May 17, 2026 • 5 mins
Affco's National Livestock Manager breaks through the $12/kg barrier for lamb price and updates a very positive season for red meat. Plus he laments some tough times for some primary sector industries in Hawkes Bay.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here's the national livestock manager for Athcover's name is Tom Young,
based out of Hawks Bay. Tom. Recently we broke the
two hour barrier for the marathon. Not you and I
another bloke, but you have broken the twelve dollar barrier
for lamb. Are you talking this up a weebit? Or
can you genuinely sell a lamb or get paid more
(00:21):
than twelve dollars a kilogram for a lamb?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah? Yeah, So we have released two contracts, one in
the North Island and one in the South Jamie and
they start on the early eleven dollar range at the
end of June and they peak just a bit over
twelve dollars in September, So we can honestly say we
can we're selling that contract to farmers. It's open now. Yeah.
(00:44):
The markets that we see support paying that, so we're
comfortable with the levels. So yeah. So I think it's
a pretty good news story for the industry to sort
of get something out of there and put a stake
in the ground and show show farmers where have co
sees the price anyway in sort of try and get
people interested or back back running a few more US
and sort of getting this industry back on track with
(01:06):
some more people that are interested in the long term
future sheet farming.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
That that is great news. It's not that long ago, Tom,
probably two seasons ago we were getting six dollars a
kilo for lamb.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Yeah, I think a few years two or three years
ago you were you were giving me a bit of
grief calling me ten dollar time. I think we were
first out with a ten dollar contract and so now
and now it's the out side of twelve. So yeah,
it's a great thing to see. And I think more
than anything, while it gives you know, winter lamb finishes
some certainty and some of them have paid some reasonable
(01:39):
money for store lambs. We all know that it gives
us some certainty of suppli at FC, so we can
sort of work our factory management shift, shift capacity and
things around what we know is coming our way with
these contracts. But it also gives a sort of a
view that there's some confidence there from Africo anyway as
a meat processor and hopefully you know, confidence going into
(01:59):
the summer. And you know, really really the critical thing
is to see, you know, I suppose that the youw
farmer or the breeder having getting a good turn at
far into the year where they you know, they sell
their lambs well, the fat lambs, and then their store
lambs are worth good money too. That's the critical part
of it.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah, and those people who paid big money, big big money,
I would have thought for store lambs perhaps in the
summer in autumn, can see a meaningful profit at the
end of the pipeline. That is good. How are your
plants going at the moment, because I'm assuming you'll be
flat out killing cold cows, are you?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yes, we are, so where you know, both islands are
still you know, running at full capesity on beef. It's
a bit slow on lamb in both islands, so you know,
the shift capacities have been dropped back of it and
we're just ticking over. But we expect to see more
lambs as the winter goes on. I think there's a
(02:55):
few probably a few more lambs in the North Island
than last year, maybe another one or two hundred thousand
can I think people are probably sitting on them a
weave it because they've paid, like you've boarded out some
reasonable money for store lambs, so they're looking for a
little bit of weight game. So I think we'll probably
have a pretty good late winter.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
A cold cow. And this is a dairy cow that
may have been milked for I don't know, seven eight
nine years. I don't know how long they milk them for.
I'm a broken down form of sheep farmer, so I
can't really tell you that. But if you've milked them
for that many seasons, they don't owe you much. But
at the moment, you can get what fourteen or fifteen
hundred bucks for an old curl cow.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, yeah, you can. So you know you're probably sitting
around the seven dollar mark for a cow cow, and
they would weigh, depending on sort of breed, type or whatever,
they'd weigh anywhere around one hundred and eighty to two
undred kilos, So you're spot on around that fourteen hundred
dollar mark. So yeah, the dairy farmers having a pretty
good season two and you know he's winning on the
milk his milk check, which was great, and he's getting
(03:52):
some good money for his red meat for his cows.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Yep and kew we for it also going great guns.
But in Hawk's Bay where you're based, it's not all
it's not all smelling of roses. At the moment, you've
got the you've got the McCain's whiteies thing them closing
the plants, yep.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
And you've got the grape industries under heaver pressure. So
there's a lot of a lot of grapes being pulled out.
I'm seeing it, seeing it happening now. Just doesn't seem
to be the demand for different varieties of grapes. I
think the read in particular has got a lot of
pressure on it here for whatever reason, people aren't drinking it.
So yeah, the poor old hawk's pays probably. I think
(04:27):
the next year or two might be quite hard and
some insectors other than red meat anyway.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Did you watch Country Calendar last night with Alan Mickey McDonald?
Of course the former World World Sharing Chap Grape Block too,
and you know he was he was in his prime
when David Fagan was in his prime g and they
used to go tit for tat on World Records. Really
enjoyed that Country Calendar on the Palmu farm, but I
did kind of sigh a wee bit when he had
to wander amongst the pine trees.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, that's that's sad, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
You know?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And this is the problem with you know everyone, It's
not not just whole farms, I guess that have been
put into pine trees. But you know, parts of farms
have gone into trees. And we're certainly seeing seeing that
now in the volume of animals that sort of coming
out every year every year sort of on a sort
of a downward trend. So bofull of these contracts who
(05:17):
are putting out might put confidence back into that sheep
market anyway and give people the I suppose the confidence
to you know, have you know, run more use or
retain a few more U lambs and take them through
Time will tell, I guess, but I thought one of
the funny things Mickey said on that on that show
was he was trying to teach the young fellow how
(05:37):
to share, and he said, not bad, but once you've
done fifty thousand, you'll start to come right.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
And I think he would have done several fifty thousands
in his day and absolute legend of a share few million, Yeah, exactly,
all right, time, young thanks for your time. You're the
twelve million dollar man, or the twelve dollars a kilogram
lamb man put it that way. See you later.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Thanks, what feel out
Here's the national livestock manager for Athcover's name is Tom Young,
based out of Hawks Bay. Tom. Recently we broke the
two hour barrier for the marathon. Not you and I
another bloke, but you have broken the twelve dollar barrier
for lamb. Are you talking this up a weebit? Or
can you genuinely sell a lamb or get paid more
(00:21):
than twelve dollars a kilogram for a lamb?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah? Yeah, So we have released two contracts, one in
the North Island and one in the South Jamie and
they start on the early eleven dollar range at the
end of June and they peak just a bit over
twelve dollars in September, So we can honestly say we
can we're selling that contract to farmers. It's open now. Yeah.
