Primestock prices rise on the year at Carlilse and Caithness

Suckled calve sales have gotten underway and initial prices look promising for the season ahead.

At Borderway Mart’s autumn suckled calf show and sale averages rose above the record levels set last September. While averages for bullocks were up by £50 on the year to level at £1,146, heifers rose by £33 to average £995.

Leading the trade was Messrs Little, Thursby, with their British Blue x heifer. The 11-month-old which is sired by Woldnewton Randal and is out of a pedigree Limousin heifer, picked up the reserve ticket in the pre-sale show

She was purchased by Messrs Vance, Newton Stewart, for £3,200.

William and Andrew Cowx, Hudscales, sold their overall champion, a nine-month Limousin heifer by Cloughhead Expert to Messrs Padfield, Norfolk for £2,600.

And it was a similar story further north. The annual store show at Caithness Livestock Centre saw prices rise by nearly 50p a kilo on the year.

Overall a strong entry of 742 bullocks averaged 244.4p/kg, up by 43.6p on the year, while 602 heifers averaged 238.6p a kilo, up by 49p on the year.

Claiming the top price of £1,850 and the championship under judge Gordon Hay, Alford, was a 28-month-old British Blue Bullock that weighed in at 725kg from Iain Gunn.  It sold to Caithness Livestock Breeders Ltd.