LOCAL STOCK SALES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 26 November 1927, Page 12

LOCAL STOCK SALES

WEEK'S REVIEW AND FORECASTS. (By "Sundowner.”) The abundance of feed available throughout Hawke’s Bay just now is having its effect on the fat stock offered through our local salevards. There are few unfinished cattle or sheep being yarded just now, and indeed much ,of the stock has a tendency toward overweights, which, though a mistake, is a mistake in the right direction. At Waipukurau on Tuesday lost some excellent light-prime bullocks came forward from Mt. Vernon, these selling at £ll 15/-. while prime cows, of which there was a fair supply, sold at £7 15/- to £7 17/6. Stortford prices for fat cattle were in advance of these figures for fat cows, largely because of an unusually good demand by local butchers. Here the prices for prime cows ranged from £7 10/to as high as £8 17/6. Medium finished cow's are worth from £6 to £7 and light small-bodied animals from £4 5/- t'o £5 5/-. light prime bullocks are worth about £lO 10'-, and light heifers about £4 10/- to £5 10/-. though few of the latter are coming forward STORE STATION CATTLE. There have been some ver. attractive lines of store cuttie yarded during the past week at both saleyards during the week. Among the outstanding lines at Waipukurau were 52 really first-class Polled Angus heifers, descrilied by the auctioneer as being two-year-olds; hut having a sort of three-year look about them Whatever their real age these were splendid cattle, but the owner refused to part with them at £6 and decided to also retain a further lot of 21, which showed Hereford cross m some instances, rather than part with them at-£5 10'-. A sizeable line of P.A.-H 16-months old females rather on the small side, sold at £4. while small mixed, size Hereford yearlings reached £3 17'-. Threeyear P.A.-H store steers in ordinal' store condition sold at £7 at Waipukurau, and good forward conditioned 3-year Herefords at £8 7/6 nt Stortford. Two or three-year s tco if decently bred are very much wanted at present, quite ordinary two-year-olds selling at £6 or thereabouts. nnd better stuff of the same age at up to £7 and over. Some very nice Hereford bulls bred by Sir Walter Buchanan were offered nt Waipukurau. but were not enthusiastically received, all lots being passed in at 11 guineas or'under. Several three-year Polled Angus bulls hred by Mr. J, A Macfarlane met with better fortune at Stortford, however, buyers being found for nil th© beasts at 15 guineas to 17 guineas. DAIRY’ CATTLE Dairy cattle offered through the local sales do not afford much of ii guide. to the values of this class of stock,’ as most of the animals are culls. A few better quality dnirv cows which are guaranteed are selling nt £5 5/- to £7 -s'-. and yearling heifers, £3 10/- to £4 12/6. FAT SHEEP. As we predicted m last week's report fat sheep conunne to harden in price. This week prime shorn ewes are bringing 19/2 to 21/2 for the same qualities which brought ib/t> to 20/3 last week, while quite a number of pens sold at 20/6 to 20/9. Medium quality ewes in the wool, sold at 25/-. Maiden shorn ewes fetcuvtf, lat Stortford. -22/6 to 23'6. while i medium quality shorn wethers were sold at 23/- to 25/- and woolly at 32/6. STORE SHEEP. No sheep whatever were yarded at Waipukurau on Tuesday, but at j Stortford there Was a slightly bigger yarding than for the past week ox two. Forward shorn wethers, though still finding a good market were not so freely sold as they were a week ago. Fat and forward 4-tooths, a really good line, sold’ at the good price of 25/-, but other attractive and well conditioned sheep of this age changed owners at from 23'6 to 24'4. Two and four-tooths, mixed, brought 21/6 to 23/6, while 2-tooths sold at from 19'9 to 21'6. All these sheep were either in good store or forward condition, some lines containing a few fats A fairly well-woolled line of unshorn ewes, whose only handicap was age. anti having at foot 100 per cent, of small to medium grown lamhs failed to get past 34/- under the hammer, while old and noor shorn ewes with poor, small lambs were also not wanted at over 16/-. An attractive line of two-tooth ewes found a buyer at 26/2. while aged shorn owes described as forward, brought 1 13/6 to 15/5. Only one line of starved looking small and unattractive m.s. hoggets were ottered, these being passed in at 22.'-. Apart from the sound tone of the wool sales, there is nothing at present to materially affect the store sheep market and while the present growth lasts we can look forward to a maintenance of present prices for ewes, a good demand for wetheys, especially two-tooths and keen coihpetition for nil classes of tat sheep except overweights.