LIVE STOCK VALUES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 2, 25 September 1937, Page 11

LIVE STOCK VALUES

■ »■#>» Review of the Hawke's Bay Markets FAT CATTLE EASIER Fat cattle back to more reasonable price levels, store cattle selling better than expectations, woolly hoggets selling better than ever and fat sheep showing a tendency to ease back o££ late peak' rates sums up this week's stock markets when much greatcr activity was displayed all round. The high rates for fat cattle ccruld not continuo without attracting a heavy yarding and the good market for storcs had given confidence to * those who had hitherto remained contented to fecl their way. The big yarding of fat cattle gavc the butchers reason for their sigh of relief, as. for the last few weeks supplj.es have been much below norinal requirements, with the result that values have been "ballooned," to the disadvantage of the retaiier. Sim.ply to keop his shop open has cost one buteher alone £100. Well over half of the 300 head penned came in by rail" from the Tutira, Wairoa, and Gisborne districts. The good quality pens wero augmented by the Paritu Station draft, on aecount of Messrs. Hair Eros., which again topped the market for botk cows and heifers. Without this offering, prime quality sorts would have been in short supply, and butchers would not have been ablo to have shown much discrimination. The greatest decline in values applied to the second quality pens whicli, in tlie ease of a further big yarding, give evidence of being considerably cheap'er. Wednesday's big offering gave butchers a chance to cateh np with their requirements and in future, for tmfinished lines, they are less likely to be in themarket. Unfinished, plain quality sorts are still much too dear and for those vendors will soon be obliged to aceept the old ruling rates from 17/- to ori/per 1001b. .; Heavy Pens Olieapesf. .» > . f Undoubtedly on the day .the heavy pens made the .best buying, - The Short-. liorn bullocks.offered on a9c.0unt.0f Mr. F. L: ' Tiff en, ' ' Elmshill, Elsthorpe, were better- than they lpoEed and theykilled (out well. . :Fpur .days,.pn tlie road. gave vthem an. enijpty . appearance^, Mr'. iRobert ,Hpr4jng's ..hullopks,' sold late in the, sale, which j topped. ,the.- niar-, ket at £15, ,made good .buying, These medium-framed bujloeks represented the last of a consignment ,sent down from - Raukawa during thc autumn to his fattening paddocks and wero samples of winter beef showing the dcsired quality. A big percentage of the .heifers offered were light, and would not , assume butehers' .quality until woll into the summer. The same applied to many of the . pens of :cows, and their . vendors were fortunate in getting in while the market is still good. The two big yardings of store cattle this week, which met with ready markets, showed that confidence has .retiirned in the trading now that feed conditions have improved. Local interests securing the bulk of the offerings shows that the province is a buying market just now and will continuo to bo for some time in order to rectify the position which was brought about by the dry spell. A feature of the selling has been the decided improvement in the last few weeks of breeding cows, which a short time ago were almost unsaleable. Tho Koponga draft, with calves at foot, which were in good order, wero really the first to test the market for the season. Several lines of steers and bullocks showed that they had wintercd surprisingly well and drafts in forward order were hardly to be expected. In from Tikokino, a- good . draft of young bulloeks which were disposed at £10 7/6 were in better order than a line offered last week which made 2/6 more. Some of the best three-year steers this week were in off the Puketapu hills. and in a finishing paddoek should readily be turned out as quality,l3eef- . I*ack of Quality. The two-year-olds lacked quality, being cliiefly down off high country, where they liave been utilised for scavenging. These, failed to make within 20/- of the better-grown lines offered a week ago. Two-year-olds rarely ' command tno keen selling that is in. evidence for yearliugs or three-year lines, with the rcsult that they frequcntly make the best buying. Ycarlings this week were not as woll grown as those offered during the last two weeks. Tho best wero in hardy order and showed good coats. Some of the entries nearly perished when weaned and their new owners will have tliem a wliile before they make a recovery, The greatly increased yar.ding of woolly hoggets on Wednesday did not find supplies exceeding the demands as they sold as well as ever, if not better. Tlie yarding included a wide range of quality and Showed that hoggets geaerally liad wintered well. Just what good feeding will do was shown in the exceptional draft offered on account of Mr. T. Guthrie, of Clive. Well bred and extra well grown, they were in cxcellent condition and at 33/6 cqualled ihe best hoggets in tho fat pens. Thi-s lino. will come off tho shears in splendid order, being some of the ehoicest young muttoii procurable in Tlawke's Bay. Several of the small-grown hoggets will not bo much good until the wool is off them and on present appearances they are not likely to be of mueh use as two-tootks. Some en tri.es of nicely-grown fat and forward .Down-cross hoggets brought the butchem out and they- kept tho

graziers well extended for this quality. The dirty order of some of the pens of hoggets was very noticeable and if vendors had given a little time in clearing them up, another 1/- a head would have been registered. Sound-mouthed eyes with forwaTd lambs at foot on present saies are a little dearer than last year and are ranging from 18/6 to 20/3, all counted. An -extra good entry of six-tooth " ewes with lambs at Waipukurau made the , remarkable figuie of. 23/-^ all counted.