Breeding Sheep (525 Outfits) The largest show of Ewes with lambs at foot seen for a regular weekly sale at Skipton Mart were forward today and all classes sold away quite nicely. There was something for all tastes with several runs of young Mule and Continental Ewes that again caught the eyes of those purchasers looking to buy sheep to run in flocks. The older sheep represented a slightly better selection than of late with some decent strong lambs on straight ewes for feeder/finishers to run at grass until the summer.

Forward - 73 Rearing Calves. 42 Dairy Cattle inc Dairy Bulls

Forward: 520 head of cattle Comprising: 119 Young Feeding Bulls, 370 Bullocks & Heifers, 30 Breeding Cattle & 1 Grazing Cow At the special Spring Prize Show & Sale of Store Bullocks & Heifers the judge, Mr Stephen Maskill of Hebden Bridge made the prize awards below. Sale sponsors were Massey Bros Feeds of Walton le Dale, Preston. Trade in general was decent, buyers obviously keeping an eye on prime trade when purchasing strong short keep cattle, but plenty of interest in grazing and summering cattle.

Forward: 24 Prime cattle comprising 8 Clean Cattle (under 30 mos), 1 Clean Cattle (over 30 mos) & 14 Cast Cattle. 4,401 TOTAL HEAD OF SHEEP including :- 3,354 Prime Sheep comprising 189 Spring Lambs, 2549 Old Season Lambs, 616 Cast Ewes & Rams. 1,047 Breeding Sheep comprising 350 Ewes with 585 Lambs and 112 Geld Gimmer Hoggs. 44 Rearing Calves. 6 Loads of produce.

1,047 Breeding Sheep The largest show of the season so far with 350 outfits and over 100 geld hoggs on offer. Young sheep were in great demand, David White of Hebden topping the sale with Texel Shearlings and twins at £255, Andrew Bailey from Eldroth had £232 for a pen of 10 Mule Shearlings with twins. Another notable price was Chris Craven of Kexby with a lovely pen of Texel Ewes with singles lambs selling away £196 the outfit. Another nice show of geld Mule gimmer hoggs averaged £130 each.

Forward: 46 Prime cattle comprising 5 Clean Cattle (under 30 mos), 3 Clean Cattle (over 30 mos) & 38 Cast Cattle. 3,000 SHEEP INCLUDING 2,582 Prime Sheep comprising 79 Spring Lambs, 1993 Old Season Lambs, 11 Mature Hoggs, 499 Cast Ewes & Rams. 418 Breeding Sheep comprising 137 Ewes with 235 Lambs & 46 Geld Mule Hoggs. 67 Rearing Calves. 17 Dairy Cattle. 9 Loads of produce.

Forward: 454 head of cattle Comprising: 146 Young Feeding Bulls, 306 Bullocks & Heifers, 2 Breeding Cattle. CCM Auctions conducted their fortnightly sale of cattle at Skipton Mart on Wednesday. Numbers were still good but the quality was rather more mixed than of late, whilst prices were largely unchanged from the previous sale. Good strong cattle were every bit as dear as recently with several runs of 18-20mo cattle receiving plenty of interest from the ringside. Younger cattle were varied in quality, some bullocks and commercial heifers looking better value than of late.

A very busy Monday at Skipton with the following stok forward for sale. 42 Prime cattle comprising 7 Clean Cattle (under 30 mos), 1 Clean Cattle (over 30 mos) & 34 Cast Cattle 4,125 SHEEP Comprising: 3,503 Prime Sheep (inc: 23 Spring Lambs, 2932 Old Season Lambs, 548 Cast Ewes & Rams) 622 Breeding Sheep (inc: 219 Ewes with 380 Lambs & 23 Store Lambs) 55 Rearing Calves 8 Loads of produce

622 Breeding Sheep (inc: 219 Ewes with 380 Lambs & 23 Store Lambs A fantastic show of sheep with lambs at foot drew a large crowd of buyers. The quality end were an exceptional trade with several vendors seeing the equivalent of £75 to £85 per life for singles and twins. With more young outfits on offer today there was greater choice for buyers looking to put sheep into a flock this summer whilst the usual selection of older sheep with strong lambs offered feeders plenty to bid at.

Skipton Auction Mart responds to new sheep tagging legislation Skipton Auction Mart is, in common with other livestock marts across England, set to implement new sheep tagging legislation on April 1 this year, which will affect sheep farmers across the region.

Housemans home in on another Craven Dairy Auction title Regular vendors were again responsible for the lion’s share of the prizes at the main BOCM Pauls-sponsored March Craven Dairy Auction at Skipton Auction Mart.

50 Prime cattle comprising 2 Clean Cattle (under 30 mos), 3 Clean Cattle (over 30 mos) & 45 Cast Cattle 2,960 Prime Sheep comprising 2,712 Old Season Lambs, 6 Spring Lambs & 242 Cast Ewes & Rams 379 Breeding Sheep comprising 107 Ewes with 171 Lambs & 101 Store & Geld Hoggs 34 Rearing Calves 20 Dairy Cattle 10 Loads of Produce

20 Dairy Cattle & 34 Rearing Calves Easier trade compared to last week’s calf trade however buyers were out in force but with numbers in short supply a couple didn’t even get started. A large amount of young calves today making averages less but calves of all ages selling well. Church Farm Enterprises once again topped the billing with £390 for a ripper of a blue bull. Please Note Black and White Calf Buyer returning in a fortnight with good numbers required to get him started.

379 Breeding Sheep comprising 107 Ewes with 171 Lambs & 101 Store & Geld Hoggs An increased show of 379 Head for the weekly sale attracted a larger contingent of buyers. Trade would be slightly better on the week with a few pens of nice Texel ewes with lambs topping £200, but a solid trade for the commercial outfits with plenty of choice for buyers and prices ranging from the equivalent of £45 to £65 per life.

MARKET REPORT - WEDNESDAY 19th MARCH 2014 Forward: 504 head of cattle Comprising: 247 Young Feeding Bulls, 250 Bullocks & Heifers, 7 Breeding Cattle A nice show of cattle for early lambing time, and trade was like the weather, had a nice spring to it. Bulls were a firmer trade than the previous sale with some quality dorts presented for the prize show where judging was kindly indertaken by Mr Stephen Eastwood of Emley, Huddersfield. The store bullocks and heifers were well bid for, with buyers keen to buy summering cattle with one eye already on turnout.