Market prices

At Wooler Mart last Wednesday Harrison & Hetherington held their weekly Primestock sale of sheep.

They sold 152 lambs, 183 hoggs and young sheep and 262 ewes and rams.

The first spring lambs of the season were easily sold greater numbers needed.

Lambs per head: Suffolk - £92 Todrig, £91.50 (3) Holy Island, £87 West Longridge and Holy Island. Texel - £89.50 Chillingham Home Farm, £88 Edrom Mains, Shotton and Lilburn Estates, £86 Lilburn Estates and Shotton.

Lambs per kg: 229.5p, 227p Chillingham Home Farm, 220p Edrom Mains and Lilburn Estates.

Hoggs, fleshed types easily sold others hard to cash, in a word easier.

Hoggs per head: Suffolk - £92.50 Todrig, £90 Shipley Lane, £89.50 Brandon, £87.50 East Fleetham. Texel - £89.50 Holy Island, £83.50 Ladykirk. Mule - £84.50 Ford Westfield.

Hoggs per kg: Texel - 163.3p The Hagg, 160p Ladykirk. Suffolk: 158.8p Ladykirk, 156.3p East Fleetham.

Ewes forward in larger numbers, all classes marginally easier.

Ewes: Texel - £102, £93 Applecross, £99.50 The Hagg. Suffolk - £98, £94 Tughall, £94 Holy Island, £93 Ladykirk. Charolais - £84 Broom House, Cambo and Newburn. Mule - £82 Newstead.

Rams: £132 Mayfield.

st boswells

At St Boswells on Monday May Harrison & Hetherington held their weekly Primestock sale of cattle and sheep.

They sold 65 clean cattle, 64 beef cows, 204 spring lambs, 526 hoggs and 304 ewes.

Bullocks (15) averaged 207.3p per kg and sold to 236p (+10p on the week), heifers (48) averaged 205.3p per kg and sold to 244p (+4.1p on the week), two young bulls averaged 211p per kg and sold to 218p (n/c on the week) and 64 beef type cows averaged 129.3p per kg and sold to 177p (+5.3p on the week).

Spring lambs (204) averaged 201.5p per kg (-18p on the week) £96 per head and sold to £111, top price 232p per kg for Beltex.

Hoggs (526) averaged 171p per kg (-6p on the week) £77 per head and sold to £98, top price 207p per kg for Cheviot.

Ewes (304) averaged £62, and sold to £124 for Texel.

Heavy ewes averaged £77, light ewes sold to £75 for Cheviot and averaged £51.

Principal prices per head: Bee Edge £1459.12, Shidlaw £1445.98, Bee Edge £1426.74, £1425.60, £1420.72, Longnewton £1327.70.

Principal Prices per kg: Bee Edge 2.44, 2.40 W.T.S. Forsyth and Sons, Bee Edge 2.37 Hugh Black and Sons Ltd, Bee Edge 2.36 Denholm Meat Supplies, Mosstower 2.34 Shaws of Lauder, Pathhead 2.30 Michael Malone of Edinburgh Ltd, Phantassie 2.29 J.F. Finlay and Co Ltd, Phantassie 2.28 W.T.S. Forsyth and Sons, Bee Edge 2.26 Shaws of Lauder, J.A. Water and Sons.

Cows per head: Coxydene £1635.76, Honeyburn £1174.12, Cammerlaws £1147.16. Huntington £1117.92, Honeyburn £1115.18, Middlethird £1109.70.

Cows per kg: Symington Mains 1.77, Glenrath Farms 1.65, 1.63, Wester Middleton, Woodhouse 1.55, Fowberry Moor 1.51.

Lambs – More numbers forward, slightly easier on the week.

Lambs per head: Texel - £111, £109, £105 North Mains, £102 Thornington, £100 Blackshiels, £99 Lochside, £97.50 Thornington, £96 Lochside, £110 The Lee, £110, £108, £106, £105, £104, £103 (2), £102 North Mains. Beltex - £93 Sydenham.

Lambs per kg: Beltex - 232.5 Sydenham. Texel - 228.3 North Mains, 225.9, 217.6 Lochside, 217.4 Blackshiels, 210.3 Penston, 209.4 Sydenham, 207.4 Thornington, Suffolk 220 North Mains, 219.6, 215.7 The Lee, 212, 210.2, 208.6, 208.3 North Mains.

