Improved sheep trade at Skipton sees lambs top £128

A smaller entry of 42 spring lambs met with an improved trade on the week at CCM Skipton’s Monday sale to average 256p/kg, or £102.46 a head, for a show of very similar quality. Top price of £128 a head, or 288.4p/kg, fell to a Charollais pen from Robert Towers, Farleton.

In the hogg section, a larger turnout totalling 1,837 met with a good trade, among them some nice runs of well fleshed fed hoggs, which met with buyer approval.

However, under finished hoggs required drawing out and selling separately, ensuring they were marketed effectively to the right customer, with several buyers still purchasing stores for further finishing.

An overall average of 205p/kg was a great result on the day, bearing in mind the average included 91 mature hoggs (two teeth up) at 178p/kg average. Heavy hoggs were good to sell, with 46kg to 52kg entries averaging 203.5p/kg, or £97.33 each. A total of 57 separate pens of hoggs sold for £100 or more to a top of £123 for Texel-crosses from Gary Senior, Lower Cumberworth. The ewe trade was very similar, with meated ewes finding a good following.

Cull ewes averaged £55.18 each, topping at £132.50 for a Texel from Thomas Boothman, Linton, while cast rams averaged £83.56 a head, peaking at £118.50 and £117.50 for Cheviots from Grain Farms, Hebden Bridge.

The weekly sale of 250 head of ewes with lambs at foot was a smaller than anticipated entry, which produced strong demand from an increasing ringside of customers. The top performers from Richard Simpson, of Heathfield, Pateley Bridge, were home-bred Mule shearlings with twins, which sold at £230 an outfit.

Younger sheep were in demand and were dearer on the week, although in general the overall quality was better. There were several runs of nice young Texel ewes with smart lambs selling at £120-£138 an outfit.