Service bull sale at Huntly
Autumn calving farmers from around New Zealand are expected to attend a service bull sale on the outskirts of Huntly in early May - some in person, but most online.
HANGAWERA STATION, part of Tainui Group Holdings, held its annual bull sale in early October.
The sale was held on the station at Tauhei, Waikato, and resulted in a clearance of the 152 bulls presented.
“There were eight bulls passed in, but I sold them the next day above the reserve and they all went to Kerikeri,” rural operations manager of the Tainui Group and station manager Ian Mathieson told Rural News.
Animals went as far north as Kaikohe, to Te Kuiti and Taupo in the south, and to Bay of Plenty. Most buyers were dairy farmers.
The sale was held in wet, windy weather but this did not deter buyers. Free food and hot drinks were offered and this year a professional chef, Sarah Higgie, ran a barbeque all day.
Selling agents were RD1 Livestock and PGG Wrightson.
Prices: 65 head of 24-30 month bulls averaged $2250; and 87 head of 18 month bulls averaged $1810. Both averages were up on 2013 sale figures.
“It was a good sale in spite of the weather and pay-out forecast and farmers realise the premium that Polled Hereford calves can get next spring,” Mathieson says.
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…
OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…