Lairg lamb sale degenerates intoa real disaster


14 August 1998


Lairg lamb sale degenerates into
a ‘real disaster’

POOR sales and prices at the Lairg lamb sale has left hill farming in Scotland in a state of shock, reports The Scotsman.

Almost 40,000 North Country Cheviot lambs were entered but only 27,000 changed hands, compared with 30,000 last year.

The 19,022 wedder lambs averaged £23.67 with the 8,241 ewe lambs at £31.70. The gross takings for the sale fell from £1.3m to just over £700,000. Some 2,000 lambs were left unsold.

George Lyon, president of the National Farmers Union of Scotland, said: “This is a real disaster and I hope it is not a pointer to the rest of the season. No-one can produce sheep at this sort of price.”

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