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Otago Daily Times
27-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Leafland Simmental bull sale
About 80 people attended the 24th annual Leafland Simmental bull sale in North Taieri last week. Shawn McAvinue photographed some of the crowd inspecting the bulls before the auction.
Otago Daily Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Positive vibes ahead of field days
Registrations are open for the 2026 Southern Field Days in Waimumu. Shawn McAvinue talks to Southern Field Days chairman Steve Henderson, of Awarua, about the event in February next year. Q. How are you feeling about organising this event? We're pretty excited about this one because the last one [2024] was the first one back after Covid and we didn't know how it was going to go. The rural sector is looking pretty positive and the feedback we've got from exhibitors is they are looking forward to the Southern Field Days. On the site department, we've done a bit of maintenance on the site and trimmed trees, which once segregated five paddocks, so that's pretty exciting. Q. How many exhibitors did you have in 2024 and how many will you have next year? We were maxed out with 800 exhibitors in 2024 and we are expecting the same number next year because we're running out of room. Q. Have you outgrown Waimumu? I don't think we have outgrown Waimumu because if you continue to get bigger and bigger, you probably lose the feel and the reason as to why you're doing the field days. If we went to 1200 exhibitors, it's going to create a whole different feel for the event. You want it compact. It's a great site. It's got the AgriCentre, which is a huge asset. Going forward, we're just trying to create a better feel for the public and exhibitors within our site. Q. You said if you went bigger, you'd lose the reason as to why you're doing the Field Days. What is that reason? The reason we do it is to put on an event that showcases technology and the agricultural suppliers and to bring the community together. We're a real people's field days. The feedback we get is how friendly it is and how everybody bumps into their neighbour and bumps into someone they haven't seen since last field day so there's a heck of a social aspect for the Otago and Southland region. Q. And you think if you got too big, you'd lose that? Yeah, I think we would and we'd have to expand into an area that we don't own and right now, it's all freehold land that Southern Field Days owns. If you expand a bit bigger, you run the risk of leasing land and it not being there the next field day so I think it's better to keep what you've got and enhance it. Q. You haven't thought of holding the event over more than three days? It has always been on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and we've ummed and ahhed if you do the Saturday and yes, the committee could probably do another day but the exhibitors don't feel they will get the same bang-for-buck if they were there on a Saturday and we are quite different to the national field days. We're not driven to have a Saturday because a lot of the rural people come on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Q. What about the townies? You call them townies but Southland and Otago, at heart they're rural and they can get away and come one of those three days. Whereas, at Mystery Creek they draw quite a few from Hamilton and Auckland. Q. So there's no urban-rural divide in the South because everyone's rural? I reckon they've all got one link to rural. Q. Commodity prices have improved since the past field days. Do you think that'll translate to more sales? I think so. It's going to translate to a lot more positivity. If farmers have a good year this year and get to Christmas and they know they're heading in the right direction, I think it'll be a pretty buoyant few days because there hasn't been a lot of capital purchases over the last three or four years. It's just been, hunker down and do minimal repairs and maintenance. So, I think this coming February will be the time that people will start to replace capital equipment. Q. How are site bookings going? About three-quarters has sold so far. So we're looking like a sellout already, which is really positive. Q. Could some potential exhibitors miss out on a site? We're really good at squeezing people in. So not necessarily miss out, but they might miss out on the site that they really wanted and we work on a first paid, first served, basis. It's looking pretty ... positive. Q. Have you put up the site prices for exhibitors? No, we've kept all our site prices the same, as recognition of the loyalty the site-holders have to us. We know it's been tough out there for the last two years.
