Close to 1300 cattle were on sale at the Martinborough and Masterton spring cattle fair on Wednesday. PHOTO/GIANINA SCHWANECKE
‘Good year for grass’ brings out range of buyers
GIANINA SCHWANECKE
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Farmers would have been pleased with the prices their cattle fetched at the Martinborough and Masterton Spring Cattle Fair on Wednesday as buyers from all around the country flocked in.
Of the close to 1300 cattle on offer at the Masterton stockyards the highest bid came in for some two-year-old steers, purchased for $1810 each.
PGG Wrightson Wairarapa area livestock manager Steve Wilkinson said he was pleased with the sale results.
“It was a very good day,” he said, adding that the sales results and quality of cattle were the result of a good grass year.
“We had a quality line-up of cattle with good interest from people in Wairarapa and the lower North Island.
“People always travel to get their hands on Wairarapa cattle,” he said.
Colin Campbell from Gladstone said he had been impressed by the quality of cattle on offer.
“The quality is pretty good; you would expect so seeing as it’s been such a good year for grass.”
He noted that there were also quite a few buyers from outside the district.
Angus Gilbertson was one of those who had made the trip from Feilding in Manawatu – there were also buyers from the Whanganui district.
“I’m looking for some well-bred heifers,” he said.
“There’s plenty of grass and the cattle are looking good.”
Once he’d found what he was looking for, Gilbertson planned on “putting them to a bull”.
Others looking at the stock included lifestylers, sheep and beef farmers, and the odd breeder or two.
Wainuioru sheep and beef farmer Guy Williams was there to look at what was on offer but walked away empty-handed.
“There were some nice-looking cattle though,” he said.
Dion Kilmister from Bideford was there to check out a few of the Speckle Park breeds – he breeds his own heifers which are processed at his butchery in Masterton, Homegrown Butcher, Deli and Pantry.
“They’re still a growing breed,” he said.
“[The market] seems pretty buoyant and [there’s] plenty of confidence.”
Father and son Tim and Bill Druzianic, farming out of Greytown, were happy with the price they paid for the head of cattle they bought.
