Farming Eye

Taking the top price at today’s Romney Sheep Breeders Association sale at Ashford was the champion ram from the pre-sale show from Gordon Wimble. This shearling ram from the Norwood flock was secured by Colin Balcomb and family at £1200.

The day’s second best price of £700 went to the Norwood flock too, with this shearling tup selling to breed chairman Helen Langrish.

And making £520 was another of Gordon Wimble’s rams which sold to the Boulden family, Aldington.

A pair then sold at £500, with both coming from Andrew Barr and family’s Pivington flock the first of these sold to Stewart Wood, with the other bought by the Bouldens.

Selling for £480 was the best of the day from Hugh and Pauline Skinner’s Aragon flock, while making £460 was another from Gordon Wimble which sold to Messrs Prior.

Another from the Pivington flock of Messrs Barr sold at £440 to the Bouldens, with another from the same home making the same price when selling to Messrs Chandler and Dunn.  Overall 61 shearling rams levelled at £314.

Demand was also strong in the commercial Romney females on offer, with ewe tegs meeting a strong trade with averages improving by £20 a head on last year to £123.03 and the top pen making £151 for N A Balcomb and Sons

Ewe lambs were not the quality of some years, but from last year’s prices the average still moved up by £8 to £66.39 with the top pens to £77 and £75.50

Demand was very strong for young breeding ewes with one lambers to £116, £104 for three lambers and good three and four lambers to £86.50. (Hobbs Parker).

by Jonathan Long

The lamb trade, while still dipping from its previous levels is some way ahead of last year, with most centres reporting prices at 4-6p above the same week last year.

At Caledonian Marts, Stirling, on Tuesday 1933 lambs averaged 164.10p/kg, a drop of 4.38p on the week, but still 4p/kg ahead on last year’s prices at this time.

Topping the trade at £93/head were Beltex’s from Andrew Morton, Lochend, with the top price/kg going to Beltex from Morgan Farms at 220p/kg.

Meanwhile, at Ashford on the same day, an entry of 2084 sold on a trade very much in line with the week before and again ahead of last year’s prices.

Auctioneer Elwyn Davies said that despite a relatively big drop in the national averages prices at Ashford held firm to average 166p/kg with 37kg Beltex crosses topping the market at £70.50 (190.54p) from J ohn Cox.

In the medium weights the trade was topped at £76 (180.75p/kg) for 42kg Texel from M J Stears and Sons and 48kg Charollais crosses grossed up to £86.80 (180.83p/kg) from E Chantler and Sons.

The majority of light weights grossed £60 to £65, medium weights £65 to £75 and heavy weights generally made £75 to £80. “At these prices it is advisable to select well finished lambs for the prime market while leaner sorts would be better sold in the store ring.”

And at Lockerbie on Monday trade levelled at 160.4p/kg for the 658 prime lambs, with trade topped by Texels from Druid Hall at £82.50, with Beltex’s from Balgrayhill selling to £82.

The overriding message coming from marts and processors across the country is that while prices may not look as flash as they have been earlier in the season, the usual mid-summer dip has been avoided until now and prices are still very competitive with the same period last year. As a result those lambs which are fit should be traded wherever possible and anyone with lesser quality lambs would likely see a better trade in the store ring.

And now for a quick apology from the Farming Eye team, I’m afraid the site will be a little quieter than usual for today and tomorrow as Chrissie and I are getting married today. We will of course be back in action pretty quickly, so usual service will resume shortly……

by Jonathan Long

Today’s sale of Scotch Mule ewe lambs at Caledonian Marts saw a centre record set for the champion pen from Douglas and Linda Graham, Burnbank, at £150/head.

Next best price of the day was a £140/head bid for the second prize pen from W Gray, Drumnessie, then at £130/head were the fourth prize pen from P J Laidlaw, Knowehead, with another pen from the same home at £122 and other lambs from the Grahams at £118, £114 and £112.

However, the overall trend in the sale was that seen at other breeding sheep sales already this season, with the average in the 2973 ewe lambs falling by £9.49/head on last year’s sale to sit at £92.68.

In the shearlings on offer Messrs Gray took the day’s joint best price of £142/head, with this price shared by gimmers from Gartenbantrick, with a pen from Glenquey making £141/head. The 838 gimmers averaged £124.37, a fall of £11.43 on 2011.

Meanwhile, in the south of the UK at Ashford a small entry of shearling ewes saw North Country Mules top at £139, with Suffolk x Mules hitting £131, with the Mules averaging £131 and the Suffolk crosses leveling at £121.

