LAMBS KEENLY SOUGHT

Chronicle (Levin), 31 March 1949, Page 9

LAMBS KEENLY SOUGHT

Press Assoaation)

Store Wether Values Easier At Stortford Lodge

(Per

HASTINGS, March 30. : Exeept for best quality lines wethers. in the store sheep section at Stortford Lodge today were easier to buy than' last week. Other classes of sheep sold well, particularly the lambs. An offering of 6000 head was followed by a moderate attendanee of distridt farm-. ers who showed the keenest interestin the lambs. The yarding again included some good quality sheep. The be»t : priees of the season were obtained for, woolly white-faced wether lambs ' and Down-cross lambs. A well-bred draft of woollies with plenty of wool sold particularly well at 37s 2d; meaty lines of Down-cross lambs, a few of which would not be prime, were knocked down at 37s; small to medium woolly wether lambs rea1 lised 24s 9d to 26s 6d; medium shorn wether lambs 25s lOd; medium' shorn ewe lambs 32s 9d and small 22s 6d; small Down-cross lambs brought 28s. - ' Values for five and six-year in-lamb ewes ranged from 27s 3d to'33s, The iuquiry for fattening ewes was strong,' particularly for sheep in forward order, prices for good lines varying from 26s ld to 27s 10, with inferior at 15s ld. The wether sale topped at 42s 6d, while other good wethers brought 41s 9d, with lighter at 38s. Ewe values were. slightly easier in the fat sheep market,. but wethers and lambs held their own at schedule rates. The quality was not outstanding in an average sized yarding and there was a . shortage of younger ewes. Prime aged ewes z*ealised 30s lOd to 32s lOd, with others at 28s ld to 29s 4d; prime Southdown ewes made 28s 4d to 31s lOd; • medLum quality young ewes changed hands at 34s 4d. Eor heavy wethers butchers paid 41s 4d to 45s lOd; medium weights briuging 37s ld to 40s. Prime heavy lambs were traded at 39s lOd to 45a lOd, with others at 34s 7d to 37s 10d, and light at 28s lOd to 31s 7d. j Values for store cattle were easier,1 and 'the auctioueers found it more dillicult to extract bids from the moderate attendanee of buyers with the result that a uumber of pens, most of them dealers' cattle, failed to reaeh the reserve. Several lines of good buflocks were featured in a yarding of 340 head and those sold made £15 12s 6d to £17 19s; 30-months steers were . traded at £14 3s; 18-months steers at £7 16s to ' £11; empty cows at £9 7s 6d; and 18-months heifers at £9 6s. , ' Offered a short yarding of 94 head buyers provided keen competition in' the beef market and values lifted slightly from last week. Heavy cows and heifers were in- short supp.ly, but quality was offering in the; ox entry.. A "consi'gnment of 20 wejl-fittished " blacks sold from £22 8s 6d to £24' 8s 6d;- a single heifer realised £16 8s Od, and the top value for cows was £15 18s 6d. Prime heavy ox sold at £22 18s 6d to £24 8s 6d; medium weights going at £22 8s 6d to £22 13s 6d. Well-finished steers made to £16 11s. Prime heavy, j cows changed hands at £14 ls to £15 18s 6d; with medium weights at £11 8s, 6d to £11 lSs 6d; and light and unfinished at £7 8s 6d to £10 11s. Prime heifers realised £15 11s to £16 8s 6d; quality £12 18s 6d to £13 18s 6d; and light £8 18s 6d to £10 18s 6d. Heavy' vealers made to £7 10s. and others were, traded at £3 5s to £4 5s. f