North Craven Dugdales in fine form at Skipton Lleyn sheep highlight
The Lleyn Sheep Society’s annual sale at Skipton Auction Mart – as usual the final society sale of the season – saw females in high demand, with rams also receiving a solid trade. (Thus, Oct 1)
Interest was particularly high for shearling ewes, with five pens achieving £200 or more, the top two making £205 per head. The first, a pen of ten, came from local breeders John and James Dugdale, who run the Borrins flock at Stackhouse, Settle, selling to S Lord, Oldham, the second a pen of nine from Welsh breeders E&D Jones, of Machynlleth, sold to A Hartley, Blackshaw Head.
The Dugdales - John is chairman of the Lleyn Sheep Society – sold a further pen at £200 per head to SP&VM Morris, Preston, plus another £195 pen to JA Wood & Sons, Shrewsbury. Another local consigner, Simon Kavanagh, of West Berwick Farm, Draughton, sold his top shearling ewe pen at £200 each to WH Greensit, Bedale, along with further pens at £195. There was 100% clearance in this section, which averaged £183, up £37 on the year.
Ewe lambs followed suit, with Wynne Davies, of Bronhalt, Pwllheli, topping at £150 to AJ Mackintosh, Ravenglass. The section selling average was £105, an increase of £18 on the year.
Rams also saw a good clearance rate, E&D Jones leading the way at 750gns with a Lluest ram sired by Brightonhouse Gold Card, bred locally by the Fort family in Steeton. The shearling also found a local buyer when joining Matthew Dugdale in Tosside, while another Lluest ram sired by Wraycastle Emmanuel sold for 550gns to DJ&C Thompson, Helmsley
The Stackhouse Dugdales sold one of their own shearling rams, Borrins Intercom, sired by a P Knowles New Hutton ram, for 600gns to GJ Goff, Norfolk. Rams averaged £407.