While the dry weather has been challenging in what is described as one of the most difficult seasons in 30 years, farmers reaped the benefit of managing their lambs through until the annual on-farm lamb sales.
Rain over the Christmas-New Year period has been the saving grace.
“This would have to be one of the most trying seasons in 30 years, it’s only turned around in the past two to three weeks and all credit to the farmers who have managed to bring these lambs to sale in the condition they have,” PGG Wrightson livestock manager Joe Higgins said.
“It’s been very challenging, and we appreciate the way these lambs have come to condition in the trying conditions of this season.”
The Mackenzie on-farm run sold lambs at The Grampians, Streamlands, Maryburn and Simon’s Hill stations.
While the rain arrived too late, The Grampians farm manager Lindsay Paton and owners the Hope Family, who have farmed The Grampians since 1914, were satisfied they achieved the best they could.
“It’s been a very strange and difficult season but while less than an average sale, under the circumstances, we have to be happy with the result,” Henry Hope said.
“I’m pleased with the way the lambs came in, it was so dry November and December, it was very difficult,” Paton added.
Farm manager Joe White says because of the dry Streamlands, lambs were put out earlier this year.
“We just had to, we couldn’t see our way clear to keep them on into March,” White said.
“It’s been a positive sale, I’m pretty happy.
The market on the day, at all four sales, fetched above $3/kg, up 20 cents or more on pre-Christmas sales.
“These lambs will go well on the green clover of the Canterbury pastures where the majority of the lambs were headed,” Higgins said.
On-farm lamb sales in North Otago also reflected the 150-200ml of rain over the New Year period, livestock agent Gerard Shea said.
The Nicholson sale was a strong sale, despite one of the tougher springs many farmers have ever been through.
The tops of the run fetched $111 with smaller lambs down to $50, but all 2200 lambs sold averaged $3/kg and were up 20-30c on pre-Christmas values.
“The lambs were good considering the season they have come through, the agents and the vendors were happy,” Shea said.
At Surrey Hills in the Ashburton high country, one of the best yardings ever of the annual sale went under the hammer on Thursday, PGW livestock area manager Greg Cook said.
A total 5500 Romney, black face and Suffolk-cross lambs were offered, with male lambs selling from $93-$148 and ewe lambs $91-$131, with a sale average of $106.75 at $3.20/kg.
“It was a very pleasing sale overall, the big difference being we didn’t see the massive premium for the ewe lambs as we did last year,” Cooke said.
“The buyer gallery was pretty much all regular buyers back for what they know are good quality, well-bred lambs, with the bulk of them going on to the Canterbury Plains pastures.”
