Towler Beltex-cross secure CCM Skipton prime lambs title
James Towler, of Steelands Farm Grindleton, was champion at Skipton Auction Mart’s March prime lambs show and sale with a pen of five home-bred 43kg Beltex-cross purchased for the day’s leading per head price of £118, or 274p/kg, by regular buyer Vivers Scotlamb in Annan. (Mon, March 4)
Mr Towler has won several monthly prime lamb titles at Skipton and his latest victors, picked out by judge Mick Etherington, of Eldwick, were by a mix of home-bred tups and others from the McAllister family in Northern Ireland and local breeder Karen Shutleworth, of Gargrave,
Hayley Baines, showing lambs for Kirkby Malham’s Burrow, took both second and third prizes in the Continental show class with 42kg and 40kg pens both again falling to Vivers for £108 and £114 each, with the latter also hitting the day’s top per kilo price of 285p.
Steve Dorey, a familiar face all the way from Newark, really caught the eye in the other show classes, picking up two red rosettes with 54kg Suffolk-cross lambs claimed for £93 per head by Hellifield’s Paul Watson and 50kg Mashams knocked down at £88.50 to Nick Dalby, of Darley.
Mr Dorey also chipped in with the third prize 45kg Mules pen sold at £82 to Andrew Atkinson, of Felliscliffe, along with the second prize hill-bred pen, 41kg Cheviots which made £79 when claimed by Woodhead Bros in Colne. They were just pipped on price at £80 by the first prize 46kg hill-bred pen from SM Collinson, of Clayton-le-Dale, which also joined Mr Atkinson.
With sheep trade under pressure around the country, the Skipton entry of 2,913 prime lambs got away nicely when selling to an overall average of £84.87 per head, or 188.9p/kg, and SQQ of 196p.
Also penned for sale were 233 cast sheep, with cull ewes peaking at £106.50 per head for a Texel pen from Skibeden’s George Stapleton, averaging £57.17 overall. Cast rams averaged £58.90.
Of the breeding sheep, 61 ewes with 90 lambs at foot produced some excellent top end prices of £230 and £220 twice for Texels with twins from Richard Umpleby, of Killinghall, while Steven Lofthouse, from Grewelthorpe, made £190 for Suffolks with twins.
Some older broken-mouthed Mules with twins could be picked up for £155 to £165, with older broken-mouthed Texels with twins selling at £170-£180. Good singles made £145 to £155, commercial singles £120-£140.