Plants were working overtime and on Saturdays and livestock backlogs were starting to build-up.
“Two weeks ago I would have said the season was slow but now it’s up to normal,’’ Anzco Foods general manager of agriculture and livestock Grant Bunting said.
“It usually happens about now.”
However, the change had been sudden and three to four weeks ago farmers who usually had a weaning draft were contemplating finishing lambs themselves.
There was feed still in all areas but at the stage where farmers wanted to protect what they had.
There was more inquiry for bull and prime cattle space than just a week earlier but now was when that season typically kicked into gear.
Dry conditions were widespread, even extending into Southland, Alliance livestock and shareholder services general manager Heather Stacy said.
With poor spring conditions in some areas the quite sudden drying-out could mean some lambs being killed lighter than farmers and processors wanted.
The stock flow was for both lambs and beef cattle and part of the backlog was because big cattle animals were coming off farms in greater numbers as pastures dried, NZX Agri analyst Rachel Agnew said.
Schedule prices were largely maintaining their historically elevated levels though Agnew expected a gradual but steady fall in the beef schedule with the United States imported beef market already coming back in price in response to the build-up in supply.
Lamb prices had come off their top but had been very high with schedules well above $7/kg. They remained very solid.
Agnew was confident of prices in the $6.50/kg to $7/kg range till Christmas and noted some processors had minimum price contracts for $6.50/kg into January and February.
So far the slippage from the $7-plus level had been in the 5c/kg to 10c/kg range but that could move to 10c to 20c increments if dry weather kicked in further over the next few weeks, Bunting said.
There was a lot of inquiry for space for heavier lambs but the time was also getting critical for mutton because there wasn’t much feed left for ewes.
The companies processed the lambs first, meaning a waiting list for ewes.
He agreed with Stacy that lambs were lighter in some areas and said companies were trying not to contemplate weights down to the 14kg level, where the value discounting started.
“We don’t want to think about that yet but if there’s no grazing in a week or two farmers mightn’t have a choice.
“At the moment there are enough early season lambs ready and we’re focusing on those.”
Stacy said the supply level coincided with a return to a frozen lamb focus after the completion of the European and United Kingdom chilled Christmas orders, which also caused an easing of the schedule.
However, the return to business after the Christmas-New year break would bring on the demand for chilled lamb to meet the UK Easter market, falling next year at the end of March, a couple of weeks earlier than this year.
That would help farmer returns and they would also be helped by the fact that whatever lamb volumes came in there would be a good market.
Co-operative Alliance was prioritising processing space for shareholders, particularly those on the status programmes who provided all their stock to the company.
Alliance didn’t operate between Christmas and New Year but Bunting said some companies would be working out whether to do so if there was no rain in the meantime, given that the hooks were full and there was just a couple of weeks till then.
There had been some big yardings of store lambs but prices had held in the $3/kg to $3.30/kg range in the South Island, Agnew said in her latest Livestock Insight.
Prices had been mixed in the North Island. Some lambs struggled to get $2.80/kg but in other areas were still at the $3.10 to $3.30 mark.
Bunting said there would be a store lamb quandary for farmers if the dry weather continued.
Usually, North Island and North Canterbury lambs found a good market in the southern South Island but this year that area was dry as well.
If the market became too heavily discounted as a result, with prices falling towards $2.50/kg, farmers with lambs not quite at prime level might have to look at the option of taking their chances there anyway.
