Merino lamb sale buoyant

"One hell of a sale" is how long-time stock agent Glenn Hopkinson described yesterday's Omarama merino lamb sale.

Lambs that were selling for between $60 and $70 yesterday would likely have only fetched a sale price of between $2 and $5 at a comparable sale three years ago, Mr Hopkinson said.

About 14,000 lambs were offered yesterday, with Waitangi Station topping the sale with Dohne-cross wether lambs at $120, followed by Berwen Run Ltd with Dohne-cross lambs at $116.50.

Berwen Run Ltd achieved the best price for merino lambs, selling wether lambs for $105, with Tara Hills and Waitangi Station both selling wether lambs for $101 and Collie Hills achieving $100.

The balance of the merino lambs on offer yesterday sold for between $70 and $90.

A large crowd attended the sale, with 70 registered buyers from as far afield as Marlborough and Southland present, and the keenly sought lots of lambs were presented in "top order".

Mr Hopkinson, an agent for PGG Wrightson who has been attending the sale for the past 30 years, said it was the best sale he had seen for 10 years - "it was extremely buoyant."

Beef and Lamb New Zealand Central South Island director Anne Munro said it was heartwarming to "walk through smiley faces" at the sale.

"You'd have to be absolutely satisfied with today. It's all positive. All the ducks are in a row, so to speak, which doesn't happen very often.

"Everybody's feeling quite buoyant. It's a good day to be a sheep and beef farmer," Mrs Munro said.

It was a flow-on situation, with good prices affecting all parts of the rural sector "one way or another", she said.

New Zealand Merino chief executive John Brakenridge, who also attended the sale, described it as "fantastic". There was a vibrancy and enthusiasm within the industry, he said.

"We're providing a viable option that's got to be good for the ... economy."

People were now viewing sheep as a multipurpose, multi-revenue animal, a long-overdue trend, he said.

There had been very good feedback from farmers on the joint venture between New Zealand Merino and meat company Silver Fern Farms to market and promote merino-branded sheep meat and by-products, Mr Brakenridge said.