SHEEP WITH LAMBS AT FOOT
A mixed trade for sheep with lambs at foot today, with strong sheep and strong lambs eagerly bid for but younger types of lambs harder to place and looked buyable. Sam Barlow, Croston took the top price today, selling a Texel ewe with a smart pair of Texel twins to £280 with Lleyn ewes and Texel twin lambs selling to £260. Aged Mule ewes with strong Texel twin lambs from D & K Swarbrick, Out Rawcliffe sold to £235, £230 and £210. Scotch Mule shearlings with young Texel twin lambs sold to £200 from Tracey Hodgson, Old Hutton.
There are some great consignments of sheep with lambs at foot already entered for Tuesday 30th March and will be well worth a look for anyone wanting sheep with lambs at foot.
PRIME HOGGS
The weekly sale of Prime Hoggs at J36 had an entry 750 forward with an extremely mixed entry of sheep in terms of quality today, with proper fed hoggs reaping the benefits. With a large proportion of the sheep being hill bred the average today was 265p/kg.
Beltex hoggs from GM & A Jackson, Little Eccleston led the way, selling to £168 or 373p/kg. Texel hoggs peaked at £148 from E Lund & son, Ingleton followed by £142 from J Twigge, Lindale and £141 from P Rossall from Claughton on Brock. Handy weighted Texel hoggs sold to 342p/kg from KA Purtill, Wigan with others to 340p/kg from J Fryars, Kirkham. Inside, well fed, meaty hoggs are still selling towards the 300p/kg mark.
Hill bred hoggs saw Cheviots top at £125.50 from M & C Booth, Kentmere with Mules selling to £124 from RM & D Dixon, Longsleddale. Horned hoggs peaked at £120 for heavyweight Rough Fells from AEA Harrison, Kentmere. Swaledale hoggs peaked at £110 from GM & A Jackson, Little Eccleston. Herdwicks sold to £108 from Messrs Hodgson, Rydal.
CAST SHEEP
450 cast sheep were sold today, with trade going from strength to strength. Pure Texel ewes from PK & R Woof, Stainton were the pick of the day, topping at £175 with others from the same home selling to £147. Many good Texel ewes were selling between the £120 - £130 mark.
Pure Beltex ewes from CB Kendal, Grayrigg sold to £144. Suffolk ewes topped at £132 from H Wilson, Selside, with others to £128 from P & SA Edmondson, Barrows Green. All Suffolk ewes forward averaged £105.
All Mule ewes continue to be well sold at J36 with a pen of 12 topping at £120 from A Pickthall, New Hutton and others selling to the same price from MW & PA Rollason, Meathop. With many ewes selling between £110 and £115 and medium type Mules ewes either side of £100.
Hill ewes continue to be a flying trade with Cheviots topping at £114 from J & M Wilson, Selside with others to £111 from G Nelson, Brigsteer. All Cheviots forward averaged £94. The best Swaledales were selling well into the 80s and topping at £89 from E Lund & Son, Ingleton with medium type Swaledale ewes selling between £65 and £75. Rough Fell ewes sold to £81 from M Bland & Son, Staveley. A run of Herdwick ewes from A Hartley, Seathwaite sold to £100 with others selling to £94 from Messrs Hodgson, Rydal with all Herdwick ewes forward averaging £60.
There were 30 cast tups forward with all types keenly bid for with Texels selling to £164 from T Pye, Ulverston with other Texels to £156 from D & S Robinson, Beckside. Leicesters sold to £148 from RM & D Dixon, Longsleddale with horned tups selling to £109 for Swaledales from NW & EM Mason & Son, Middleton.