The Temuka adult ewe fair on Wednesday showed plenty of confidence in the industry, with good prices achieved despite selective buying.
“Prices were good, pretty much as expected, but buyers were selective with the market up-and-down, pen-to-pen,” PGG Wrighston agent Kevin Rowe said.
“Good quality, heavy ewes sold well but it would be fair to say medium to light ewes struggled but everything found homes with sellers happy with what they got and buyers happy with what they had to pay.”
In a commercial sheep sale record-setting bid, $515 was the extraordinarily high of the day paid for a line of 47 mixed-aged Romney capital stock stud ewes.
Usually on the receiving end, topping the sale with his Border Romneys at the annual two-tooth ewe fair, Peel Forest farmer Bruce McDonald had his mind set on the Romney ewes offered from the Donaldson Romney Stud.
“I wanted the bloodlines; I buy their rams, I like breeding sheep. I’ll breed the odd ram now, but I’m not planning on going into the stud business,” McDonald said.
The 72-year-old seasoned sheep farmer has no plan to hang up his shepherd’s crook just yet.
“I usually top the two-tooth fair price but only came second last week, so I have a wee challenge there to get back on top,” he said.
Auctioneer Rod Sands says the bidding on one of the last pens of the day will be a talking point, but not reflective of the overall sale.
“If sold at a stud sale you could expect to see this price, but we’ve not seen a price like that before at a commercial ewe fair,” Sands said.
In a yarding of 12,000 ewes, of which half were capital stock ewes, the genuine high of the day was $230 paid for a line of one-shear Perendale ewes, bought by sheep farming newcomer Alex Keir.
A builder by trade but hailing from a farming background in Southland, Keir never thought he would be able to own a farm.
“I’ve always had a passion for sheep, but I didn’t think I would be able to buy a farm, so I got into building and into farming that way now.”
With the purchase of land on Banks Peninsula, Alex and wife Wendy are now building a sheep flock.
“These are good hardy Perendales; it’s hard country and I need something that is going to perform, these are hard to beat,” he said.
He is confident there are plenty of good times to come in sheep farming, and says “I would have bought more if I had more grass”.
Geraldine young farmer Patrick Mulvihill is optimistic sheep will always be a good farming option.
Running a breeding flock of 2400 ewes, Mulvihill was offering a line of four-year Romneys at the sale.
“There is still demand for good quality sheep and there’s still a good future in sheep,” Mulvihill said.
“The next couple of years will be tough, but once the world comes right things will pick up – we will need consistency and stability through the market to keep giving confidence.”
Of more concern to farmers than the returns from sheep is the cost of compliance, regulation, freshwater reforms and climate change policies, South Canterbury Feds meat and wool chair Greg Anderson said.
“We have some real challenges ahead with regulations,” he said.
Anderson has sold his farm and offered his 2600 capital stock Perendale ewes at the ewe fair but, he says, his passion for sheep will never wane.
“Sheep farmers will keep doing what they do. I have had sheep all my life, they have been good to me and I have complete faith in sheep,” he said.
“New Zealand farmers are the best in the world and very adaptable, and will keep facing the challenges.”
In his 40 years of sheep farming, David Bennett has been through the highs and the lows, he knows a good sheep when he sees one and he says sheep farming will always be for him.
Buying a line of Coopworth Texel three-shear ewes at $220 reinforced his view that ewes and lambs are a good option.
“It’s a huge investment buying good ewes like these, but in our type of mixed livestock and cropping farming, sheep are a good part of what we do, always have been and always will be,” Bennett said.
“In our situation, a ewe and lamb is profitable and I see a good future still in sheep.
“Lambing percentage and the weight of the lamb you can sell will continue to be the driving factors of a good revenue returning sheep flock.”
Bids reflect steady market
There's still buoyancy in the sheep market and steady, strong bidding reflected in the prices of well-bred sheep that were well sought-after at the annual Temuka adult ewe fair.
Good quality lines of capital Perendale stock fetched up to $230 with various ages making $168-$225. Coopdales sold from $152-$220.
Mixed-age ewes made $122-$200 with some smaller pens of Border Leicester-Romneys selling up to $230.
In the annual draft pens, heavier five-year ewes earned $170-$185 with medium pens $150-$162.
Fine wool half-breeds sold from $166-$181 and five-year Corriedales $122-141.
