Bumper bank holiday turnout at Skipton

A bumper Bank Holiday turnout of over 2,000 head of prime sheep, much larger than anticipated for the time of year, was seen at CCM Skipton’s weekly sale.
The auction started with almost 400 new season lambs, which sold to a high of 301.4p/kg, or £111.50 per head, for a pen of eight 37kg Texels from Mark and Richard Ireland, of Whalley. They joined Vivers Scotlamb in Annan.
Texels also produced the day’s per head high of £131 for a pen from Peter Houseman, of Padside, with a Suffolk pen from RW Marston and Son, of Askwith, not far behind on £128 each, or 279.5p/kg. Both fell the Kendalls Farm Butchers for its shops in Pateley Bridge and Harrogate.
The entire sale averaged 251p/kg, or £98.69 per head, down on the previous Monday, but still stronger than the second half of last week.
In the hogg market, a total of 1,379 head were put forward for sale, though the quality was slightly more variable than of late, as customers tidied up their end of season runs. However, trade matched last week’s high point, with meated sorts achieving 200p/kg-plus, commercial types 175-200p/kg and plain sorts around 150p/kg. Mature hoggs varied in price from 120-180p/kg.
The overall hogg average was £77.52 per head, or 185.0p/kg, with a per head high of £117 for a Suffolk pen from Jim and James Howard, of Holmfirth, and a by-weight top of 231.9p/kg for a Charollais pen from Gary Senior, of Cumberworth. The former sold to Andrew Atkinson, of Felliscliffe, buying on behalf of Alec Traves Meat Wholeslares in Eskrick, York, the latter to Stanforths Butchers, Skipton.
A total of 331 cast sheep produced a cull ewe average of £46.89 per head, peaking at £114.50 for a Suffolk pen from F Reeday & Son, of Hetton, while cast rams averaged a shade over £53 each. The pick of them at £90.50 was another Suffolk from JW Brown, of Earby.
The entry of 163 ewes and lambs sold well, with Mule outfits achieving up to £185. Demand for older ewes with lambs was notably strong, with just a single pen sold at under £100.

Due to the reduced Bank Holiday turnout and short week for processors, cast cattle found a very good trade, though there was a noticeable lack of well-fleshed entries.
Cull cows averaged £776.09 per head, or 124.95p/kg, with David Crabtree, of Burnt Yates, achieving the leading per head price with a black and white at £976, or 141.5p/kg, with a by-weight top of 146.5p/kg, or £850, for a Limousin-x from Dick Burley, of Wath.
A trio of cast bulls also got away well, selling to a high of £1,482, or 142.5p/kg, for a mature Limousin bull from TH&A Pickard, of Bolton-by-Bowland. Two black and whites from Brian Church, of Askwith, headed the over 30 month clean cattle prices at £1,147 and £1,001.

CCM Skipton also staged a Saturday collective sale at the weekend. Among the offering were 105 stirks and weaned calves, with the top-priced stores – three Hereford bullock stirks from Colin Winterburn, of Bolton Abbey – achieving £710 each. Also notable at £1,150 was a Charolais heifer with Limousin calf from T Baines, of Stanbury.
A total of 39 breeding and store goats, along with 111 sheep with lambs at foot, were also on sale. Nannies and kids sold to £120 per outfit and store sows to £180 per head. The top-priced ewes and lambs – Mules with twins – from Malham’s Neil Heseltine made £155 per outfit.