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Quality has been in demand throughout 2023 at livestock marts, according to young auctioneers at H&H.

Joe Bowman, 29, who joined H&H aged 21, is the store lamb and breeding auctioneer at Borderway and also sells at Lazonby, Middleton-in-Teesdale and Kirkby Stephen.

He said the trade for breeding sheep had been ‘really positive'.

Quality in demand at marts

"The price between good stock and lesser stock is more obvious, and people are moving toward the better end, which is a good thing," he said.

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Store lambs had remained buoyant, with numbers up substantially at both Lazonby and Borderway.

Mr Bowman said: "Everything has been easier to sell than anticipated, particularly at the back end of the year. The Lazonby Mule gimmer lamb sale was the dearest ever and the Alston Moor sale saw the highest average for a Mule gimmer lamb sale ever seen."

Joel McGarva, 26, joined H&H eight years ago and is responsible for the sales of young store cattle and calves at Borderway Mart.

He said trade had been good and consistent in 2023.

He said: "It has not dropped too drastically and there has not been the fluctuations which can make it difficult for farmers to cover their overhead costs, which is particularly helpful at a time when everyone is obviously concerned about big rises in the costs of inputs and the cost of living."

He added that despite the challenges in the sector, 2023 had proved ‘quality is easy to sell'.

Looking forward to 2024, Mr Bowman said the ‘bluetongue' issue would impact the pedigree trade, particularly exports to Ireland, but he believed breeding numbers would remain positive as the decline in sheep was reducing numbers.

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He said: "Store lambs will always have a market as long as the fat prices remain positive."

Careers

He added his personal goals were to ‘get in among the drama' of the Swaledale tups sale, continue to build store lamb numbers and ‘raise my game' doing a job he loves.

For his own career, Mr McGarva said he wanted to maintain on his ‘development trajectory'.

"I am now selling a lot of pedigree sheep and an increasing number of pedigree cattle, and I am raring to take on more responsibility in my role as an auctioneer," he said, adding the best part of the job was the people.