Two big events on the new season lamb calendar are the Annandale and Sinai on-farm lamb sales and while both have been held on their usual days, they could not have come at a better time as both farms are in alarmingly dry areas.
Annandale is situated on Banks Peninsula, which is one of the driest areas in the country at present. In its 15th year, this sale of around 1700 terminal-cross lambs is always targeted by repeat buyers and Southland was a big support, PGG Wrightson agent Stu Uren reports.
“We knew, going into this sale, prices would be well back on last year. Banks Peninsula has missed out on any decent rain since autumn and so lamb weights were down but combined with lower meat schedules and no grass-driven demand, expectations were not high,” he said.
“But the repeat buyers from Southland were present and at the end of the day everyone was pleased with the results.”
The top pen of 89 prime terminal-cross mixed-sex achieved $121. The store lambs were sex drafted and most sold for $69-$97, which was in line with recent results at sale yards.
Sinai on-farm lamb sale in Oxford was also well-supported by Southland buyers, as well as mid-Canterbury, Hazlett general manager Ed Marfell reports.
The combined Hazlett and Rural Livestock-hosted sale featured 3000 store and prime lambs and sold to expectations, but the standout was the 2200 cast-for-age ewes.
“Timing of these ewes hitting the market was ideal as the hogget season winds down, but a few cold weeks has meant that new season lambs are taking longer to head to the processors,” Marfell said.
The ewes sold in two main lines at $169-$190 with a sale average of $177. The best of the terminal-cross lambs reached $165 with most of the offerings selling for $82-$165 at a sale average of $108.
