Prices back at at weekly Skipton sale

Another large entry of over 4,000 prime sheep at Skipton Auction Mart’s weekly sale produced an overall selling average of £68.36 a head, or 165.29p/kg, which, as anticipated at this time of the year, was £6 a head back on the week.

Well-fleshed lambs over 40kg found a ready ringside of 15 buyers, though a few under finished entries were discounted and achieved store price only.

Texel/Beltex lambs met with similar trade, the better end achieving 200p/kg, with a by-weight high of 238.6p/kg for a Beltex pen from Stuart Beeforth, Stillington, York, and a per head high of £110 for Texels from Miles O’Donnell, Clifton, Otley.

A large show of 772 cast sheep met with level trade on the week. Cull ewes averaged £54.62 each, headed by two Texels from Stuart Currie, of Rathmell, at £131 and £101, while cast rams averaged £71.79, peaking at £94.50 for a Charollais from Margaret Liddle, Summerbridge, and a Beltex from Skipton’s Richard and Patsy Hodgson.

A total of 57 cast cattle were a little easier on the week, as recent weather conditions means there are a lot of lean cows about at the moment. However, meaty cows were a little dearer on the week when achieving an overall average of £691.34 per head, or 108.13p/kg, with black and white cows touching above 140p/kg.

Noteworthy were a mature Charolais bull from Fleets Farms at Rylstone, sold at £1,524, or 126.5p/kg, and the top price cull cow, an Aberdeen Angus from William Bilsborough, Giggleswick, at £1,155, or 137.5p/kg.

Clean cattle under 30 months sold to a high of £989, or 159.5p/kg, for a Luing heifer from Jim and Jonathan Caygill, of Rylstone, while prime cattle aged 30-48 months averaged almost £735 per head, or 119.73p/kg, with a black and white from Ashley Thwaite, Hellifield, doing best at £928, or 132.5p/kg.