Beltex top Skipton with £168 bid

A pair of 41kg Beltex lambs from Jim Baines, of Trawden, Colne, was the pick of the crop at the March Spring lambs show at Skipton Auction Mart.

Judged champions by Mick Etherington, of Stuart Price Butchers, Crossflatts, they went on to make a healthy £168/head when knocked down to Paul Watson, of Hellifield.

Paul also secured the second prize pen of 43kg Texel-cross lambs from Mark Evans, Steeton, at £84 each, while the third prize pen from S Pepper, of Oxenhope, sold for £80 each to another mart regular Andrew Atkinson, of Kettlesing, Harrogate.

Over 1000 hoggs and 223 ewes passed through the ring on a busy day at the mart, with an overall average price of 119.9p/kg achieved.
Jeremy Eaton, general manager at Skipton Auction Mart, said: “It is gratifying to see how quickly livestock markets have returned to a buoyant trade in the New Year once mart buyers had unrestricted access to export markets.
“Carcass export accounts for 40% of the lambs produced and absence of this market for most of last Autumn caused large numbers of lambs to accumulate on farms, which eventually grew to unsuitable specifications.

“With tightening of supply as the backlog cleared, the markets have underlined the value of a dynamic system which reflects daily demand both at home and in Europe.”