Spring Lambs

The opening show and sale of spring lambs was kindly sponsored by WCF Fuels & MB Nutrition which attracted much interest, with the prizes awarded as follows:

Best Continental Lamb
1st W Musgrave & Son, Carden Hall - £202
2nd JR Robinson & Son, Hollins Farm - £161
3rd FE&CM Robinson & Son, Warth Sutton Farm - £154

Best Native Lamb
1st FE&CM Robinson & Son, Warth Sutton Farm - £134
2nd RJ&J Towers, Greenlands Farm - £165
3rd J&O Galbraith & Son, Endmoor Farm - £160

Champion: W Musgrave & Son, Carden Hall

The overall champion from W Musgrave & Son, Dalston attracted fierce bidding from several buyers, selling to a top price of £202 to weekly supporter Browns Quality Meat, Ulverston. This lamb also achieved a top price per kilogram of 481p/kg. The best Beltex bred lambs sold regularly at £4 a kilo plus. Charollais lambs sold to £169 from JR Robinson & Son, Nook with Suffolks selling to £165 from RJ&J Towers, Ingleton. Heavy Hampshires from J&O Galbraith & Son, Endmoor sold to £160. Dorset lambs from FE&CM Robinson & Son, Milnthorpe sold to £154.50. An overall average for 30 spring lambs was 351p/kg.

Prime Hoggs

1050 prime hoggs were forward to our usual ring side of eleven active buyers, with more number need on a weekly basis to fulfil orders. An overall market averaged of 270p/kg was achieved.
Heavy hoggs were keenly sort after with a run of well finished hoggs from M&S Blease, Carnforth selling to £168, with others from the same home selling to £165. SH&LE Birkett, Nether Kellet sold full pens of Texel hoggs to £150 with heavy Cheviot hoggs from this home selling to £144. Heavy hoggs were regularly selling at the £138-£140 mark. Export type Continental bred hoggs were frequently selling around 300p/kg mark. Mule hoggs sold to a top of £130 from M&YS Barker, Halton with other Mule hoggs selling to £128 from Cornthwaite Moors, Hambleton. An outstanding pen of Herdwick hoggs at 49kg sold to £130 from JW Hodgson, Little Langdale. Good runs of Horned hoggs forward saw 42kg Swaledale hoggs selling to £119 from DC&EM Miller, Claughton on Brock. Black Face hoggs sold to £122 GM&J Jackson, Little Eccleston followed by £118 from M&YS Barker, Halton.

Cast Sheep

A wide variety of cull sheep were forward at todays sale with buyers ringside actively competing for all classes and types. A shortage of the best heavy and pure bred ewes today with those forward selling to a top price of £205 for a Texel from Drinkall Bros, Abbeystead. Other Texels sold at £160 from PW&D Swindlehurst, Underbarrow and £152 from AE Atkinson & Son, Endmoore. A large proportion of todays sale were medium type Continental ewes selling to £128. Texel x from JW&TE Sharp Ltd, Lyth sold Suffolks to £126 with others generally £105-£115, with the next class down £85-£100. Mule ewes sold to £138 from Drinkall Bros, Abbeystead with others pens of the heaviest
£118 -£130. Medium types nicely sold at £90-£110. Hill bred ewes sold to £108 for a Cheviots from FI&ME Little, Kendal with Swaledales to £98 and Rough Fells £96.

Sheep with Lambs at Foot

100 outfits were forward at J36 consisting of mostly Mule ewes. Younger Mule ewes with young Texel lambs from G&ID Postlethwaite, Howgill sold to £225, with Mule shearlings from JM&NJ Strickland, Whinfell selling to £220. Hornby Hall Farms sold a run of aged Mule ewes with Texel twins topping at £210. Single outfits were in the keenest interest today with Texels ewes selling to £172 from C Postlethwaite, Gosforth and aged Mule ewes with Texel singles from Hornby Hall selling to £158. An increase in number are starting to come forward with an entry of 20 pure bred Beltex ewes with Blue Texel lambs already entered for next week.