High country farmers producing wool as their main product showed strong interest in animals for breeding at the high country sales in Tekapo and Omarama.

Black faced merino cross lambs also fetched good money suggesting buyers are still hopeful this years spring prices will be strong in a supply deficent market. In a market that has seen crossbred lambs fall rapidly in price, these animals that mature later in an out of season timeframe are attracting good value. Irrigation development in the MacKenzie basin has seen  animals weaned onto quality forages in the autumn and wintered on high powered supplentary feeds that will grow them prime by springtime.

Silver Fern Farms partnership with the NZ Merino Company in developing the Silere Alpine Merino brand has given this sector another strong product to market with a similar unique qualities like its fibre.The demand seen for lambs at these sales shows farmers are supporting growing this brands volumes into the future.

The market was buoyant for merino lambs at the annual Omarama and Lake Tekapo sales yesterday reports the Timaru Herald. About 30,000 lambs were put under the hammer at the two sales to buyers from Canterbury and Marlborough. The lambs met with strong demand from buyers with many of the second-cuts selling as strong as the top lines at both sales.

The top price at the Omarama sale was for a pen of romney-merino ewe lambs from Berwen Run that made $133 while the second draft of these sheep from the same vendor sold for $120. Other good ewe lambs sold for $100-$107.

There was strong demand for ewe lambs that could be used for breeding and also strong inquiry from vendors on male merino wether lambs. The top drafting of these lambs from Berwen Run made $108, and the second drafting $102. The best of the wethers from Tara Hills made $93-$98 and $98-$100 from Longslip Station. Good half-bred lambs sold for $109-$110 and black faced merino cross lambs sold well at $101-$116.

The strong market continued in the afternoon at Lake Tekapo. Gillian Wills, of Irishman Creek Station, said high country farmers had a good season and it was good to see them rewarded, particularly after many lost lambs during the October storms last year. The best priced wether merino lambs at Tekapo were from Haldon and Glenrock stations that each sold for $121, while a another pen of 1104 second-cut lambs from Irishman Creek Station sold for $120.

The best of the ewe lambs were from Maryburn Station and made $121. However, these lambs along with lighter lines met with lesser demand at the afternoon sale with several lines passed in.The top pens of wether lambs made $110-$121, the next cut sold for $90-106 and lighter wethers sold from $62-$82. Apart from two pens of ewe lambs that made $121 and $104, values for these lambs sold for $63-$86. Half-bred lambs sold for $70-$78 and black-faced lambs made $62-$70.