Prices peak at £146 a head for spring lambs at Skipton
Another robust turnoutof sheep was met by strong demand, with buyers paying close attention to meatand finish at CCM Skipton this week.
Spring lamb prices peaked at £146 (304.2p/kg) for a Suffolk-crosspair from Mark Evans, Steeton. They were purchased on behalf of Stephen MaskillQuality Meats, Sowerby Bridge.
Next best at £140 each(304.0p/kg) was a brace of Charollais lambs from Charles and Valerie Marwood,Whenby, which fell to another retail butcher Richard Binns, Saltaire.
Ribchester’s Geoff Blezzard was the leading performerin the hogg market, with a pen of 15 Beltex-x weighing 41kg, which made £127each (309.8p/kg). They joined John Gibson, of Vivers Scotlamb, Annan.
Some good runs ofcommercial Continental and Cheviot hoggs regularly achieved 220-240p/kg, whilethe better end of the Mules were 180-200p/kg.
Cast sheep numbers werealso strong, with a cull ewe top of £133.50 a head for a pen of four Texels fromGlusburn’s David Towell.
The Marwoods, of Whenby,weren’t far behind at £132.50 a head for a Charollais pen.
AVERAGES:45 spring lambs, £114; 2,214 hoggs, £81.91; Cast ewes, 424 £50.17.
AUCTIONEERS:CCM
Prime cattle
In the prime cattleclasses a lighter turnout of 24 cast cows saw prices soar.
There were plenty offour figure performers, and averages rose on the week by £115.90.
Dairies topped at £1,302 for anentry from M Ryder and Sons, Haverah Park, who also had the second top callwith another black and white at £1,179.
Another young dairy cowfrom Robert Metcalfe, Brearton, headed the by-weight prices at 164.5p/kg, or £1,026.Steakers sold at 135p/kg+ and lightweight plains at 100p/kg plus.
Meanwhile in the weeklysale of rearing calves, top price of £380 fell to a Limousin-x bull calf from G Hayton and EC Stocks, Storiths, with RL Wrightand Son, Airton, also achieving £365 with a British Blue-x bull calf. The bestof the heifer calves, at £230, was a Limousin-x from James Gooch, Cononley.
AVERAGES: 24 cast cows, £898.18; 53 rearing calves, £148.
AUCTIONEERS: CCM