Otago Daily Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Black beauty the star of the show
A black Simmental bull sold for $42,000 in North Taieri last week. Shawn McAvinue talks to Leafland Simental owner Everd Strauss about the big bull living up to the hype, the rise of the breed, balancing farming with his day job and his retirement plans. A black Simmental bull is living up to his sale pitch as "the star of the show". Rising 2-year-old black Simmental bull Leafland 230039 sold for $42,000 at the 24th Leafland Simmental bull sale in North Taieri last week. The bull buyer was Tom Sanson, of Gold Creek Simmentals in Mātāwai, about 45km northwest of Gisborne. In the sale catalogue, the bull was billed as "the star of the show" due to his exceptional growth, eye muscle area, intramuscular fat and docility. The hererozygous polled bull is the progeny of sire Rissington Rocketman 200230 and dam Leafland 1614190110. Vendors Everd and Marie Strauss, who have been married for 50 years, established the Leafland Dr Strauss said $42,000 was the highest price paid for one of their bulls, eclipsing a previous best of $27,500. He was expecting Leafland 230039 to fetch a good price. "He is an exceptional bull." The bull had positive estimated breeding values (EBV) for traits including carcass weight, marbling score, rib eye area, weaning and yearling weight. The "phenomenal" bull had created a lot of interest in the industry. "He was spoken about a lot nationally because of his figures — it is not often you have a perfect bull with EBVs like that." The bull was very docile. "He pretends to be a big boy but he is very quiet." At the sale, 22 of 25 bulls sold for an average price of $9022. Four of the bulls were sold to studs, Dr Strauss said. All of four black Simmental bulls at the auction sold for an average of $15,250. Black Simmental bulls accounted for about 15% of the stud and the rest were the traditional Simmental colour of red with white markings. The breeding programme might be adjusted to make the mix 50% black and 50% traditional, Dr Strauss said. Dr Strauss said the aim of the stud was to breed a moderate to large size cattle beast, maturing early and with "explosive" growth, producing a high carcass value at the works including premium for marbling at the meatworks, while maintaining calving ease. Docility was an important trait in their breeding programme, he said. "Anything that misbehaves is out." A sign of the rise of the breed was all of the more than 80 bulls on offer at Kerrah Simmentals in Wairoa selling for an average price of more than $12,000 last week. Dr Strauss was among the buyers at the Kerrah sale, paying $18,000 for a bull. Leafland sheep and beef farm was 315ha of "mostly hills" in North Taieri. Another 100ha was leased on Otago Peninsula. When the grass stops growing in North Taieri late next month, the herd would be moved to the peninsula block and return home a fortnight before calving. The sheep on Leafland were Wiltshires. The latest lambs sent to the meatworks, averaged nearly 20kg and fetched $168. Dr Strauss works as an anaesthetist five days a week in Dunedin. Among the crowd of about 80 people at the sale was Dr Strauss' friend and colleague cardiac surgeon Richard Bunton. "We worked together on the weekend doing a heart operation," Dr Strauss said. Dr Strauss was raised on a cattle farm in South Africa and the couple moved to Leafland farm in 1993. "We bought the first 40ha by fax machine." The farm size had increased as they bought neighbouring properties. After moving to Dunedin, they bought three heifers from Garry McCorkindale, of Glenside Simmentals in Waitahuna, and launched the Leafland stud the following year. Leafland Simmental stud was his "retirement plan". "I'm turning 72 and when I retire, probably in the next year or so, I want to carry on farming until I fall over." The Simmental breed was "on the up" and many Angus breeders were buying genetics to use in their herds, he said. Southern bull sale results last week: • Taiaroa Charolais, Paerau. Sold 20 of 22. Average $7775. Top $13,000. • Glenhu Shorthorn, Heriot. Sold 13 of 16. Average $6958. Top $12,000. • Delmont Angus, Clinton. Sold 33 of 33. Average $10,000. Top $18,000. • Leafland Simmental, Taieri. Sold 22 of 25. Average $9022. Top $42,000. • Beresford Simmental, Catlins. Sold 12 of 15. Average $7800. Top $14,000. • Hill Valley Simmental, Teviot. Sold 10 of 10. Average $7750. Top $12,000. • Locharburn Herefords, Cromwell. Sold 22 of 29. Average $6400. Top $13,500. • Glenside Simmental, Waitahuna. Sold 11 of 15. Average $9409. Top $14,500. • Stoneburn Hereford and Angus, Palmerston. Hereford: 16 of 16. Average $9812. Top $15,000. Angus: 24/24. Average $8250. Top $14,000.