Hoggs – Mixed end of season show. Fleshed hoggs still achieving high returns.

Hoggs per head: Texel - £98 Sydenham, £96 Hyndsidehill, £95 Fairnielaw, £94, £90, £88 Legerwood, £90 Sydenham, £88 Earlston Mains. Suffolk - £96 Bonjedward Mill, Bedrule, £94 West Moneylaws, £93 Boghall, Bonjedward Mill, £92 West Moneylaws, Boghall. Bluefaced Leicester - £90, £93 Burnhouse Mains. Cheviot - £89, £88 Boghall, £86 Bedrule, Boghall, £83 Shepherds Cottage.

Hoggs per kg: Cheviot - 207, 202.3, 181.1 Boghall, 178.3 Wester Ulston. Texel - 203.8 Legerwood, 190.1 Bedrule, 182.5, 176.5, 172.5 Legerwood. Suffolk - 190.9 Boghall, 186 Dunslaw, 178.8 Bonjedward Mill, 172.5 Dunslaw.

Ewes – Similar show forward, with overly fat ewes hard to cash. Texel - £124, £106 Sydenham, £88 Huntington, £87 Bedrule £85 Blegbie, £83 Sydenham, Bonjedward Mill £83, £81 Bedrule. Suffolk - £90 Huntington, £89 Sydenham, £85 West Moneylaws, £85 Lochside, Hyndsidehill, £83 Stobshiel Mains, £80 Huntington, Bedrule. Charolais - £89 Ladyflat, Halfbred £87 West Moneylaws, £70 Bonjedward Mill, Lleyn £79 Upper Samieston, £73 Whitriggs. Cheviot - £75 Wester Ulston, Stobshiel, £71 Stobshiel, Mule £75 Berryhill, £73 The Lee, £71 Nether Kidston, £70 Hyndsidehill. Blackface - £65 The Lee, £63 Inchkeith.

longtown

C&D Auction Marts Limited had forward 17 prime cattle, 10 OTM cattle, 31 stirks, 3,046 prime hoggs, 387 spring lambs and 3,973 cast ewes and rams at their weekly sale at Longtown last Thursday.

A short seasonal show of cows were on offer to the usual ring of buyers who bid freely for all types. Messrs Ritson, Swaites topped the sale at 124p for a Limousin x, others sold to 122p and 119p from Richard Armstrong, Slealands. As ever more are needed to supply demand.

A shortage of prime cattle again met a brisk trade with an ever increasing demand, and more are needed on a weekly basis. The sale was topped at 224.5p for a smart Limousin heifer sold by A. and W.J. Taylor, Dashwell Green, and bought by Highgate Meats Ltd. Next best price was 216.5p twice for a Limousin heifer then a bullock, both from Messrs Taylor, Dashwell Green, and purchased by M.J. Wharton, Wholesale Butchers, Wigton, and Highgate Meats Ltd respectively.

The opening sale of calves and stirks was a great success with an entry of 31 and many more could have been sold to a packed ringside of bidders. The sale was topped at £550 for a British Blue steer sold by F.J. and L.M. Tinning and Sons, Broomlea. Limousin heifers sold to £500 from M. Scott, Bruntons Hill, with bulls selling to £170 for a pen of four Ayrshires from J. Dunlop, Dornock Mains.

The Annual Show and Sale of 387 spring lambs was held with a fine show of lambs forward for judge Steven Stoddart, Wigton, to run his eye over. He awarded the Champion single to a Texel from G. Brough, Old Rectory, scaling 45kg and realising £120 to the judge. The Champion pair came from J. Muir and Son, Cleughbrae, scaling at 43kg and realising £102, also to the judge. Overall average was disappointing but only followed the week’s national trend (192.6p SQQ 193.6p). Best quality lambs remain easily sold and we hope trade firms up as more firms change over from hoggs.

Another large show of 3,046 hoggs were forward being a very mixed show for quality. Best fleshed hoggs remained easily sold between 180-200p, with heavy hoggs over 48kg regularly making £95-£100.

Lightweight hoggs sold at recent rates with flesh but it beggars belief the volume of lean store hoggs still coming onto the market, which seriously dilutes the average for well finished hoggs.