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Averages up at Skipton store lamb opener

At Skipton's opening show and sale of store lambs, a total of 2,204 head sold to an overall average of £117.30 – a rise of £14.33 on 2024.

The day's top call of £146/head fell to a pen of nine Dutch Spotted lambs by predominantly home-bred tups from Graham Ward, GM Farms, Pontefract, who had four other pens selling at between £120 to £137.

Second top at £142/head was a pen of Beltex cross from Andrew Haggas, Otterburn.

The second prize pen of 40 Beltex cross from Robert Challinor, Dilhorne, Staffordshire, sold for £145/head, with the first prize pen of 42 Beltex crosses from Trevor and Christine Stoney, Bewerley, not far behind at £139/head.

At the same price were third prize winners Anthony and Heather Hewetson and sons, Albert and Fred, Bank Newton, with a 40-strong large-framed Texel pen.

Best, smart and strong-looking Beltex lambs achieving £140 plus. The next grade of medium keep lambs sold at between £128 and £138, with smaller smart lambs making £116 to £125. Bigger Texel lambs sold between £120 and £135, medium to smaller lambs at £105 to £118 and smaller lambs either side of £100 with some long-term types at £80 to £90.

Suffolk lambs mainly made between £110 and £126, with Robert Metcalfe, Brearton, heading the section for the second year running, while Michael Parker, Winterburn, topped his annual Suffolk consignment at £125, plus others at £113 and £110, with some smaller lambs among the mix either side of £100.The first North of England Mule wethers of the season from Mick Crawshaw, Trawden, made £102.

Averages: Beltex £137.79 (2024 £122.24), Texel £116.38 (£102.86), Suffolk £144.38 (£105.66), Dutch Spotted £127.91, Charollais £112.15 (top £116 SL Fairfax). A single Jacob pen from Skipton breed stalwarts Gavin and Rebecca Haworth made £100.

Auctioneers: CCM

Texels to £7,000 online

It was a Corbo gimmer from Adrian Liggett, Co. Omagh, which led the Summer Select online sale of Texel sheep. By 15,000gns Mullan Game Changer, out of a Corbo dam, it went home with Messrs Cubitt, Cullybackey, Ballymena.

A Lylehill ewe lamb was next at £4,400. A Drumderg Hitman daughter from A. Glendinning, Co. Londonderry, it sold to Messrs Waite, Lamberton.

J. Wilkinson, Co. Tyrone, took £4,000 for their Ballygroogan shearling gimmer by Lylehill Gunshot, which sold to Messrs Innes and Sons, Huntly, with a Mullan ewe lamb from B. Hanthorn, Co Armagh, making £3,200 when it was knocked down to Messrs Dodds, Newcastle.

Two more sold for £3,000, the first a Lylehill shearling gimmer from Messrs Glendinning to Messrs McHugh, Lisnashannagh, followed by another Mullan ewe lamb from Messrs Hanthorn which sold to Messrs Muldoon, Aughnacloy.Ìý

Auctioneers: Harrison and HetheringtonÌý

New record for Dorsets at Worcester

A 3,000gns call led the bidding at the Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset Society's summer sale at Worcester, setting what is thought to be a new centre record for the breed.

READ MORE: Great Yorkshire Show: Texel claims sheep inter-breed supreme

Sale leader came in the form of Pembrokeshire-based David Lewis' ram lamb Pembroke Halfpenny, a Legaloy Elite E1334 son out of Pembroke E85, a Ballytaggart Xseptional X1559 daughter. It sold to Charlotte Heaps, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.

A Byeways shearling ewe from Joe Larder, Somerset, made 650gns. By Downkillybegs Fivestar, it was knocked down to Josh Sparks, Pontyclun.

Then came a brace of 550gns calls, the first one being for another of the Byeways shearling ewes. This one by Pembroke Enforcer E26 sold to Kenny Titmus, Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire.

The second 550gns bid was another ram lamb, Sandy Lane Hilux, from Sam Driver, Derbyshire. This Polgreen E751 son sold to Hydes Farming, Thaxted, Essex.

Averages: Shearling rams £472.50, ram lambs £1,382.50, shearling ewes £431.16, individual ewe lambs £336, groups of ewe lambs £222.60

Auctioneers: McCartneys.

Cast cow trade up on the year

Averages were up on the year for cast cows at Darlington at 271p/kg and £1,804/head, up 90p/kg on the year.

Topping the sale at 336p/kg was an OTM Limousin heifer from H.S. Hutchinson, Eastgate, with OTMs's from E.W. Grieves, Oakdene, selling at 334p/kg and J.P. Phelan, Essex, at 330p/kg.

Top priced older cow per kilo was a British Blonde from J.C. Barker, Hinderwell, which sold for 327p/kg, with four Limousins from T. N. Callender, Whinney HillÌýmaking 326p/kg which included the top gross value cow at £2,924.

Native breeds also sold to demand, seeing a top price of £2,192 for a Beef Shorthorn from ÌýClervaux Trust, Darlington and 324p/kg for a Galloway OTM from the Messrs Phelan.

Topping the dairy cows were Messrs Beckwith, Brough Castle, with a nine-year-old Dairy Shorthorn at £1,708 and 272p/pk.

Among the bulls saw Charolais sell to 306p/pk and £3,154 from P. Foster, Guisborough, Limousins to 298p/pk and £3,251 from J. A. Gilson, Quebec, Aberdeen Angus to £2,621 from G. E. Raw, Toft Hill, and Herefords to £2,468 from Allison Devereux Farms, Low Harperley. Ìý

Auctioneers: Darlington ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Auction Mart

Penrith store cattle to £2,815

Store cattle at Penrith sold to a high of £2,815 for a 22 month-old Limousin bullock from K. M. Norman Farms, Redcar, Cleveland, with 40 from this home averaging £2494.38.

