Market Round-Up

 

Twenty-seven bullocks at St Boswells averaged 305p/kg and sold to 344p/kg yesterday, while 37 heifers averaged 315p/kg and sold to 334p/kg. Cast cows continued to meet strong demand, averaging 226p/kg and selling to a top price of £2,626/head.

Lambs continued their upward trend, rising 6p on the week to average 341p/kg and peak at £199 for Texels. Hoggs dropped slightly on the week with 766 sold to an average of 280p/kg and to £200 for Texels, and cast sheep averaged £109/head and sold to £180 for a Texel ewe. Heavy ewes averaged £136/head with lighter ewes selling to £125/head for North Country Cheviots.

Prime cattle continued to meet strong demand at Carlisle yesterday with heifers finishing 8p up on the week to average 294p/kg and sell to 324p/kg, and beef-bred bullocks rising 8p on the week to average 292p/kg and sell to 317p/kg.

Young bulls saw the biggest move on the week, with a 16p rise seeing them finish the day at an average of 261p/kg. Cast beef cows fell slightly on the week to finish at 212p/kg, with dairy types mainly unchanged at an average of 172p/kg.

Prime lambs dropped slightly to an average of 358p/kg, with hoggs virtually unchanged at 271p/kg. Hill ewes were keenly sought, finishing £12/head up on the week and selling to a top price of £150 for a Cheviot.

Two hundred and eighty-one prime lambs were sold in Ayr yesterday to an average of 339p/kg and a top price of £170/head for Texel lambs from Nisbet, Sorn Mains and to 378p/kg for Beltex crosses from Messrs Notman, Redding. A mixed show of hoggets ended with a top price of £171 for Cheviot crosses from Burnhouse and 307p/kg for Blackfaces from Faulds.

Meanwhile, demand for cast sheep continues to grow, reflected in a top price of £188 for a Texel from Auchenflower, with Suffolk cross ewes from Ian Fisher, Merrick, selling to £144 and Scotch Mules from Little Creoch peaking at £118/head. Cast tups later hit a high of £172 for Beltexes from Cairncurra.

Demand for prime beef-bred heifers at Lanark yesterday remained strong, the sale averaging 305p/kg and peaking at 350p/kg for a Limousin. Bullocks dropped slightly to average 289p/kg while both cast beef and dairy cows stayed mostly unchanged at 205p/kg and 166p/kg respectively.

New season lambs saw their first fall of the season, dropping 11p to average 327p/kg. Likewise, prime hoggets dropped 7p on the week to average 273p/kg while cast ewes stayed in demand and averaged £105/head, selling to £238 for a Texel.