Mule buyers splash the cash in style
With Mule ewe lamb sales now in full swing it seems buyers have been opening their wallets with some gusto.
At Kirkby Stephen last Friday’s NEMSA sale saw lambs hit a top price of £500 for the champion pen of 10 lambs from Andrew and Mark Brown of Asby Hall. This was a centre record, with the lambs selling to Ron and Fran Wilson, Armathwaite, who readers may recall spent heavily on Mules last year.
Second best at the sale was a £330 bid for the third placed pen of ten from H R Hayton and Son, Asby Grange, which sold to Martin and Valerie Brown. Then at £325 were the fourth prize pen of 10 which were brought out by Messrs W M Hutchinson, Redgate, these sold to R J Heigh. Making £260 apiece were another pen from Asby Grange, while at £255 were the first prize pen from the small breeders show frm D and C E Marston, these sold to The Wilsons too.
More from the Hutchinsons sold at £250, with plenty of pens realising more than £100 apiece. Overall the 9660 lambs forward sold to average £91.41, a rise of £11.51 on last year with a 100% clearance.
At Kendal on Friday the Ambleside Fair sale saw a top price of £102 for lambs from T L B and J Knowles, High Borrowbridge, with the first prize pen from Fishwick Bros, Middle Sadhgyll selling at £88. 
The second prize pen from S M Watson realised £94 and the third place entry from Messrs Dixon, Well Foot, sold at £96.
The same venue saw an entry of 6600 lambs for the NEMSA sale on Saturday, with trade led at £160/head by the champion pen of 10 from P and A Fell, Castle Hill, these sold to J S and K M Wilson, High House.
At £155 were the second prize pen of 10 from J D and C L Inman, Strickland Hill, which sold to P Elliot, Bank House. And making £145 was the fourth prize pen of 10 from R I Dixon, Low Newton, which sold to Higginsons Lts, Grange. At £144 was the third prize pen of 10 from D, H M and A Watson, Middleton Hall, these again went to the Wilsons.
Best at Kendal in the pens of 20 was a £140 bid for the first prize pen from Messrs Watson, Middleton Hall, which sold to the Wilsons. Second prize winners here were from the Inmans and these sold at £122 to R and A C Harper, Hardrigg. Overall the sale levelled the day at £88.
Meanwhile, in the far north at Dingwall Highland Mules were in demand from a packed ringside of buyers. Leading the prices in the shearlings on offer was a £195 bid for a pen from Crftdhu, Tomatin, while at £180 were the champions from Nether Comisty, Forgue, which sold to D Coghill and Sons, Skinnet, Halkirk.
In the ewe lambs the best price was £135 for the pre-sale champions from the Arr, Nairn, these sold to W T Morrison, South Bogbain, Keith. Overall the 1120 shearlings sold to level at £161.70, up £14.06 on last year, while the ewe lambs averaged £103.55 for 2096 sold, up £20.41 on last year.
With reported shortages of breeding females across the country it is no surprise to see all centres recording averages up on previous years, however, prices of £500 and £460 for Mule ewe lambs are starting to stretch the bounds of credibility just a bit aren’t they?