Heifers topped at £2,685 for a 27 month-old Charolais cross store heifer from A. J. Glendinning, Dacre, selling to R. Dickinson. The same home also sold a pen of dairy-bred Aberdeen Angus heifer at the same age for £2,345, which were bought by R. Towers.Ìý The consignment averaged £2362.50. Dairy-bred bullocks achieved £2,485 for a pen of five from Windy Hill Farm, while dairy-bred Limousin bullocks sold to £2,385 for a pair from R. and A. Cullen, Carlise, selling again to R. Towers.

Dairy-bred Wagyu heifers out of Jersey cows achieved £1,895 for one from S. and D.C. Bland, Abbott Lodge.

Auctioneers: Penrith and District ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Mart

Steady averages for prime lambs

At the weekly sale of prime stock at Thrisk, prime lambs topped at £231 for a trio of 64kg Suffolk's from Mark, Henry and George Bulmer, Salton.

READ MORE: View from the Rostrum: Ian Atkinson - "Trade remains buoyant and all indicators point to a strong start to store lamb sales"

Simon Wilson, Kirkby Mills, sold a pen of 5, 56kg Texel cross lambs for £223 followed by a further pen of nine at £208, with 22 lambs from this home levelling at £208.

Andrew Foxton, West Ness, sold a pen of 10, 58kg Texel lambs for £222 with another pen of eight selling for £210 and the run of 31 lambs from this home averaging £207.

A strong trade saw heavy lambs sell well, with all lambs weighing 52kg plus averaging £205 and a wholesale average of £174/head or 381p/kg achieved for the 1,276 lambs sold.

Topping the p/kg was a trio of 40kg Beltex lambs from Ali Sutcliffe, Calton in Cleveland, with a further pen of eight from the same home selling at 467p/kg and their total 66 lambs averaging 425p/kg.

Auctioneers: Thirsk ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Auction Mart.

Hexham store lamb opener strong

Hexham's opening sale of store lambs saw a catalogued entry of 1,200 and an all-in average of £128.80.

Sale leaders at £168 were a quartet of lambs from R. Kellett and Sons, Errington.

Next was a £154 bid for 23 from G. Smith and Sons, West Bolton, who sold 142 to average £143.26.

R. H. Frater, Moorlaws, sold a pair of lambs at £150, and D. W. Henderson, Wylam, sold 13 at £149.

First time vendor H. Robson, Dale House, sold Texel cross lambs to £147, selling 78 to average more than £130.

The annual consignment from Messrs Graham, Brampton, topped at £146 for 15, selling a pen of 105 to £128 and averaging £127.84 for 243 lambs.

Wolsingham Park Farms saw a rise on the year of more than £34. Topping from this home was a pen of 12 at £132 with their next pens at £124 and £120.

Auctioneers: Hexham and Northern Marts

Wedderburn leads Summer Spectacular

ÌýA top call of 2,800gns led the Dutch Spotted Sheep Society's Summer Spectacular sale at Worcester. This was for the pre-sale show champion Wedderburn Ingot, a ram lamb by Lochlad Hitman, out of the homebred Wedderburn Gold Star, a Boyo Easy On The Eye daughter from Jonathan and Janet Corbett, Newent, Gloucestershire.

READ MORE: Halo tops Boyo reduction at 12,000gns

At 2,000gns was another from the same home, pre-sale show reserve champion Wedderburn High Class. This shearling ewe by the imported sire Fire Spirit and out of the 20,000gns ewe Candy Floss, sold to W. E. Thompson, Halstock, Somerset.

Another gimmer from the Corbetts made 1,700gns. This was for Wedderburn High Heels, a Glencoy Chance daughter out of an imported dam which was also taken by Messrs Thompson.

The same home also sold Wedderburn Humingbird, a gimmer by Whatmore Guiness out of Lochlad Cuckoo, a daughter of the imported sire Hiroshima, to E. Nicholls, Utoxeter.

Averages: 27 gimmers £616.78, 5 shearling rams £472.50, 10 ram lambs £703.50, 7 aged ewes £495, 15 ewe lambs £602

Auctioneers: McCartneys.

Suffolk tops Limited Edition

A top call of £4,650 led the Limited Edition online sale of Suffolk and Texel sheep. Sale leader from David Argue, Cavan, was Rockdale Dua Lipa, a Suffolk ewe lamb by Limestone Rizzler out of a ewe by Frongoy Rocket. The buyers were Messrs Powell, Keady, Armagh.

At £4,200 was another same way bred ewe lamb from the same home, Rockdale Diva. This one sold to Messrs Johnston, St Johnston, Co. Donegal.

Shane and Sarah Brady, Cavan, sold their Milldam Suffolk shearing gimmer for £4,100. A Bessiebell Big Brother daughter, out of a Shannagh ewe by Crewelands Frontline, it sold to Messrs Mc Cabe, Ballyjamesduff, Cavan.

Messers Powell paid £3,500 for another Rockdale Suffolk ewe lamb - Rockdale Delilha. A Kilduff Cool Dude daughter, this one is out of a ewe by Blackbrae Humdinger.

A £3,050 bid topped the Texel entries for a Tullig ewe lamb. This one by Auldhouseburn Expression out of a Maineview ewe by Castlecairn Doodlebug sold to Messrs Blackwood, Muirkirk, Ayrshire.

Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington

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