More than 50,000 cattle and 450,000 sheep are auctioned off annually at the Feilding saleyards. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
The cries of 'bid' keep coming from livestock agents, as the prices called out by the auctioneer continue to rise.
They carefully watch the crowd of farmers and onlookers for the subtle signs of someone wanting to buy, no matter the cost.
'Sold' comes the cry and with a clap of a clipboard, the deal is done and it's onto the next pen of sheep for sale.
"Good ewes, good lambs, but boy, that's big money," Eric Linklater tells Country Life.
He's given tours of the Feilding saleyards each Friday for more than 20 years, but he hasn't seen prices like this in a long time.
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Both PGG Wrightson and Carrfields operate out of the saleyards. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
There's good money in sheep these days. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
A range of cattle breeds are represented at the auction. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
Located in the heart of the Manawatū town, the saleyards have a long history in the district.
They're also the largest in the country, servicing farmers from all over - Linklater's seen stock from Hokitika, cattle from D'Urville Island and the former farmer's even bought sheep from Tokoroa.
"They cover a huge distance."
It all started back in 1880, he explains, as the tour starts near the entrance to the yards.
"A pen of cattle were sold behind the Denbigh Hotel. Well, the Denbigh Hotel's still here and still selling cattle.
"They were the second set of saleyards in Feilding and, by 1920 or so, there were 2829 sets of saleyards in the district. Of course, the drover and his dogs were the important method of transport between the yards.
"Nowadays, there are the trucks carrying over 1000 lambs and 400 ewes, we suddenly find that the yards have concentrated more on this area and all the minor yards in the smaller areas have gone."
Top sheep at today's auction fetch $226 a head. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
The yards have 350 sheep pens, 140 cattle pens and 45 deer pens, and more than 50,000 cattle and 450,000 sheep are sold here each year, through teams from PGG Wrightson and Carrfields.
Prime stock is sold at weekly sales on Mondays and store stock on Fridays, the day Country Life pays a visit.
Linklater says prices at the moment are "very strong", with the yards turning over more than $2 million dollars each week.
"[PGG Wrightson], for example, used to shout their auctioneers every time they hit the three million mark at one sale, but they don't do it now, because they hit it too often."
Eric Linklater is one of several retired Feilding farmers that now shares his insights through tours of the local saleyards. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
Linklater started the tours 20 years ago to help foster connections between urban and rural New Zealand. These days. his clients are increasingly international.
Open to the public, the saleyards also attract plenty of local onlookers.
The tour kicks off at the sheep pens just after 11am. By now, most farmers have been through to have a look at what's on offer.
It's a social event as much as a business one, Linklater says, as he deftly weaves his way through the crowds of chatting farmers and visitors, wandering dogs and even a few runaway sheep.
"At this time of year, of course, you're starting to see the tail-end of the sheep, because farmers are flat out lambing and most of the lambs have already been sold.
With so few lambs about, prices are higher - a classic tale of supply and demand, he says. The top lambs at today's sale will fetch $226 a head.
"Broadly speaking, they're paying something like $10 a kilo on the hooks and they'd be sort of 4550 kilo lambs, so you're talking about $250 on the hooks."
Dry conditions in Manawatū have seen an increase in sales of ewes with lambs underfoot like these ones. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
There's plenty of action, with the odd runaway sheep. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
It's a similar story in the cattle market where prices average about $1700 a head with a maximum price of $3590.
It makes for a tough time being a buyer like local Feilding farmer Alan McLeod who came to the yards looking for rising two-year-old steers and heifers to fatten and finish on his property.
"It's frightening buying," he tells Country Life.
"You just got to face the market. Yeah, everybody's going to have grass. We're quite dry, Manawatū is dry, and we're right on the verge of the spring boost."
Dry conditions in Manawatū have seen an increase in sales of ewes with lambs underfoot like these ones. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
From the saleyards, the livestock are swiftly loaded back onto the waiting stock trucks and carted off. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
The sales have also brought out-of-towners like Vic Caskey from Taranaki, also in the market for two-year-old steers and "something to grow".
"There's not much going on at Taranaki at the moment, so [we] have to go further afield.
"[It's] very expensive, but if you get the right ones, the margins are still there, as long as you work out what you can sell them for, so you know your margins are safe or safe-ish is all you can do."
Learn more:
- You can learn more about the tours here.
