Prime Cattle (under 30 mos)

Hamlets Butchers of Garstang took the highest priced animal a Limousin cross heifer weighing 575kg from Mesrs RT&J Critchley&Sons of Hutton for £1478 or 261.5p/kg at the weekly sale. The heifer was also the highest priced p/kg beast sold and topped a pen for Mesrs Critchley which included the highest priced steer and second highest priced heifer at 233.5p and 248.5p to Countrystyle Meats of Lancaster. Keelham Farm Shop with shops in Skipton and Thornton were the leading purchasers with 7 high quality cattle.

465-560kg                                             to 233.5p/kg                        211.52p/kg

560kg                                                     to 228.5p/kg                        208.98p/kg

Heifers

485kg+                                                   to 261.5p/kg                        228.29p/kg

Top Prices £ per head and p/kg

Steers

£ per head: CD&RF Kitching (Limx) 1348, RT&J Critchley&Sons (Limx) 1226

p/kg: RT&J Critchley&Son (Limx) 233.5, CD&RF Kitching (Limx) 228.5, T Boothman (Gall) 202,     

Heifers

£ per head: RT&J Critchley &Sons (Limx) 1477, 1454, Birkby Farms Ltd (Limx) 1463, CD&RF Kitching (Limx) 1414,1353

p/kg: RT&J Critchley&Sons (Limx) 261.5,248.5, JA Mellin (Limx) 240.5, CD&RF Kitching (Limx) 239.5, Birkby Farms Ltd (Limx) 238.5

Overall Average                                   97.41p/kg             £656.90

Black & White                      to 109.5p/kg                        av. 96.23p/kg

Ayr                                          to 83.5p/kg                          av. 83.5p/kg

Hefdx                                     to 107.5p/kg                       

BBx                                         to117.5p/kg

Top Prices (£ per head or p/kg)

B&W:

£ per head: FA Holmes&Son 821, RD Metcalfe&Son 745,741,735, CM&EM Gratton 729,721,717

p/kg: FA Holmes&Son 109.5,107.5, CM&EM Gratton 108.5,105.5,104.5, RD Metcalfe&Son 97.5

Other Dairy

£ per head: RH Lofthouse (Ayr) 501,471

p/kg: RH Lofthouse (Ayr) 83.5,83.5

Contx:

£ per head: D&S Hollings (BBx) 770

p/kg: D&S Holling (BBx)

Native

£ per head: J Wilson (Hefdx) 725

p/kg: J Wilson (Hefdx) 107.5

3,540 Prime Sheep comprising 3193 Prime Lambs & 347 Cast Ewes & Rams

A good rise on lamb numbers with 3,193 head in the mix and a nice trade too for all classes and weights. There was an all breeds SQQ average (up to 45.5kg) of 203.8p/kg, bearing in mind this includes nearly all the horned lambs, whilst the overall sale average was 198.54p/kg or £87.97 per head.
Heavy lambs were a very similar trade on the week, the 46kg to 52kg weight bracket averaged 188.3pkg, or £91.75 and generally selling for £90-£95, commercial sorts late £80’s, whilst the big lambs 54kg – 55kg £95 to £104 depending on quality, odd nice pens in the hundred and teens, Messrs Simpson Bolton by Bowland and Messrs Hutchinson Faceby selling 54kg at £117.
Smart Beltex and Texel types were a very good trade today, tops saw a super pen of 7 Beltex crosses from EP&JM Hutchinson weighing 39kg sell for £139 each or 356p/kg, same farming sold 38kg at £134 or 352p, 6 pens sold for over £3/kg, with another 30 pens or 144 lambs selling for between 250p to £3kilo.
However, it was the next grade that were again best to sell, with nice 37kg to 40kg making 220p to 230p, and commercial sorts 205p to 220p.
hill bred lambs found a nice trade too, best Mules 45kg-48kg around £40 over the weight, topping at £87 from J Baines, whilst good handyweight Mules were in the 190’s per kilo, Steve Dorey 41kg at £79.50 and Messrs Kitching selling 40kg at £77. Best Scotch Blackfaced lambs over £2kilo from J&E Slater, and best Swales to £85.

Prime Lambs – Overall Average £87.97 per head or 198.6p/kg              

32.1kg to 35.9kg to 262.9p/kg         av 182.01p/kg      or £61.12 per head

36.0kg to 45.5kg to 356.4p/kg         av 205.52p/kg      or £86.38 per head

45.6kg to 52.0kg to 234.8p/kg         av 188.29p/kg      or £91.75 per head

52.1kg and over   to 222.6p/kg         av 178.33p/kg      or £97.13 per head

Beltex average £103.96 per head or 242.8p/kg

£ per head: £139 £134x2 £128 £125 £117 EP&JM Hutchinson; £119 £117.50 K Marshall; £118 Ellis Bros; £117 PM Simpson;

p/kg: 356.4p 352.6p 336.8p 326.8p 312.5p 282.9p EP&JM Hutchinson; 301.3p K Marshall; 282.9p281.0p Ellis Bros;

