Hay weather opens week with lambs £3.50 dearer

Ideal hay and silaging conditions and apprehension over post-Eid demand reduced prime lamb volumes by 20% at the start of the week, lifting trade.

Monday’s prime lamb SQQ settled at 257.7p/kg (up 8.2p/kg on the week) as hay harvest took place in scorching 30C heat.

This, along with Eid al-Adha (festival of the sacrifice) on 19-23 July and Qurbani this week, meant farmers sat out the market, with some waiting to see how demand would be after the festival. 

See also: Spring lamb returns lift early shearling trade 25-30%

Skipton

Ted Ogden of Craven Cattle Marts said hay weather and other jobs such as shearing and weaning meant numbers were back 15% at Skipton on Monday (19 July).

An entry of 1,900 prime lambs levelled at 258p/kg (+7.3p/kg on the week), or 1,582 at an SQQ of 259.3p/kg (+9.4p/kg on the week).

Mr Ogden said the first reasonable numbers of Mule wethers from hill farms averaged 245p/kg and topped at £113 a head. Many strong Mules at 42-43kg made 240-250p/kg or £100-£110 a head.

He said well-fleshed, lowland-bred lambs by Suffolks and Texels had made 260-270p/kg.

“Many farmers have sold hard recently and there has been plenty to do. Some have been taking first and second forage crops and shearing, hence the tight numbers.

“Ethnic trade wasn’t quite as strong on Monday, although with the Qurbani festival it is the ewes and old-season lambs that are sought after.”

Strong prime prices and good grass covers allowed Skipton’s opening store sale the week before (14 July) to average £11 more on the year at £85 for 4,572 lambs, he added.

Long-keep lambs made about £60-70, medium-keep about £70-85 and short-keep about £90-100, topping with Beltex-bred lambs at £99.

St Boswells

Smart Beltex and Texel lambs at 41-42kg with E- and U-grade carcasses, while slow to hit the sale weights, rewarded farmers to the tune of £3/kg-plus on Monday (19 July), said Harrison & Hetherington’s Adam Grieve.

Numbers were back 20% to 1,396-head, helping lift the SQQ by 23.4p/kg to 271.8p/kg, with a very high-quality show of lowland lambs. Light lambs at 37-38kg made £107-£108 a head (270p/kg).

Mr Grieve said wholesaler bidding had been strong of late, with larger events and gatherings now taking place post-lockdown.

He added: “Buyers supplying into events and catering companies were buying 10-15 lambs and are now buying about 30, which all helps drive trade.”