Rams in demand at Skipton breeding sheep sale
Skipton’ Auction Mart’s latest fortnightly Tuesday sale of 1,513 breeding sheep and rams saw the latter in particular meet a strong trade when achieving 85% clearance, with anything well framed and ready for immediate turn out finding a ready ringside of buyers. (Tues, Oct 10)
A strong pen of Texel tups from Procters Farms in Tatham, Lancaster, sold to a sale high of 480gns for a brace of shearlings claimed by Ashley Thwaite, of Hellifield, and Addingham’s Johnny Greenwood. The same vendors also headed the ram lamb prices at 300gns
Blue Faced Leicesters had a good following, with some handy tups selling to 350gns twice for shearlings from Jim Percival, of Haworth, and Threshfield brothers Charles and Richard Kitching. Aged rams topped at 320gns for a Texel from Hayton & Stocks in Bolton Abbey.
In the shearlings class, prices were led by a £142 per head pen from Hunter Oaks Limited in Padiham, with David Carlton, of Newton-in-Bowland, next best with a £115 Lleyn pen. Bordley’s John Lancaster sold Mule and Cheviot pens at £115 and £100 respectively
The day incorporated the annual show for Lleyn gimmer lambs, when West Craven father and son sheep farmers David and David Wood, of Oak Slack Farm, Earby, made a clean sweep of the prizes
Their first prize pen of 12 lambs, chosen by show judge Janet Sheard, of Almondbury, and recipients of the JA Simpson Trophy, were all home-breds by a selection of rams – they run seven in total on their 500-string flock of Lleyn ewes, first established in 2004.
The red rosette winners sold for £48 per head to A Winterburn, of Langho, with the second and third prize pens of 14 and 15 making £45 and £43 per head respectively.