Determining whether recent in-lamb ewe sales have been a success is heavily dependent on perspective.
Comparing returns to last year is the most obvious approach, and if this is the direction you take it makes for some potentially disappointing reading.
This time last year it was obvious that there was going to be some downturn in mutton and lamb, but the extent of that may not have been clear to many. A tough 12 months on, and with expectations of a slow climb to more realistic returns, the budgets of buyers have been checked this time around.
If you were to take a more positive view of the situation, a clearance of ewes for breeding rather than processing is a good result.
The first week of July ticked off a few ewe sales, either as standalone ewe fairs or as part of regular store sales. Agents at Temuka had a job on their hands with over 11,000 ewes entered in their special in-lamb ewe fair.
PGG Wrightson agent Rod Sands attributed this to two factors. This fair has transformed into a South Island-wide sale, so ewe numbers have been concentrated in these yards and buyers also covered a large geographical area.
There have also been a significant number of lease expiries and farm sales, which contributed to the 6000-head of capital stock ewes offered at the start of the sale. Returns for these were spread as the tough season created some variation in condition but most made $120-$135 and spiked at $150 for Perendale, in-lamb for Suftex and Beltex rams at 168%.
Due to this, demand flowed through to mixed-age lines and “ewes in better condition, with higher scanning percentages and due to lamb from mid to late August sold to a premium”, said Sands.
Those that fit the bill often earned $130-$150 and on one occasion reached $196 for a young Coopdale ewe, 214% to Suffolk and Beltex. While a full clearance of ewes for breeding was a good result, Sands highlighted that the top tier at the January 31 ewe fair realised a similar range of $144-$160.
There were many similarities between the Temuka ewe fair and the recent Feilding store sheep sale, when 2600 ewes were offered. Ewe numbers helped push the total tally over 26,000-head and created the largest yarding at Feilding since May 2014.
Demand for ewes was good too and there was a significant number of buyers after top-up lines. Local PGG Wrightson agent Tony Gallen said that “vendors of this sale got lucky with the spike in demand and the ewes sold excessively well considering the current climate for mutton and lamb”.
Once again, condition and scanning percentages varied and those that were more favourable traded from $140 and up to $161 for 5- to 6-year Romney, in-lamb to Suffolk at 183%. Mixed-age Perendale from Saddle Hill were predominantly 2-tooth and in medium condition. These were scanned at 150% and made $101-$103.
That same week, the Stortford Lodge store sheep sale also boasted large numbers. It was the largest store lamb yarding at the yards since mid-July 2021and the addition of 1800 in-lamb ewes took the total to 12,972-head.
Being early country, all ram dates ranged from the end of February to early March and all ewes had been scanned. Adding to local buyers, extra competition came from King Country and Waikato.
The highlight of the sale were capital stock ewes from central Hawke’s Bay, which were in good condition and scanned at 171%-179% to Poll Dorset and blackface rams. These made $142-$152. Another tidy line, 2-tooth Romney in-lamb to Romney at 159%, collected $146.
There is no doubting that returns are back on last year. At Temuka, Sands put the difference at $40-$50 based on regular annual draft lines. The tough season also increased the discount seen for unscanned lines.
Comparing Feilding results with the same sale last year, the drop in returns sat in the $30-$40 range and the same for Stortford Lodge. Looking at the situation with a glass-half-full approach, it could have been a lot worse. Supply was high but there was enough demand to keep processors at bay, just with an adjusted budget.
