Central Livestock auctioneer Shane Scott, from Taupō, cleared large numbers of ewes, lambs and steers for Puketoro Station, East Cape.
Hot weather and dusty sale yards have been featuring in January, along with good clearances and high prices in the North Island.
Buyers from a wide catchment, including Hawke’s Bay, Taupō, Wairarapa, Waikato and Northland made their way to inland Tokomaru Bay, East Cape to join local farmers bidding for sheep and cattle on Puketoro Station.
The sixth annual on-farm sale kicked off the month for agents and transporters and prices met or exceeded expectations for vendor McNeil Farming.
Central Livestock auctioneer Shane Scott said 6800 sheep and 900 cattle were offered and everything was sold.
Bidding was brisk for the sheep and continued strongly for the cattle, he said.
Romdale, Coopdale and Perendale two-tooth ewes averaged $254 for more than 2800 sold, with a top price of $272.
Values were about $50 ahead of last year, when sheep were lighter because of lack of rainfall.
Some 1600 older ewes averaged $214, four-tooth ewes were $253 and six-tooth $240.
Nearly 1900 Romdale cryptorchid lambs were sold at an average of $106, with the top line at $122, well ahead of last year’s $82-$96.
Liveweight values this year were around $3.75-$3.80/kg.
The steers were all 15 months old, mainly Angus with some crosses, and the heaviest, average 445kg LW, made $1420 or $3.19/kg.
Lighter pens, 305-370kg, sold around $1100 to $1200, or $3.30-$3.40/kg.
These values were about 20-30c ahead of last year and comparable to the year before.
A few days earlier, on a very hot Wednesday, January 5, sale yards at Te Kuiti held approximately 800 bullocks, most of which were sold at prices over $3/kg liveweight.
Angus 30-month steers weighing over 700kg topped the sale at $2250/head and $3.09.
Lighter ones of the same age and type, approximately 100kg less, were just under $2000 and $3.17/kg on the scales.
Angus/Hereford, South Devon, Hereford and Charolais bullocks in the mid to high 600kg LW range were $3 to $3.10.
Top of the prices/kg was $3.19 for Friesian Angus-cross steers at 597kg and $1910/head.
Up to $5/kg was paid for Hereford Friesian-cross weaner bulls through the pen at Frankton last Thursday.
The top end of the weaner heifers, including some Speckle Park crosses, was in the range $3.60 to $3.90.
