Wool pellets to boost gardens
With wool prices steadily declining and shearing costs on the rise, a Waikato couple began looking for a solution for wool from their 80ha farm.
The 15,000 bales of South Island wool on offer this week saw an 82% clearance and a generally dearer market overall, fully recovering from the previous weeks' North Island softer sale on April 18.
New Zealand Wool Services International Ltd's marketing executive, Paul Steel reports the currency factor had practically no influence this week with the weighted indicator firming only 0.11%.
Steel advises that most pressure came on the Chinese types with fine crossbred fleece firming 1% and the shears lifting between 3 and 7%.
Average style coarse fleece were 3 to 5% stronger with poorer styles 1.5 to 4% dearer. Coarse shears were generally 1.5 to 2.5% firmer.
Short, fine First Lambs were 1% dearer with coarser types generally 2 to 3.5% softer.
Long oddments lifted up to 5% with short oddments firm overall.
There was competition with China principal, supported by Australasia, Western Europe, Middle East, United Kingdom and India.
The next sale May 2 comprises about 4,900 bales from the North Island, down 34% on anticipated roster due to the shorter intake week and recent poorer weather conditions restricting shearing.
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
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