While areas had had much needed rain the temperature was almost balmy, which was a relief though highly unusual for this time of year.
This seems to be the game Mother Nature is playing though, pulling all sorts of tricks out of her hat, leaving northern and western areas up to their elbows in mud, East Coast and southern North Island people holding onto fence posts in gale force winds and Southland in deep, deep snow.
The changeable weather has played its part at store markets around the country and, like the weather, results have been very mixed.
We are traditionally heading into the quietest time of the year for saleyards – store cattle markets are already trading at winter levels and would expect to stay that way for the next few weeks.
Quality lines are still hot property though, given that at this time of year they are hard to find. However, heavier cattle in northern and western areas leave too much of a hoof print on sodden pastures and focus for many buyers has shifted to the younger, lighter cattle.
A lack of quality feed to finish lambs in some areas has seen store lamb numbers hold up when they would traditionally start dropping off.
Feilding continues to offer upwards of 15,000 head most weeks while Stortford Lodge has had a consistent July with 6000 offered most weeks. Southland lambs have been appearing at Temuka and coupled with lambs from the Chatham Islands, numbers have also held up.
Despite the larger than usual throughput levels, prices have held, especially in the South Island where a general lack of stock to graze is keeping the pressure on.
Prime markets are generally very quiet and none more so than Stortford Lodge last Monday where the advertised cattle were cancelled, leaving pens empty.
