LIVE-STOCK MARKET REVIEW

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 153, 16 July 1937, Page 8

LIVE-STOCK MARKET REVIEW

Stortford and Waipukural Saies STORE-SHEEP VALUES Yendors had nothing to complain about at Wednesday's market at Stortford Lodge, when all sections sliowed changes in price levels in .their favour. At Waipukurau the day previous the market for fat skeep had fallen ilat. With no competition, auctioneers frequently were obliged to put in overtime on solitary bids. Considerable interest was taken in ihe selling of the storo sheep, whieh in -view of the anxious timo that farmers are now passing through greatly exceeded all expectations. Wednesday's selling sliowed that conhdence was on the ebb tide. Wethers took pride of place in the yarding. These high-country sheep were in fresh, hardy condition and, judging by the competition they met with. there are still a few farmers whose pastures are still holding out. Mr. Osard Nelson' s draft ■ of 500 wethers off his "Airhill" property were an attractive line. Never fed on anything but dantlionia they were in firstclass store condition, and on lower country they will afford a good field for the fat buyer who likes to be able to make a clean sweep when he has "a pick." The high-country sheep continue to show up in sharp contrast to many of the lines off the fiats, showing definitely better breeding and heing sounder in constitution and chisselmouthed. . This has been particularly noticeable with six-year-old breeding ewes from the Puketitiri and Patoka districts, whick have shown up as fresh full-mouthed. A feature of this week's selling. has been that the .up ward trend in values for hoggets has remained unchanged. Now that the shortest day is past, the critical peiiod for the rearing of these growing sheep is passed. Mr. H. C. Simmons, of Mangatahi, topped the market with a nice line of shorn Romuey wether hoggets which were as big- i grown as a line of two-tooths in an* adjoining pen. A line of woolly sorts, medium grown, was a striking illustration of how well backward lambs come away on a dairy farm. Hoggets in "HospitaL" The "hospital" paddocks ou a number of station properties have been well laxed of late wi'th hoggets in vory poor condition. Oue farmer remarked that during the last three months his drench gun had had not a chance to cool off. Many of the breeding ewes on Wednesday told the story of a hard winter. The last three weeks havd seen many fall away a good deal in condition. " I don't know whether I can hang on," remarked oue farmer who has a repictation for the splendid condition of his breeding ewes. "This season is giving us a very hard iow to hoe. I have never seen my country looking so bare or so hard." , The appearance of ante-partum paralysis referred to last week has unfortunately become more widespread among the pregnant ewes where properties are heavily stocked. Sound advdce as to the preventive means against this malady by the Live-Stock Division at Hastings appeared in the Herald-Tribune last night. The diffieulty for most farmers, liowever, is the absence of succulent cfeed due in a measure to the failure of barley crops for green-feed failing to come away through the dry weather. "We always have a few old staeks of hay on hand, but I doubt very mueh if what we have are going to hold out. If we don't have an early spring, the position 'will be disastrous," said ono farmer yesterday. Mangolds are now at a premium and at 27/6 a ton make expensive feeding. The diffieulty, however, is not the prico so much as the shortage of supplies. At Pakowhai ds a paddock with a big portion o.f a heavy crop still in the ground. As they required. to be pulled for at least six weeks before feeding, they will not be a great deal of use for sheep this season. Feeding them out too soon after pulling renders stock liable to mangold poisoning. Some farmers are inclined to ridieule Ais, but otliere have Tealised it to theiicost. Improved Fat Selection. Fat sheep on Wcdnesday ccrtaiuly provided butchers with a muchlmproved selection of quality. Wethers were again in good supply. The tops out of the "Oakbourne" Station draft wero in splenddd.order and sold readily. A butcher who had, the previous week, purchased Mr D, J. Holden's draft of two-tooth wethers off his Mangateretere property stated that he had never seen 'sheep hang up in finer condition. They represented some of the choicest quality mutton that it is possible to produce, Housewives in Hastings have been afforded, in these wethers, something exceptional an young mutton. Mr E. H. Beamish, "Kohatimnl," yarded four pens of extra-prime ewes which appeared to have been fat for a considerable time. His pen of maiden six-tooths was another of the quality that unfortunately constitutos only a very small perccntago of the yardiugs. In contrast wero some ewes which made 17/-, the bost part of them being tlio skins. As a mutton proposition they were just killable and certainly inferior. The pens of fat cattle on Wednesday were a great improvemont on those penned last week. The heavy bulloc'lcs were the best yarded for several weeks, and for winter beef they met butchers' requirements. The best quality p^as in the medium weights, which wero not nearly so heavy in bone. Among the unfinished pens were several in store condition which had gone back because of the shortage of feed. The summer will be well in hand before most of them will be killable.