WITH sheep numbers scarce at morning markets countrywide, Skipton Auction Mart’s weekly Monday sale of 2,982 prime lambs produced trade much sharper than anticipated, given the low prices seen towards the end of the previous week.

The overall selling average was 7p/kg up on the week to stand at 153.87p/kg, or £65.33 per head. Handy-weight lambs were especially good to sell, with smart Beltex types hitting either side of 200p/kg, while good three-quarters bred Texels were around 175-180p/kg.

Commercial handy-weight lambs sold at 150-160p/kg. Heavier lambs (44kg upwards) also took a good lift, generally being £4 to £5 per head dearer on the week.

A big show of ewes contained a large proportion of fresh weaned ewes and these appeared handily priced for feeding orders.

Over 500 cast sheep were also among the mix. Cull ewes averaged £46.06 per head and cast rams £51.07 each.

Meanwhile Skipton Auction Mart’s third and latest fortnightly Wednesday sale of store lambs and breeding sheep attracted a bumper turnout of 6,463 head, when trade for lowland lambs was slightly sharper on the fortnight, with customers keen to graze surplus grass.

The 6,151 store and gimmer lambs on offer sold to an overall average of £52.35 per head, with the Brown family, of Newton-le-Willows, Bedale, presenting the top price pen of Beltex store lambs, sold at £71 each, while Stuart and Debbie Robinson, of Littondale, were responsible for the pick of the gimmer lambs, a £73 per head Texel pen.

Mule wether lambs topped at £52 for a pen of 30 Dales Mules from Keith Verity, of Lofthouse, with an overall selling average for the 535 head forward of £48.80.

The 312 breeding sheep on offer sold at a similar trade to the previous sale for mainly older ewes, peaking at £114 per head for a pen of Texel shearlings from P and AM Simpson, of Dacre.

West Marton’s Robert Greenwood sold a number of Texel rams to a high of 400gns for a two-shear.