MULTI-BREED prime lamb prize shows were on the agenda at the February monthly highlight at Skipton Auction Mart, when overall championship honours fell to the first prize Continental pen – five home-bred Beltex-cross from Martin and Val Brown, of Newton-le-Willows.

Their pen weighed in at 42kg and sold for the day’s leading price of £125 per head, or 297.6p/kg, to Vivers Scotlamb in Annan, who also paid £100 each for the Browns’ second prize of 37kg Beltex.

Vivers then made it a clean sweep of rosette winners in the Continental-cross class, again paying £100 per head for the third prize 39kg Beltex pen from Great Harwood’s John Eddleston.

Trade for the near-3,000 prime sheep turnout was very similar on the week, with the 2,666 prime hoggs among them attracting a huge line up of buyers.

The quality on offer was rather more mixed, with 60 per cent of the entry being lowland lambs and the remaining 40 per cent Mule, Masham and horned lambs, with an overall average of 186.1p/kg, or £76.43 per head. Hill lambs were decent to sell and generally along similar lines to the previous week.

There were nice runs of Beltex and three-quarter bred Texel lambs in evidence, with Paul Simpson, of Bolton-by-Bowland, again to the fore when selling six pens at over £100 per head.

Back in the show classes, judge Jim Holden nominated his first prize pen of ten 42kg Mashams from Steve Dorey, of Norton Disney, as reserve champions, later snapping them up in the sales ring at £81 each.

The same vendor also sold a prize-winning pen of 52kg Mules for £88 each.

Nidderdale’s Bernard Simpson, of Heathfield, pitched in with the first and second prize pens of ten 47kg and 44kg Swaledales. The red rosette winners made £79 each on joining Swaledale Foods in Skipton, while the runners-up sold for £75.50 per head to McIntyre Meats in Bainbridge.

Dalesbred enthusiast Josh Ryder, of Haverah Park, Harrogate, clinched first and third prizes in this show class. His 36kg red rosette winners sold at £65 each to Riley Bros in Crawshawbooth, with the 37kg third prize pen joining Andrew Atkinson in Felliscliffe for the same price.

A show class for other hill-bred lambs fell to the first prize pen of ten 44kg Lonk wethers from Lonk Sheep Society chairman Chris Crowther, of Greenfield, Oldham. They made £83 each when again joining Mr Atkinson.

Cast sheep were way short of requirements in terms of numbers and a strong average of £78 per head was recorded for the 219 ewes and rams forward. The pick of the ewes was a £125.50 per head Texel pen from Samantha Asquith, of Otley, with cast rams peaking at £118.50 for another Texel from Raymond and Robert Johnson, of Felliscliffe.