PRIME LAMBS

1200 lambs were forward, with a two tier traded seen here at Junction 36. Well meated / fed lambs were meeting plenty of bidding and easily sold, with leaner grass fed lambs harder to place. Heavy bred lambs met another strong trade at Junction 36, with a ring full of Texel to £166 from J Woodburn & Partners, Ulverston. Other Texels sold to £165 from F&CE Bentley & Son, Shap. Pens of Suffolks sold to £162 from J&R Waller, Killington. Many pens of meated / fed heavy continental lambs were regularly £145 plus.
The best bred lambs sold to 335p/kg for Texels from IL Dixon, Cantsfield with the best 330p/kg plus. Nice bred commercial lambs were regularly 305p/kg to 310p/kg.
More hill bred lambs on offer today, with a ring full of Mules to £131 from Drinkall Bros, Over Wyresdale.

CAST SHEEP

Just short of 500 ewes were forward, despite a lot of people being on standstill due to recent sheep sales. A full ringside of buyers were forward, to include several customers looking for grazing ewes. Just a handful of the strongest pure and pedigree bred ewes today, which sold to £232 for a Beltex ewe from R&E Ladds, Kendal. With Texels to £203 from D&A Nicholson, Ulverston and other medium pure and pedigrees £170 to £200. The best heavy first cross ewes sold to £198 for Texels, with others at £155 to £180. Meated mediums £128 to £140, with lighter weight ewes £105 to £118. Mules sold to £166, with heavy Mules to £164 and others generally £140 to £150, mediums £122 to £135 and best light weights £90 to £102. Leaner sorts finding a keen interest as grazing ewes, at £78 to £85. BFL’s sold to £196, Cheviots £168, Dorset £136, Lleyn £110, Rough Fells £106, SBF £101 and Swaledales £95. Medium hill ewes £70 to £85, with lesser and leaners sorts £40 to £60.
Several cull rams forward sold to £195 for both Texels and BFL’s, with other leaner continentals generally £120 to £140 and hill rams £80 to £100.

PIGS

An astronomical trade witnessed at J36 sale of prime and store pigs, with 14 prime pigs selling over £300. Battle for top price was hotly contested but coming but coming out on top was GC&GW Taylor, Crook with their pair of 120kg prime gilts at £340, with this home topping the hogs at £325 for 130kg. Jade Barkley made the trip down from Whitehaven with a consignment of six averaging £308 for 105kg. Boars topped at £320 for 120kg from the previous mentioned Taylors of Crook, with four more 100kg boars from this home at £280. Topping the pp/kg was C Woodhouse, Garstang with a pair of hogs at 322p/kg, grossing £290.
Stores sold to a top of £115 from M Howarth, Grange Over Sands and weaners to £98 from Messrs Halpin, Barrow.