Fortnightly Catalogue Sale of Store Lambs & Breeding Sheep:
Forward: 7,997 Head, Overall av £65.37.
Another good entry of lambs today and trade back up a gear, especially for the longer keep store lambs. Today’s sale included the Annual Show & Sale of Continental cross Gimmer Lambs competing for The Chris Hagar Trophy. Judge Mr John Turner awarded the champion rosette to a lovely pen from Roger & Jason Craddock of Bolton by Bowland and these sold for £155. Tops of the sale were £170 from the same vendor with several best show pens into three figures. To receive a premium, drawn Suffolk and Continental lambs need to be well grown and have good skins and a clean head, and most of these type of lambs sold for £80-£95, with smaller running type lambs from £68 to £78. Those not conforming to this standard are best left as mixed stores with the wethers.
Stores were good to sell and a large crowd of buyers assembled from a wide area, with a large contingent of Welsh buyers and Border counties buyers. Mule Wethers found good favour today with 2,000 of these trading to an average of nearly £57. Masham Wethers were also out in force, and the Annual show for pens of 40 or more wethers saw first prize go to Messrs Lister of Kiln Hall selling for £67 each.