Store lambs were also well sought after at Ashford, with 2739 lambs sold to a high of £75 and averaging £59.67.

The overall trend looks fairly well set for the season now, with breeding sheep prices easing on the highs of last year, but still at very respectable levels and store lambs following a similar trend although the best may still look dear to many around the rings.

by Jonathan Long

Prime cattle trade at many markets across the country continues to set new highs, with demand still easily outstripping supply.

At Ashford on Tuesday a new centre record average for farm assured steers was recorded, with the levelling above 200p/kg for the first time.

And the heifer trade was equally strong, with both individual price and gross returns at record levels too. Auctioneer Peter Kingwell reports that quality was good overall and trade very sharp. “This is particularly for the best cattle which were regularly making 210-230p with the exceptionally muscled animals now up to 240p in both sections and best steers grossing to over £1650 and heifers close to £1500.

In the north of England at Carlisle Harrison and Hetherington report a strong sale of 75 prime cattle forward with trade good throughout.  Messrs Dodd, West View, sold bullocks to 229.5p/kg for a Limousin, with a British Blue from the same home at 220.5p/kg.  Meanwhile, Messrs Morton, Church Farm, sold the top priced Bazadaise bullock which sold for 216.5p/kg at 764kg £1654 to Mr Charles Kirkpatrick.

Meanwhile in the midlands yesterday’s trade at Newark saw some very healthy trading for big numbers forward, with 194 heifers levelling at 196.62 and peaking at 244.5p/kg. The 192 steers sold averaged a more than respectable 195.89 and hit a high of 241.5p/kg.

At the same centre a big entry of 224 prime bulls sold to average 194.24 and averaged out at 230.5p/kg.

by Jonathan Long

While the hogget trade may have dipped in recent weeks and the spring lambs are just starting on a recovery after a slight slip earlier in the week the cull ewe trade is bucking the trend with a tremendous trade reported across the country in the first half this week.

At Bakewell on Monday an entry of 373 cull sheep met what the auctioneers described as a sharper trade than the week before, with the best ewes peaking at £130 and averaging a very respectable £89.52.  Rams, meanwhile sold to £146 and  averaged £106.64.

And at Ashford the following day an entry of 331 ewes and rams met a flying trade throughout with some of the top end ewes the dearest seen at the centre in recent months.

Overall the average levelled some £10 ahead of the national figures. Strong  meated ewes were clearly dearer then previous weeks, but leaner types are still in demand also.

Top spots on the day were Texels to £145 from Kingswood Farmers, Suffolks to £111 from M A and F W Owen, Mules to £95.50 from A A Palmer and Sons and Romneys to £99.50 from Langrish Farmers.

by Jonathan Long

Sussex bulls sold to a top of 3400gns at Ashford on Friday, with this price paid for the pre-sale champion, 2007-born bull Mayfield Intelligent 1 from Les Stevens.

Bred by Michael Hind this one is a son of Whyly Intelligent 1 and is out of Mayfield Gipsy 1, a Holm Place Major 1 daughter.

Second best of the day was a 3100gns bid for 2008-born bull Friths General 2 from R Jones. This Friths General 1 son was bred by Messrs Newsome and is out of Friths Darkey 1, an Elbridge Glow-worm 34 daughter.

Then making 2900gns was Boxted Wellington 4 from Les Stevens. He’s a son of Holm Place Wellington out of Boxted Lock Heedless 76, a Lyes Regent 2 daughter.

Just behind that at 2800gns was Boxted Endeavour 2 from the same home. This is a Mayfield Intelligent son out of Boxted Finch 59, another Lyes Regent 2 daughter.

And selling at 2600gns was Katawampus 4 of Goldstone from Messrs Chandler and Dunn. Sired by Katawumpus 1 of Goldstone he is out of Gaeity 34 of Goldstone, a Boxted Regent 3 daughter.

In the females the best call was a brace of 1600gns bids for cows with calves at foot. First at this price was Brinsbury Terpsichore 5 from Brinsbury College. Sired by Gestlingmead Fanfaron 2 she is a 2009-born first calver and sold with a Sussex steer calf at foot.

The other at this money was 2007-born cow Brinsbury Orva 2 from the same home. She is by the same sire as the last and is sold with a pedigree heifer calf at foot by Shepden General 1. (Hobbs Parker).

by Jonathan Long