VC Reid and Sons held a successful pig sale in Forbes last Friday, August 19, with 704 pigs being sold off, prices trending well. The sale saw pork, bacon and backfatter pigs sold off, with the price trend on the backfatter pigs and bacon pigs holding firm compared with recent sales, however pork was on the rise. On average, compared with recent sales, pork trended between $5 and $10 per head dearer, in what was good news for pork breeders.
The prices per head of each pig ranged depending on breed and size at the sale, with weaners starting as the cheapest, selling from between $55-$130 per head. The next lowest price range was in the bacon category, selling for between $120 and $160 per head, while heavy bacon had a much larger range, selling for between $150 and $375 per head. In the pork category, light pork sold for between $136 and $188 per head, while heavy pork came in slightly dearer at $168-$209 per head.
Moving up the price scale were the backfatters, with light backfatters selling for between $120.60 and $221.34. The best selling pigs on the day were the heavy backfatters. These sold from a big $420.60 per head at the lower end of the scale, while the biggest selling heavy backfatters sold for $524.86. Heavy rainfalls across the winter season have seen livestock prices trend upwards across the Central West over the past few months, and this trend is tipped by many livestock experts to keep up in the foreseeable future.
VC Reid and Sons Forbes hold a sale each fortnight, and are the expert livestock sales agents for all pigs.