619 BREEDING SHEEP An increased entry of 241 sheep with 378 lambs at foot for the weekly attracted another large company of buyers to the ringside. Older sheep with strong lambs were again in high demand and would look dearer in comparison than the younger sheep with lambs at foot. Richard Caton had top price of the day with some correct Suffolk x Ewes with Twins at £195 the outfit.

Breeding Sheep A slightly smaller show of sheep with lambs met with a blistering trade, with all classes up on the week, and an army of buyers looking for outfits. Still plenty of trade. Thomas Boothman had hoggs and lambs at £200 as did Robert & Raymond Johnson. Neil Heseltine hit £195 for shearling and twins, whilst ewes with single lambs were keenly sought all sale long, especially anything with power, Mark Lewis having 3 packets of sheep all at £158, Frank Throup £150 and plenty of others at £135-£140. Please advise the mart office of entries by Friday Lunchtime. Thankyou.

820 Breeding Sheep Another large show of sheep with lambs at foot, although maybe not just the overall quality seen last week. Best of the hoggs and lambs to £215 from Raymond and Robert Johnson, James Hall made £190 of a pen, although the commercial types would be slightly cheaper than last week. Plenty of older sheep too and prices not just as strong as last week, Better end of outfits with twins trading around the equivalent of £60 per life, and commercial types £50 per life. Please advise the mart office of entries by Friday Lunchtime. Thankyou.

2501 Breeding Sheep Bank Holiday Monday was a very busy day in the sheep market at Skipton with The Great Annual Prize Show of Hoggs with Lambs and Geld Gimmer Hoggs held today alongside the Weekly Sale of Prime Sheep.

715 Breeding Sheep - Another large show of over 300 outfits this week although trade not just as hot as last week with hoggs and lambs £15 per outfit cheaper. Older sheep however with strong lambs were good to sell. Next week there is an entry of 850 Geld Gimmer Hoggs, 650 outfits of Hoggs with lambs and 250-300 Ewes with lambs at foot. Please note sale commences at 10.30am and is a fully catalogued sale.

861 Breeding Sheep A much increased entry today for the weekly sale but easily dealt with as the sale ring was rammed to the rafters with customers looking for sheep. More younger ewes and hoggs with lambs at foot now starting to come forward and plenty of buyers for them, best of the mule hoggs & singles £200 plus today, 36 outfits of Mule Hoggs & Singles av £195.97. As ever older ewes with strong lambs were keenly sought.

Breeding Sheep A large entry this week of sheep with lambs at foot and generally a younger selection of ewes too, with more shearlings and hoggs with lambs each week now. Best of the shearlings came from David White of High Garnshaw who sold mules with twins to £205, whilst the first hoggs with singles of this season sold to £195 from RG Johnson & Son. Best of the ewes were correct texels with twin beltex lambs at £215 from Les Grange, Follifoot.

Breeding Sheep A good show of outfits for this weeks sale saw trade for commercial outfits dearer on the week with a full ringside of buyers present looking for mouths to graze the fast growing grass. Top price was £215 for Mule Shearlings with twins for David White, who also sold correct mules with twins to £192. Top price singles was £190 for Texel correct ewes with nice Beltex lambs from Alan Midgley.

679 Breeding Sheep (249 Ewes with 430 lambs) The largest show seen so far, with the trade brisk and very similar to recent weeks. Thomas Boothman’s Annual Consignment created much interest and sold to a top of £240 for Shearlings with Twins, and a further four pens at £230 each. Texel Shlg with twins to £240, £230 x4, £220x2, £215 T Boothman Shlgs and Singles to £170x2 T Boothman; £140 R Wallbank Correct with Twins to £230x2 215,£210, £205 T Boothman; £170 JW Hall Correct with Singles to £170 T Boothman; £142 A Midgley; £132 RG Johnson & Son B/M with Singles to £115 D Haigh Beltex Correct with Singles to £175 AV Bailey Suffolk Correct with Twins to £150 FM Shepherd Mule Correct with Twins to £178 T Bootman; £162 JW Hall Correct with Singles to £125 W Rathmell; £108 RG Johnson & Son B/M with Twins to £138 J Baines; B/M with Singles to £108 R Peel Zwartbles with Twins to £170 A Midgley Masham correct with Singles to £110 A Midgley

Thomas Boothman clean sweep at Skipton ewes with lambs opener Thomas Boothman, of Linton Hall Farm, Linton, yet again proved the standout performer at Skipton Auction Mart’s opening show and sale of ewes with lambs at foot when landing a clean sweep of the prizes in the two show classes. (Mon, March 27) It was the fourth year in succession that the Yorkshire Dales sheep farmer had dominated the early season highlight with his annual consignment of home-bred Texel-cross shearlings and 2 shear ewes with Beltex-cross lambs at foot, the majority again by Beltex rams acquired from Skipton breeder Chris Windle.

208 Breeding Sheep A similar show of ewes with lambs sold to a larger ringside of buyers and trade slightly up on the week especially for anything with stronger lambs. Next week is the Special Show & Sale, entries to the mart office please. Including Annual Consignment of 100 Texel Shearlings & 2shear Ewes with Beltex x Lambs at Foot from Thomas Boothman of Linton.

Breeding Sheep A good show of sheep with lambs at foot for the weekly sale with everything £5 to £10 per life dearer. James & Deborah Ogden had another great run of sheep, 2 pens of 3 crop Mule Ewes with twins at £210 and £205 the outfit, but it was 3 pens of 3 and 4 crop Texels with Beltexs lambs from the same home that topped the sale at £220 and £215 twice. Richard Umplebys run topped at £205 as did Nick Dalbys.

Breeding Sheep (314) Numbers on the rise quickly with 2 Alley’s full of ewes with lambs at foot presented for sale. Richard Umpleby had top price of £208 per outfit for Texels with twins. Anything with strong lambs was keenly contested. A run of correct mule ewes with twin Charollais lambs around two – three weeks old selling at £180 - £190 the outfit, from James and Deborah Ogden, Austwick. Sheep with younger lambs also selling well , but the premium prices are for sheep with slightly older lambs.

An increased entry of Ewes with Lambs @ foot for this week’s sale attracted a larger ringside of buyers a similar trade was also see to the week before. Best single outfits equivalent of £75-£90 per life. Best twins £65 per life and commercial types £50-£60 per life. Top price for twins today was £200 for a correct Charlollais x Ewe with Beltex lambs from Stephen Pepper of Oxenhope, the same vendor sold Beltex x Charollais Ewes with single Cont x lambs for £180. Messrs Shepherd of Pateley Bridge sold Suffolk ewes with singles for £160 and texel ewes with twins for £180 on two occasions. Richard Umpleby of Killinghall sold two pens of Suffolk ewes with twins for £180.

Forward: 812 Head, 352 Store Lambs & 460 Breeding Sheep Overall av £50.40 Healthy trade for the 352 lambs on sale with mule gimmer lambs from BW Appleton reaching £72 and topping the days trade with a pen of Beltex lambs from AM&HV Brown realising £70. Lambs with frame and shape were easily sold with the Suffolks on offer today averaging £58. Small swale wethers sold particularly well to an average of £27.