Bayes said prices fetched for cattle at Stortford Lodge two weeks ago were some of the best seen for several years, with good quality cattle being offered and keen demand.
Sheep prices are also well up on last year with some lines of ewes selling for around $100, compared to $60 to $70 for equivalent offerings last season. Two-tooth breeding ewes have been pushing close to the $120 mark.
Lines of lighter-type lambs have been selling for well over $70 and some lines of heavier male lambs are fetching around the mid-$90 mark. Lighter males are selling for up to $83.
Heavier ewe lambs are well into the $80 range with smaller to medium lines fetching between $57 and $77. Some lighter lines have sold for around $60. Even very light lines were selling last week for $60 to $65. More than 11,000 lambs were on offer at the Wednesday sale and demand was strong in all grades.
Former stock agent Murray Sparling said the prices reflected the old adage that “you can’t make money out of an empty paddock”.
“A lot of guys are on contract with meat companies for a certain price per head at a certain rate. They are going over $90 for store lambs because they think that when their contract is ready they could get $120 for them.
“Breeding ewes have gone sky-high and lambs are very strong.”
Hawke’s Bay Federated Farmers president Kevin Mitchell said while the high prices were welcome, there was still concern about the sharp drop in stock numbers on the East Coast.
“We’re a long way behind the eight-ball compared to 2005,” he said.
“However it will breathe some life into the sheep market and the fattening country in Hawke’s Bay is now getting going.
“Anywhere west of the ranges had a great summer and will be going into winter with plenty of feed. The fact we’re six million lambs short is really driving it.”
He said that if the upward movement of the dollar in the past 10 days continued for a couple of months it would dampen down the beef market.
Central Hawke’s Bay stock buyer Hamish Hewitt said farmers had to buy now because the chances of getting their stock of choice would be a lot slimmer in the weeks ahead.
The successive winter droughts had been a factor because without cows, weaner heifers and steer numbers were inevitably down.
While $80 to $90 for store lambs might be “ridiculous”, farmers who had to back winter contracts might still feel there was money to be made.
Mr Hewitt said in some parts of Hawke’s Bay, pastures had taken such a hiding from the past three dry seasons that some paddocks were showing dead patches that were not responding as they normally would.
“Farmers are taking it cautiously and only buying when they have feed, whereas they used to buy ahead of the market and wait.”
He said he doesn’t see the high prices ending soon, although once the big outside buyers had filled their paddocks there could be a lull until orchardists in Hawke’s Bay started looking for stock to graze their blocks.
brendan@webbz.net.nz
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