Farmer Focus: Highs and lows of bull sales test resilience

Make hay while the sun shines, as the saying goes. The clamps are half filled with lovely dry, high-quality clover and herbal leys.

I look forward to seeing how they analyse. We left one field for small bale hay while chopping. These bales will give us enough for shows and bull sales for a few years.

See also: Herbal v ryegrass-clover leys: Cattle performance on test

About the author

James and Belinda Kimber

Livestock Farmer Focus writers James and Belinda farm 850 commercial and pedigree sheep and 30 pedigree Simmental and Charolais cattle in Wiltshire across 95ha (45ha owned). James also runs a foottrimming business and Belinda has a B&B.

Read more articles by James and Belinda Kimber

We hope the remaining space in the clamps will be filled with maize. This time last year, the plants were already knee high.

This year, the seed germinated, put two leaves up, then sat there in cold, dry conditions. This warmth has moved it on a bit, but the crop is desperate for a good soaking. 

After last month’s article, I had some very encouraging phone calls. Thanks very much. Even with the high prices, the woolly ones really know how to test shepherds.

The Charolais bull sale at Welshpool was a tremendous lift, with our highest price to date, at 15,000gns and great comments about the bull.

Then off we went to Carlisle with even better Simmentals. We got a kicking there with no bid in the ring. The only explanation was the TB one-year zone. We have sold two of the three since, with the best bull out with the show team.

The high lamb prices enabled a good sort through of the pedigree lambs. Any with faults or not growing well enough have been cashed.

Breaking the 500p/kg barrier is incredible. I managed to buy a lorryload of Mule ewes with twin Charollais lambs. £120 a life was pretty good on the trade and they are big ewes, so I’m ever hopeful.

All the lambs have had their first Ovivac vaccine and fly spray, and a few feet with scald were treated at the same time. Second vaccinations will correspond to shearing.

We started shearing the dry gimmers in cold mid-May, but were incredibly sticky so stopped.

Finishing them in the heat was so much easier – though I shouldn’t say that around Isla or Richard, as they have been on a shearing course and are getting the muscles going. The old man still gets a bit of respect.