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Jeremy Greenhalgh on upcoming autumn sales.

My last View from the Rostrum was back in the summer, with the agricultural shows in full swing as we proudly supported many of our local shows.

Following Covid-19 this gave us the opportunity to be back meeting customers.

It was also a pleasure to see the very best of livestock in the local area on show which were all presented to the highest standards.

I sit and write this article in the middle of our busiest two weeks of sales which range from weekly primestock to our society sales.

The autumn sales are well and truly underway, with only a handful of sales left.

Society sales at Clitheroe are a highlight of our yearly calendar that we are proudly involved in.

Firstly we had the Lonks, with a new breed record being achieved topping at 9,000gns.

This saw a real buzz and it has to be said that it was one of the best atmospheres witnessed at Clitheroe Auction for some years following all the restrictions of Covid-19.

Following the Lonks, we had the Derbyshire Gritstones, now classed as a rare breed.

This sale brought many new buyers to the breed, with females selling to 1,000.

North Country Cheviots also saw a new centre record achieved of 1,700gns as we held our first Sunday auction.

Store lambs have hit the peak season, with our weekly sales now hitting 2,000-head per week.

Lancashire has been very lucky to not suffer from any shortages of grass resulting in the local store lamb trade holding its prices.

The medium- and short-term lambs have been selling at 80 to 90, while hill-bred lambs ranged from 68 to 80 depending on type.

Store cattle are starting to come forward, with the autumn sales almost upon us.

Trade looks promising, especially for the smarter suckler-bred sorts selling well in excess of 800.

Strong native-bred stores have been selling for a premium.

Our renowned Old Fair Sale runs over two days, taking place on Friday, October 28, and we are inviting all classes of breeding sheep, stores and feeding sheep.

This is followed by breeding rams on Saturday, October 29.

I look forward to seeing all customers, new and old, attend the auction as the autumn sales come
to a close.

Jeremy Greenhalgh

Jeremy Greenhalgh is the market manager of Clitheroe Action Mart. Call 07815 727 993, or email [email protected]