Beltex cross lambs sell at £106 a head at Skipton sale

Father-and-son Hambleton farmers Roger and James Farrington glided in from Sutton Bank to lift their first-ever prime lamb championship at CCM Skipton’s March show.

The Farringtons, of Dialstone Farm, Cold Kirkby, landed their inaugural title with a pen of five 41kg Beltex-cross-Texel lambs.

They sold for £106 a head, joint top price of the day and top price by weight at 258.5p/kg, to butcher judge George Cropper, who was buying his second successive monthly champions at Skipton for the butchers shop at Huntley’s Country Stores in Samlesbury, Preston.

Mr Cropper also added the reserve champion 42kg Beltex pen from Fox Farms, of Clitheroe, to the Whalley Road farm shop’s tally at £99 a head, or 237.5p/kg.

The Farringtons, regular buyers of store lambs at Skipton Auction Mart to join their 1,000-strong Beltex-cross flock, also presented the third prize 35kg Continental pen, acquired at £79 a head by Vivers Scot Lamb in Annan.

Newark’s Stephen Dorey presented the first and second prize 53kg and 49kg Suffolk pens, both falling at £88.50 and £90.50 a head respectively to Andrew Atkinson Livestock, of Felliscliffe.

The same exhibitor was also responsible for the first and second prize 41kg and 47kg Mule pens, the latter achieving £78 each when also falling to Andrew Atkinson, with the red rosette winners selling for £74 a head to Hellifield’s Paul Watson, on behalf of Dunbia Foods in Preston, who also paid £78 apiece for the third prize 49kg pen from N and J and S Taylor, of Sheffield.

Mr Dorey chipped in with two further top prices – a Charollais pen at £104.50, or 227.2p/kg, and a Masham pen at £74, or 180.5p/kg.

Ikley’s Roger Naylor was prominent when selling the first prize pen of 52kg Lonks at £87 per head to John Bowling, of Wigan, also presenting the top price 48kg Texel pen at £105 each, acquired by Riley Bros, of Dunnockshaw, Burnley, and the top price pen of Zwartbles at £76.50, or 159.4p/kg.

Prime sheep trade continued to climb, with the 3,198-strong turnout selling to an overall average of  £73.41 a head, or 179.38p/kg, compared to £69.54, or 171.69p/kg, the previous week.

The best Beltex lambs averaged 216p.kg overall, or £87 a head, with a pen from Taylor Bros, of Tosside, also achieving the day’s joint top a head price of £106. Commercial export lambs sold at 185-200p/kg throughout, with Texel of all weights averaging 187p/kg. Good Mule lambs were £30 to £33 over the weight, while heavy sheep were also good to sell.

Cast sheep were a shade dearer on the week, with powerful ewes achieving £100+ and Mashams topping £70. Cull ewes averaged £46.12, selling to a high of £119.50 per head for a Texel pen from Matin Jennings, of Cowling. Cast rams averaged £57.39, with a top of £102.50 for a Texel from F W and J M Eddington, of Bell Busk.

A hectic day also featured the opening seasonal sale of 57 ewes with 95 lambs at foot, which drew a full ringside of customers.

Correct outfits with strong twins sold at £150 to £174 per outfit (£50 to £58 per life), while commercial outfits were around £120 (£40 per life). A few lots with just young lambs at foot, but with future potential promise, were making around equivalent of £34 to £38 a life for singles and twins.