A year of record breakers at H and H

2011 has been a year of highs for Harrison and Hetherington. According to sales director, Scott Donaldson its accomplishments read almost like a Guinness MART of Records.

Mr Donaldson takes a look back at the livestock trading for the last six months and looks forward to 2012.

“It’s been a year for records tumbling, as the sales have mounted up. Livestock has certainly kept our gavels busy,” he says.

June began with the Holstein UK sale where prices peaked at 23,000gns. Later in the month saw the on-farm sale of 560 head of pedigree Holstein Friesian dairy cattle at Dolphenby Farm, Penrith.  The first of the world records was broken at Carlisle in July when an in-calf heifer belonging to Gordon Wilson, from the Bankdale Limousin herd dispersal, sold for 65,000gns.

September’s annual Holstein and British Friesian Show and sale of bulls saw a record average of £3,100. Later in the month two further records were broken at the annual show and sale of suckled calves. The top price achieved was £3,500 from Thirlwall Castle.  Steers saw their highest ever average of £1,004 and heifers were also a highest ever average of £909. 

Further highlights include August’s, Beltex sale where Beltex shearling ram ‘Ardstewart Paparazzi’  sold for 10,000gns. The spring born suckled calves at Middleton in Teesdale was another record breaking sale with the highest prices ever seen. The sale average was up £134.50, resulting in an overall average of £750.

Throughout the last six months, three hugely successful on-farm pedigree cattle sales were conducted by Harrison & Hetherington. The Manor House herd of 96 Limousin cattle saw prices reaching 9,000gns.  The Grange Herd of 62 Limousin Cattle saw stock selling to 18,000gns and the final on farm sale of the Wesley Herd of 148 head of British Charolais cattle sold to 10,000gns.

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Carlisle’s Borderway is the largest centre for cast cows in the UK. They hold weekly sales throughout the year and Mr Donaldson was delighted to see for the first time since BSE, over 300 head of prime cows being sold in one day.

Finishing off the year was the 25^th Anniversary Black and White Sale. Buyers from 8 different countries were competing for some of the best dairy genetics on offer in Europe with a top call of 15,000gns.

Trade for lambs went off with a flying start, the beginning of the summer lamb sales in July saw new season lambs selling at £20 a head more than in 2010.  This was a phenomenal trade with prices equating to over £2/kg.

At the Alston Moor sale of Mule gimmer lambs at Lazonby, a total of 17,611 lambs were sold grossing a fantastic £1.7million. This is always one of the biggest one day sales of breeding sheep in the country and this year was certainly a sale to recognise.

The North Country Cheviot sale at Lockerbie saw a shearling ram topping the sale at £6,000 and later in the month at the Hill Cheviot Ram sale two rams from The Becks sold for £12,000 each.

Moving south of the border again, at the annual three day Kirkby Stephen sale of Swaledale rams, a total of £1.2 million changed hands with the top price of £34,000 being achieved for a shearling from ‘Bull & Cave’

The end of November is often a time when the prime lamb trade slackens however lambs once again break the £2/kg barrier.

For Harrison & Hetherington, the year is ending on a tremendous high, with three very successful in-lamb Texel sales culminating in the Christmas Cracker Sale when a Texel gimmer from Glenside Farm made both a breed and centre record  when it sold for 32,000gns.

We leave 2011 having experienced livestock prices that a few years ago none of us would have believed possible, and it seems to have come as a result of an agricultural policy that seems intent on protecting the environment at the expense of food production. Whether this changes we shall have to wait and see.

As we look to 2012, though, we need to look at the underlying features of the economy.  As the price of fuel & energy looks set to remain extremely high and, with it, fertilizer, and most likely protein and concentrates, high livestock values are only masking the fact that margins remain tight. This makes it even more important that every livestock farmer takes advantage of the current shortage of livestock and gets every pound they can for what they produce by using the competition created by the live auction system.

Future prime lamb prices may be dictated by what happens on the Continent, but there is no doubt that beef will be in short supply for some time. This bodes well for breeders and finishers, and a welcome ease in the price of feed grain may help improve margins in the short term at least.

So, as the new year approaches Harrison & Hetherington look forward to another year of buoyant livestock prices for their customers at Carlisle, Lockerbie, Newcastleton, Lazonby, Kirkby Stephen, Middleton in Teesdale, and Broughton.