(00:44):
The markets that we see support paying that, so we're
comfortable with the levels. So yeah. So I think it's
a pretty good news story for the industry to sort
of get something out of there and put a stake
in the ground and show show farmers where have co
sees the price anyway in sort of try and get
people interested or back back running a few more US
and sort of getting this industry back on track with
(01:06):
some more people that are interested in the long term
future sheet farming.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
That that is great news. It's not that long ago, Tom,
probably two seasons ago we were getting six dollars a
kilo for lamb.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Yeah, I think a few years two or three years
ago you were you were giving me a bit of
grief calling me ten dollar time. I think we were
first out with a ten dollar contract and so now
and now it's the out side of twelve. So yeah,
it's a great thing to see. And I think more
than anything, while it gives you know, winter lamb finishes
some certainty and some of them have paid some reasonable
(01:39):
money for store lambs. We all know that it gives
us some certainty of suppli at FC, so we can
sort of work our factory management shift, shift capacity and
things around what we know is coming our way with
these contracts. But it also gives a sort of a
view that there's some confidence there from Africo anyway as
a meat processor and hopefully you know, confidence going into
(01:59):
the summer. And you know, really really the critical thing
is to see, you know, I suppose that the youw
farmer or the breeder having getting a good turn at
far into the year where they you know, they sell
their lambs well, the fat lambs, and then their store
lambs are worth good money too. That's the critical part
of it.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah, and those people who paid big money, big big money,
I would have thought for store lambs perhaps in the
summer in autumn, can see a meaningful profit at the
end of the pipeline. That is good. How are your
plants going at the moment, because I'm assuming you'll be
flat out killing cold cows, are you?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yes, we are, so where you know, both islands are
still you know, running at full capesity on beef. It's
a bit slow on lamb in both islands, so you know,
the shift capacities have been dropped back of it and
we're just ticking over. But we expect to see more
lambs as the winter goes on. I think there's a
(02:55):
few probably a few more lambs in the North Island
than last year, maybe another one or two hundred thousand
can I think people are probably sitting on them a
weave it because they've paid, like you've boarded out some
reasonable money for store lambs, so they're looking for a
little bit of weight game. So I think we'll probably
have a pretty good late winter.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
A cold cow. And this is a dairy cow that
may have been milked for I don't know, seven eight
nine years. I don't know how long they milk them for.
I'm a broken down form of sheep farmer, so I
can't really tell you that. But if you've milked them
for that many seasons, they don't owe you much. But
at the moment, you can get what fourteen or fifteen
hundred bucks for an old curl cow.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, yeah, you can. So you know you're probably sitting
around the seven dollar mark for a cow cow, and
they would weigh, depending on sort of breed, type or whatever,
they'd weigh anywhere around one hundred and eighty to two
undred kilos, So you're spot on around that fourteen hundred
dollar mark. So yeah, the dairy farmers having a pretty
good season two and you know he's winning on the
milk his milk check, which was great, and he's getting
(03:52):
some good money for his red meat for his cows.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Yep and kew we for it also going great guns.
But in Hawk's Bay where you're based, it's not all
it's not all smelling of roses. At the moment, you've
got the you've got the McCain's whiteies thing them closing
the plants, yep.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
And you've got the grape industries under heaver pressure. So
there's a lot of a lot of grapes being pulled out.
I'm seeing it, seeing it happening now. Just doesn't seem
to be the demand for different varieties of grapes. I
think the read in particular has got a lot of
pressure on it here for whatever reason, people aren't drinking it.
So yeah, the poor old hawk's pays probably. I think
(04:27):
the next year or two might be quite hard and
some insectors other than red meat anyway.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Did you watch Country Calendar last night with Alan Mickey McDonald?
Of course the former World World Sharing Chap Grape Block too,
and you know he was he was in his prime
when David Fagan was in his prime g and they
used to go tit for tat on World Records. Really
enjoyed that Country Calendar on the Palmu farm, but I
did kind of sigh a wee bit when he had
to wander amongst the pine trees.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, that's that's sad, isn't it.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
You know?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And this is the problem with you know everyone, It's
not not just whole farms, I guess that have been
put into pine trees. But you know, parts of farms
have gone into trees. And we're certainly seeing seeing that
now in the volume of animals that sort of coming
out every year every year sort of on a sort
of a downward trend. So bofull of these contracts who
(05:17):
are putting out might put confidence back into that sheep
market anyway and give people the I suppose the confidence
to you know, have you know, run more use or
retain a few more U lambs and take them through
Time will tell, I guess, but I thought one of
the funny things Mickey said on that on that show
was he was trying to teach the young fellow how
(05:37):
to share, and he said, not bad, but once you've
done fifty thousand, you'll start to come right.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
And I think he would have done several fifty thousands
in his day and absolute legend of a share few million, Yeah, exactly,
all right, time, young thanks for your time. You're the
twelve million dollar man, or the twelve dollars a kilogram
lamb man put it that way. See you later.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Thanks, what feel out
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