Suffolk average £87.24 per head or 193.7p/kg

£ per head: £109 EP&JM Hutchinson; £99 £98 £97 J&C Wright; £97 K Marshall; £96 J Greenwood; £96 S Dorey;

p/kg: 218.8p 205.8p 204.8p 202.4p J Strange & Son; £206.1p CD&RF Kitching; 203.4p 202.2p J Greenwood; 197.6p H Downs;

Texel average £87.45 per head or 200.1p/kg

£ per head: £113 J Shuttleworth; £110.5 £109 H Atkinson; £108 D&A Livestock; £106 BL&R Lund; £106 A&CL Gray; £ 106 JE Burrow; £106 A Beresford;

p/kg: 276.3p 259.5p H Atkinson; 262.5p JE Burrow; 252.4p A Beresford; 250.0p BL&R Lund; 250.0p MR&GP Greenwood; 245.9p RM Crabtree;

Mule average £80.90 per head or 183.3p/kg

£ per head: £118 Manorlands; £87 J Baines; £86 CD&RF Kitching; £85.50 AJ Mason; 85.50 S Dorey; £84.50 Bob Stubbs; £84.50 G Burrow;

p/kg: 222.6p Manorlands; 193.9p 190.5p S Dorey; 192.5p 188.6p CD&RF Kicthing;  188.8p M&B Allen; 187.2p J Cheetham: 186.9p H Downs;

Charollais average £88.04 per head or 202.0p/kg

£ per head: £99 J Strange; £99 KJ Marston; £98.50 £92 D&A Livestock; £94.50 S Dorey;

p/kg: 220.0p 215.9p 213.1p 212.2p 208.3p J Strange; 220.0p KJ Marston;

Swaledale average £62.96 per head or 167.0p/kg

£ per head: £85 C Nelson; £85 £80 £78 T Boothman; £77 AJ Mason; £76 J Cheetham; £70.50 W Mason & Son;

p/kg: 181.4p 181.1p 173.3p AG Horn; 178.2p A&N Fothergill; 171.0p FM Thompson; 170.5p W Mason & Son;

SBF average £80.78 per head or 192.8p/kg

£ per head: £81.50 £81 £78.50 J&E Slater;

p/kg: 201.3p 192.9p 189.5p J&E Slater;

Masham average £87.05 per head or 186.4p/kg

£ per head: £88 £85 S Dorey;

p/kg: 187.2p 184.8p S Dorey;

Suffolk to £97.5, Texel to £102.5, BFL to £54.5, Mule to £68.5, Lleyn to £57.5, Swaledale to £46.5, Masham to £47.5, Cheviot  to £97.5, Beltex  to £41.5, Lonk  to £37.5.

Top prices:

Lowland: £102.5 FA Holmes & Son; £100 DG Boothman

Mule/Masham: £68.5 DJ Coates £63.5 MJ&GC Dobson

Horned: £46.5 ML&JE Kayley & & Son; £41.5 T Parker

Hill: £57.5 RG&SJ Paul; £48.5 CD&RF Kitching

Cast Rams average £62.5

 Texel to £109.5, BFL to £68.5, Swaledale to £40.5, Masham to £47.5, Cheviot to £68.5, Beltex to £54.5.

Rearing Calves to £430 (87)

B&W av £50.59 Cont av £245 Native av £182

A good number of calves forward this morning with quality calves in relative short supply this morning, however trade was quite spritely with some healthy competition on all classes of calves today. Best calves still received strong prices with a storming blue bull from Alan of Hartleys at Bolton Abbey selling for £430.  Plenty of good straight bulls in the £350 - £390 bracket. Despite the quality of heifers not quite as strong as previous weeks trade was still respectable with good calves from Ralph Guy and Fred Longster nicely into the £300’s.

Aberdeen Angus bulls once again saw a solid trade with three crackers again from Hartley’s at Beamsley selling for £330 and £300 twice. However Aberdeen Angus heifers were a touch harder to place with Lee’s of Lothersdale topping at £140. Black and whites were a slightly dearer on the week as a result of some stronger calves forward this week with Richard Spence of Sutton In Craven peaking the trade at £120.   

Bull Calves

Limousin x (Av £291) to £365 G Pickersgill & Sons                     

Brit Blue x (Av £312.69) to £430 JP&KE Hartley                                                          

Aberdeen Angus (Av £243.89) to £330 JP&KE Hartley

Dairy Shorthorn (Av £52.33) to £75 IRG Collins

Black & White (Av £50.59) to £120 RM Spence                           

Heifer Calves                       

Ab Angus (Av £113.13) to £140 AJ Lee                                                          

British Blue (Av £226.83) to £335 RD Guy

Lim (Av £172.83) to £220 G Pickersgill & Sons

Prize Awards:                                                      

                                Champion – GB Moorhouse                              Reserve – DR Robinson

Newly Calven Heifers (av £1825): to £1850 DR Robinson

Newly Calven Cows: to £1720 ASE Crisp  

Incalf Heifers  to £1200 GD&JC Holme