Busy season for Lazonby Mart

Lazonby Mart has embarked on a busy sheep sales season this autumn after last year’s movement restrictions left many producers unable to find flock replacements.

The first breeding sheep sale is on September 11 with a sale of 7000 Mule gimmer shearlings and two shear ewes, followed by a sale of Mule gimmer lambs on September 17 and the Alston Moor sale on October 1 which attracts in excess of 20,000 Mule sheep in one day. There are also sales for Swaledales and Bluefaced Leicesters in October.

The mart’s breeding and store sheep sale season kicked off in mid August with fortnightly sales of store lambs which will continue well into the autumn.

On average, around 55,000 breeding sheep and 10,000 store sheep are sold through the centre during the autumn.

Its location in the heart of the Eden Valley makes it an ideal sales centre for breeders from the Pennines, the Eden Valley and the Lake District to market their sheep.

“Lazonby centre is renowned for Mule sheep and noted for its excellent quality of stock as it draws customers the length and breadth of the UK with many of the breeding sheep going to the southern counties of England and into the Welsh borders,” said Harrison and Hetherington operations director David Pritchard.

“The indications are that many buyers last year were not able to acquire sufficient replacements because of the foot and mouth movement restrictions. It is hoped that this year we can achieve a more regular pattern of trading.

“Indications are that Cumbria will imminently become a Bluetongue Protection Zone which may or may not affect these sheep sales. However, we would encourage producers to vaccinate against the disease,” he added.

Lazonby mart continues to be an integral part of Harrison & Hetherington’s operations across the north for selling breeding sheep alongside Carlisle, Kirkby Stephen and Middleton-in-Teesdale and St John’s Chapel in County Durham.