Otago Daily Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
‘Remarkable' turnaround in lamb prices
Simon Paterson, of Gimmerburn, offered fewer lambs than usual at the Waipiata Saleyards as favourable farming conditions allowed him to send some of his heavier lambs to the meatworks. Photo: Shawn McAvinue Fewer breeding ewes is spiking demand for lambs, a southern agent says. PGG Wrightson auctioneer Mark Yeates, of North Otago, has been in the game for 40 years and had never known sheep prices and feed supply to have such a favourable turnaround in a 12-month period. ''It is the biggest turnaround from one year to the next that I've seen. The difference is quite remarkable,'' he said. About 100 people attended the Maniototo Last Muster Lamb Sale at the Waipiata Saleyards last week. Everything on offer sold, producing a record sale average of $149 per head. ''It was a very strong market, with a lot of bidding,'' he said. About 45 buyers registered. Prices ranged between $100 and $175. Most were sold to farmers in Canterbury. Mr Yeates said many local farmers wanting lambs went home empty-handed. Terry and Maria Bamford, of Hurunui, hoped to buy merino sheep but left the Maniototo Last Muster Lamb Sale empty-handed last week. Photo: Shawn McAvinue A reduction in breeding ewes in the past five years had resulted in a shortfall of lambs and increased demand. More farmers were finishing sheep and beef, rather than breeding them, he said. ''It has reached a stage where we are lacking the critical mass of breeding ewes required to fulfil the requirements of people wanting to finish lambs — we need more people breeding lambs and calves.'' Land-use changes, including dairy, forestry and land being locked up for environmental reasons, had reduced the number of capital herd and flocks. In recent years, some farmers had stopped running sheep because they had become disillusioned by low financial returns. About 11,500 lambs were offered at the sale, down about 1500 on last year's sale. Many farmers were holding on to lambs as conditions were more favourable than last season. ''The winter crops are outstanding and they want to utilise that,'' he said. Fourth-generation sheep and beef farmers Terry and Maria Bamford travelled from their 500ha farm, running merinos, in the Hurunui Hills to attend the sale for the first time. Mr Bamford said they had recently leased some land and wanted to buy 1000 straight merino lambs but prices were too high as there was plenty of feed available now: ''It has been a great season''. Hamish Hunter-Letham, with his girlfriend Samantha Harmer, both of Mid Canterbury, attended the Maniototo lamb sale because more than 10,000 lambs were needed for his family's arable farm. Photo: Shawn McAvinue A drought last season meant they had feed out for several months. And because of the drought, merino lambs sold for about $40 last season — much lower than the $140 now. On the trip down, they bought some merino lambs in Temuka but, as there were no straight merinos on offer at Maniototo and prices were high, they left empty-handed. Simon Paterson, of Armidale in Gimmerburn, offered a pen of 55 halfbred wether lambs and a pen of 88 halfbred ewe lambs. He usually sold more lambs at the sale but favourable conditions meant the flock had performed better and some lambs were big enough to shear and kill. His wethers fetched $169 each and the ewes $162.50. Mr Paterson said the sector was ''in a much better space'' than at the same time last year, when they had been feeding out for 10 weeks. ''Everything is good. We have a bit of grass and stock is healthier with good covers going into winter. ''This year, we probably won't start feeding out for at least another month. That difference is huge,'' he said. PGG Wrightson auctioneer Mark Yeates, of North Otago, spots a bid at last week's sale. Photo: Shawn McAvinue John Elliot, of Lammermoor Station in Styx Valley, sold about 2000 lambs, prices ranging from $100 to $148. Vendor Jamie McMillan, of Naseby, sold 310 halfbred wether lambs for $121 each and 390 halfbred ewes for $128 each. The weather had been great for farming, raining ''every other week; it's been really good''. Arable and sheep farmer Hamish Hunter-Letham said his family regularly attended the sale to buy lambs to fatten on their crops on their 565ha farm near Methven. Lamb fattening was a small but key part of their system. They usually bought 11,000 lambs from sales each year. He believed a profit could still be made, although it would be a smaller margin than last season.
