Beef calves held back
YESTERDAY'S Pig and Calf sale in Warwick was once again bereft of straight beef calves, with producers holding them back due to the continued good weather conditions and plentiful supply of feed.
McDougall and Sons auctioneer David ‘Skip' McIvor said the dairy calf market was “solid” on last week's prices, with good competition for the calves on offer.
“We'd like to be able to put up some grass eater-type beef calves but there is just simply no supply at the moment as people are leaving them in the paddock,” Mr McIvor said.
“Of the calves there, the beef rearer calves sold to a top of $142 and were from a mixture of Hereford, Simmental and Angus bulls.
“Heavy dairy calves sold up to $106 a head, while light dairy calves fetched between $20 and $50.”
Mr McIvor said yesterday's pig market was also similar to last week's price-wise, with a small yarding of about 50.
He said one pen of good light baconers sold for $224 each, while light pork sold from $107 to $115.
Grower pigs in the 10 weeks to three months of age category sold up to $128, while store pigs from six to eight weeks sold to a top of $74.
