Healthy turnout of prime sheep at Skipton sale
A healthy turnout for the time of year of 3,091 head of prime sheep at CCM Skipton’s weekly Monday sale attracted an increased attendance of buyers, which in turn boosted the overall prime hogg selling average to £84.60 a head, or 204.28p/kg.
All classes, notably heavy hoggs and hill-bred hoggs, were significantly dearer on the week and while the very best end were fewer in number they traded well at 280-300p/kg, with Trawden’s Hayley Baines leading the way at 315p/kg, or £128 a head, for a pen of ten Beltex sold to Hellifield’s Paul Watson, on behalf of Dunbia Foods, Preston. Texel, Suffolk, Charollais and Lleyn hoggs all sold to three figure highs.
The 37 Spring lambs forward produced a Texel high of £126 a head, or 307.7p/kg, for a pen from Easter show champion Robert Towers, of Farleton, while Charles Marwood, Whenby, stepped forward with the top price a head and by-weight Charollais pen at £138, or 314.6p/kg.
A huge show of 615 cast sheep found a ready ringside of buyers, with all classes keenly contested, although some very plain ewes proved a shade harder to sell. Cull ewes averaged £70.29 a head, well up on the previous week’s £53.85, with Charles Marwood again the leading performer with another Charollais pen at £147.50 each. Cast rams averaged £52.23 apiece, peaking at £125.50 for a Texel from D C Hall, Coniston Cold.
An entry of 302 ewes and lambs sold to a similar trade on the week, producing an overall average of £136.80 a outfit, or £49.85 a life equivalent.
There were more younger outfits on offer, the best of them a pen of three-shear Texels with twin Beltex lambs, presented by Graeme Jackson, Low Bentham, champion at the previous week’s opening ewes with lambs show. His latest offering sold for a top-priced £220 a outfit. Correct Mule ewes and twins regularly sold at £140-£165 a outfit.
In the weekly prime cattle classes, the 58 cast cattle among the 65-strong entry were slightly easier on the week, with increased numbers available nationally and plenty of lean cows on the market due to availability of keep.
Cull cows averaged £782.28 a head, or 121.57p/kg, selling to a per head high of £1,062 for an Aberdeen Angus from James Lawn, Cullingworth, and a by-weight top of 185.5p/kg for a British Blue-x from G and P S Fleetwood, Mirfield.
John and Alison Spensley, Thorlby, again dominated the under 30- month clean cattle classes when selling a Charolais- x heifer at £1,101, 222.5p/kg, along with two Limousin-x heifers at £1,090, 222.5p/kg, and £1,076, 197.5p/kg.
The 55 rearing calves forward sold to an overall average of £132 per head and a high of £360 for a Limousin-x bull calf from Lincolnshire vendor ET Hanson, who was also responsible for two other leading bull calf prices with a Simmental at £275 and an Aberdeen Angus at £218. The price pick of the heifer calves at £340 was a British Blue-x from N Hitchen, Ludendenfoot.