LAWRIE and Symington sold 72 cattle at Lanark yesterday.

Limousin heifers from Messrs Dickinson, Brockwoodlees farm topped the sale at 242p/kg on two occasions and they also achieved the top price per head at £1,490.

Prime bullocks peaked at £1,301 for one from Silverrig. Young bulls from West Glespin sold to 212p, while a cast bull from Over Hillhouse made up to £1,425.

Cast beef cows peaked at £965 and averaged 122p, while cast dairy cows topped at £865 and averaged 90p.

The firm also sold 476 prime hoggets and 599 cast ewes through Lanark yesterday.

A select show of prime hoggets saw trade for best quality remain strong, however all other classes proved hard to cash as demand slows during these uncertain times. The sale was topped at £124 per head for Beltex and to 295p which was also for a Beltex. The overall average was 183p/kg

There was a mixed show of cast ewes forward with trade back to reality compared to where it had been before.

The sale was topped at £95 for continental ewes with Bluefaced Leicester ewes to £80. Blackface ewes were topped at a very sobering £56.

Messrs Craig Wilson had a small offering of 856 sheep comprising 48 cast sheep and 809 prime hoggets at their weekly sale at Ayr yesterday. The auctioneers report that while this March has seen the best trade ever for sheep - it is now one of the worst due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

Top price of the day was £88 for a pen of Beltex consigned by Messrs M Stevenson, Balcaimie or 202.5p for a pen of Texels from Messrs James A Watson, High Tarbeg. The average price was 163p and the weight of the hoggets averaged 47.9kg.

Harrison & Hetherington sold 43 clean cattle and nine cast cows at St Boswells yesterday.

Thirty-six prime heifers sold to a top of 234p/kg to average 218p (-4p), while 7 prime bullocks peaked at 224p and averaged 208 (-4p).

In the rough ring cast cows sold to £1,164 and 177p to average 124p (-2p).

The firm also sold seven prime heifers in Carlisle yesterday to a top of 208p/kg to average 184p (-21p), while si prime, beef-bred bullocks peaked at 186p and levelled at 176p (-27p).

There were a total of 26 young bulls at the sale yesterday which averaged 157p overall (-8p).

The six prime, beef-bred young bulls sold to 188p and averaged 172p (-10p), while 20 prime, dairy-bred bulls peaked at 173p and levelled at 152p (+4p).

In the rough ring 50 cast dairy cows sold to 148p and averaged 100p (+10p), while 19 cast beef cows peaked at 175p and averaged 132p (+6p).