SKIPOTN Auction Mart’s final Wednesday sheep sale of the current season attracted a catalogue entry of 567 store hoggs which met another tremendous trade when achieving an overall selling average of £88.01 per head, up on the previous fortnight’s £87.03 for similar numbers. (Wed, Feb 24)

The best bred Texel and Beltex lambs made £115-£125, this for the top price Texel pen consigned by Stuart Baines, of Sawley. Medium Continentals lean but with frame sold at £95-£105 and the smaller end £72-£85.

North of England Mule wether lambs were good to sell at £100-£107 for strong sorts, meated mediums making £85-£95, lean mediums £78-£85 and some very small long-term lambs £55-£65. Strong Suffolks sold up to £116, mediums at £94-£102.

Swaledale hoggs also sold well, with a strong pen of 30 from Greaves Bros in Otley making £80 each, while mediums traded at £64-£75 and smalls £54-£64. Individual breed averages were: Suffolk £100.89, Texel £98.69, Mule £84.83, Beltex £83 and Swaledale £66.42. Beltex feeding ewes sold to £129 from the Leyburn-based Brown family.

Skipton Auction Mart’s livestock sales manager Ted Ogden noted: “We thank everyone for their custom, both buyers and sellers who have traded with us throughout the 2020/2021 store sheep sales in what has been an exceedingly busy year for numbers and a trade to match.”

The new season will commence on Wednesday, July 14. In the interim, store hoggs will continue to be sold at Skipton on a Monday, along with ewes with lambs at foot.

Meanwhile, entries close on Wednesday, March 10, for the rearranged high profile two-day Craven Champions fixture, normally staged in February, but put back a month until Tuesday and Wednesday, March 16 & 17.

The annual highlight for store cattle with show potential will again feature annual consignments of high-quality crossbred cattle, many suitable for the 2021 commercial beef show circuit. The pre-sale show is scheduled to take place on the Tuesday evening, with the sale the following day.