A BUSY day on Monday at Skipton’s Craven Cattle Mart, with over 3,000 prime sheep through the ring at the weekly prime stock market.
Lamb trade appears under pressure from the middle of last week, with smart sorts still a decent trade. Some well fed, nicer types of handy and lightweights also a respectable trade, as were butchers quality heavies, but commercial type lambs of all breeds proved tough to sell. Hill bred lambs also not just as sharp to sell as the previous week.
DN & D Capstick of Bolton By Bowland, took top price when their 53kg Continentals made £160 (302p/kg). The same vendors also sold lambs at £150, £148 and £146. Another vendor coming across the border from the Red Rose County was A & K Kiernan of St Michaels, Preston, selling 49kg Continental lambs at £159. Others from this good home sold at £147.50, £146 and £142.
EP & JM Hutchinson of Faceby, Middlesbrough, sold a pen at a respectable £148, with others not far behind at £144.
John Brotherton of Addingham kept up the pace set above with lambs to £144 and J & M Blakey of Bolton by Bowland sold Beltex Texels to £142.
When looking at pence per kilo prices, it was A & K Kiernan leading the way at 351p, selling four other pens in the 320s and 330s.
Local vendors JM Smith & Son, of Carleton, made 350p/kg when selling 40kgs at £140.
EP & JM Hutchinson sold to 344p/kg. TA Robinson of Dutton, Longridge, was another vendor with some nicely finished handy lambs and selling to 320p/kg. Smart, heavy lambs averaged around 250p to 280p/kg.
As expected, following a busy period scanning ahead of lambing season, this Monday saw a large entry of horned ewes and mules for slaughter and a much smaller showing of best ewes, leading to trade a shade easier.
Continental ewes sold to a top of £169.50 from SD Bennett, Silsden. Ewes with size averaged £125-£140, with some well-bred, heavier Suffolk cross and Texel cross ewes selling at £140-£150.
Medium ewes sold regular away £100-£118 with some leaner sorts at £85-£98 and plainer feeding ewes £55-£80, all depending on frame. Auctioneers reported Mule ewe trade still not as fiery as it has been, however, just shy of 200 mule ewes sold to a decent average of £80.
Heavy ewes away at £88 - £107.50, with farmed, medium ewes £75 – £88, leaner, smaller ewes at £65 - £75 and the plain feeding ewes £40 - £60.
Scotch Blackface ewes sold to £80.50. Lonk ewes sold to £79.50. Well fed, horned types with plenty of frame and back averaged £65 - £75 and mediums £45 - £60, whilst the leaner ewes sold at £30-£45 and the plainer end £20 - £32 depending on size and frame.
Zwartable ewes sold to £144.50 from J&A Stevenson, Saltburn By The Sea.
There was a much lighter show of cattle this Monday, with just 11 cast cattle and 18 rearing calves entered.
Cull cow trade continues at pace with a 100 per cent dairy entry averaging £1,210, or 174p/kg. Top pick of the Black and Whites was a 41 month old Holstein from AL Dean & Son, Threshfield at 193.3p/kg
Despite the smaller showing, calf trade was storming for strong goods. Limousin bulls sold to a very decent £560 & £540 from Hayton & Stocks, Bolton Abbey.
Blue bulls sold well, too, with top end of calves away at £360 - £390, and younger goods selling £235 - £280. Young Blue heifers averaged £170 - £210, topping at £280 for J Gooch.
Forthcoming sales: Prime stock sales every Monday, from 10.30am. BFL Females, Wednesday, February 8. Catalogue available online soon.
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