PRIME LAMBS
There was a smaller entry of 1000 Prime Lambs forward this week, as many of our consigners are under movement restrictions due to purchasing breeding sheep this week. The offering of lambs today saw larger quantities of hill bred lambs and those that were well fleshed lambs selling to a premium.
J36 always offers a strong trade for well finished heavy lambs with the consignment from RE & A Briggs, Wennington taking top spot at £144 with 60kg Texels. This was closely followed by the consignment from J&E Nuttall, Old Hutton selling to £136 and £134. 50kg Dutch Spotted lambs sold to a top of £123 from AJ & EJ Platt, Barrow-in-Furness. Suffolk lambs peaked at £122 from IM Clegg, Staveley.
There was a shortage of heavy weight lambs today with plenty of middle to late 40kg lambs regularly selling to the £100 and teens. Larger quantities of upland lambs were in the market today and saw Mules peak at £112 weighing 50kg from J Handley & Son, Chapple le Dale, followed by 47kg Mules to £104.50 from Drinkall Bros, Over Wyresdale. There was a larger number of horned lambs on the market today with well fleshed ones regularly getting in excess of the 200p/kg mark.
CAST SHEEP
The weekly sale of 500 cull ewes saw a very mixed show forward with meaty ewes getting the best trade.
Texel ewes topped the trade at £139 from RE & A Briggs, Wennington with other Texels selling to £135 from G Nelson, Brigsteer with the best Texel ewes regularly selling in the £130 plus mark.
A Teeswater ewe from GM Redmayne, Ings sold to £139 with Beltex ewes selling to £131 from AE Atkinson & Son, Endmoor. DR & JE Wood, Bolton showed a strong run of Leicester ewes selling to a top of £125. Mule ewes continue to be a strong trade at J36 with a top of £112 twice from E & A Thompson, New Hutton and TMW & H Hodgson, Nibthwaite. Mule ewes were regularly selling over the £100 mark. Cheviots sold to £109 from J & C Airey, Little Urswick.
Hill ewes at J36 continue to be keenly bid for with Cheviots leading the way at £110 from F & CE Bentley & Son, Shap with Swaledales topping at £90 from GM Redmayne, Ings with a full pen from Drinkall Bros, Over Wyresdale selling to £89.
All Herdwick ewes were keenly bid for selling to a top of £60 from S Crawford, Staveley.