Dannevirke-based PGG livestock agent Dean Lindsay said he knew of some big Hawke’s Bay finishers who were concerned how and where they were going to source store stock in the future if more traditional sheep and beef farms go into trees.
One farmer he spoke to, who buys in around 50,000 lambs a year, was uneasy at the prospect of fewer sources of store lambs coming onto the market, creating increased competition, which will drive prices up.
The number of sheep and beef farms in Wairarapa, Tararua and around Wairoa being sold with an eye to forestry conversion is a significant topic of discussion among livestock farmers, Lindsay said.
“It’s really starting to add up and it is a concern.”
Lindsay, who was involved in the auction of 600 two-tooth Romney ewes and 841 4-year-old Romney ewes at the Dannevirke winter fair last Thursday after the sale of the Tuscan Hills property, near Pahiatua, for conversion into forestry, said many farmers are frustrated at seeing what is very good farmland going into trees.
The subsidies available to overseas investors that encourage conversion of farmland into forestry mean livestock farmers cannot compete with them in terms of price, he said.
It was sad to think that well-performing properties such as Oporae Station, about 40km southeast of Dannevirke, and Te Rimu Station, southwest of Pongaroa, both of which had sold recently, are among those that will be going into trees.
Also for sale at the Dannevirke fair were about 3100 Romney ewes from Houkura Farms, although that property is not going into forestry.
Lindsay said the bulk of the ewes sold at Dannevirke went to Manawatu, with the rest going to Wairarapa or staying in Tararua.
He was happy with the sale, despite heavy rain keeping some buyers away and meaning the stock did not look as good as it could have.
A line of 350 Tusan Hills two-tooths went for $214 a head, with another 118 going for $208 a head. The 4-year-olds went for $190-$191.
The Houkura ewes averaged $188 across the whole line, with the top two-tooths attracting $205 for a line of just over 300.
