Market Prices

At their weekly primestock sale held at Wooler last Wednesday John Swan Ltd had forward and sold 286 hoggs and 235 ewes and rams.

Hogg numbers again tight, fleshy types keenly sought after.

Leading prices per head:- Suff.x:- £102 Castlelaw, £101 Brandon and Fawdon, £100 Newstead. Tex.x:- £99.50 Hartside (A Hutcheon), £99 Brandon, £97 North Wing and Todrig. Chev:- £96 Biddlestone Home Farm, £94.50 Hartside. GF:- £90 Ladykirk, £87 Shotton. Bel:- £87.50 Ladykirk. Bla:- £85.50 Hartside. BF:- £81 Hartside.

Leading prices per kilo:- Bel:- 230.3p Ladykirk. Tex.x:- 227.6p, 226.9p Ladykirk, 219.8p Fawdon, 218.3p Shotton. Suff.x:- 226.7p Shotton, 214.6p Ladykirk, 212.5p Biddlestone Home Farm. Chev:- 221.3p Biddlestone Home Farm, 205.6p Fawdon. GF:- 212.2p Shotton. Bla:- 208.5p Hartside. BF:- 202.5p Hartside.

Ewes more numbers about, all classes in firm demand

Leading prices:- Tex.x:- £121 The Hagg, £91 North Wing and Todrig, £89 The Hagg and Todrig. Suff.x:- £99, £97 Middle Ord, £93 Reavley Greens. BFL:- £91 Fawdon. GF:- £87.50 Reavley Greens, £83 Middle Ord and Todrig. BF:- £85 Fawdon, £70 Moorlaws Farm, £69 Reavley Greens. Cha:- £81 Moorhouse Farm. Chev:- £77 Biddlestone Home Farm, £74.50 Humbleheugh, £71 Sourhope.

Rams: Suff:- £110 Todrig. Tex.x:- £89 Biddlestone Home Farm (B Dixon), £79 Ladykirk. Chev:- £81 Biddlestone Home Farm.

st boswells

At their weekly primestock sale on Monday John Swan Ltd sold 66 clean cattle, 26 OTM cattle, 2,584 old season hoggs and 242 ewes.

Bullocks (21) averaged 216.8p per kg and sold to 249p (+8.3p on week), heifers (45) averaged 216.8p per kg and sold to 256p (+3.8p on week) and 26 beef type OTM cattle averaged 131.8p per kg and sold to 185p (-13p on the week).

Old season SQQ hoggs averaged 236.2 per kg (+10.2p on week) sold to £120, averaged £93.71 per head and ewes averaged £82.40 and sold to £119. Heavy ewes £97.92, light ewes £55.26.

Principal prices per head: Bee Edge £1523.90, £1498.98; Longnewton £1495.48, £1433.12; Mosstower £1412.64.

Principal prices per kg: Bee Edge 2.49 M/s W.T.S. Forsyth and Sons, 2.45 Malone of Edinburgh; Lennoxlove 2.25 Denholm Meats, 2.24 M/s T.A. Shaw; Gospelhall 2.25 M/s J. Saunderson; Upper Nisbet 2.21 W. Taylor(Lockerbie); Longnewton 2.18 M/s J.A. Waters and Son, 2.12 Falside; Smailholm Mains 2.18 Gosford Bothy Shop; Saltoun Home Farm 2.18 Ramsay Family Butchers, 2.05 Falside; Mosstower 2.16; Crookhouse 2.14 M/s Duff Ltd; Nisbet 2.10 Malone of Edinburgh.

Bulls: Smailholm Mains £1210.02(1.29); Woodheads. L £1094.36(1.09).

Cows per head: Mosstower £1298.70; Nisbet £1053.50; Berryhill £1046.22; Shotton £1036.68, £973.56; ; Milrighall £937.26; Dunslaw £935; 57 Mount Road £897.26; Mervinslaw £882.88; Hoselaw £864.58; Sanson Seal £853.20.

Cows per kg: Mosstower 1.85; Mervinslaw 1.78; Nisbet 1.75; Greenknowe 1.72; Dunslaw 1.70; Shotton 1.63; Townhead 1.59; Berryhill 1.41; Hoselaw 1.39; Sanson Seal 1.35; Shotton 1.33.

The 2,584 old season lambs averaged 225.3p (SQQ 236.2p).

Hoggs per head: Tex.x £120 Clochnahill, £110 The Lee and Crookston, £108.50 Lurdenlaw, Suff.x;- £108, £107 Clochnahill, £106 Boghall(St Andrews), £105.50, £105 Clochnahill, Chev;- £104 Lurdenlaw and Buchtrig, £103.50 Boghall(St Andrews), £103 Saughtree and Easter Whitmuir, CM;- £104 Wester Ulston, Lleyn;- £101.50 Dryburgh Mains, GF;- £96 Bedrule, £94 Camieston, BF;- £95 The Knock.

Hoggs per kg: Tex.x;- 251.3 Thornington, 248.8 New Blainslie, 246.3 Thornington, 246.2 New Blainslie, 246.3 Thornington, 246.2 New Blainslie and Lower Ashtrees, Chev;- 250, 246.1 Boghall (St Andrews), 243.6 Lylestane, Suff.x;- 245.1 New Blainslie, 245 The Knock and Boghall(St Andrews), 242.3 The Knock, ML;- 233.3, 231.3 Whitmuir, EC;- 232.9, 228.8 Kilnknowe, GF;- 228.6 Bedrule, CM;- 226.1 Wester Ulston, 225 Lylestane, SD;- 225.6 Belford on Bowmont, BF;- 220.9 The Knock.

Ewes: Tex;- £119 Wantonwalls, £118 Pirnie Hall, £112 Birkenside, Suff.x;- £112 Lochside, £111 Primside, £110 Lochside and Whitsome West Newton, Chev;- £98, £89 Gospelhall, £89 Easter Whitmuir, CM;- £93 Belford on Bowmont, GF;- £91 Bonjedward Mill, £90 Whitsome West Newton and Birkenside, HB;- £89 Bonjedward Mill, BEL;- £85 Pirnie Hall, Lleyn;- £85 Kilnknowe.

Rams: Char;- £100 Townhead (Cockburnspath), Suff;- £90 Currie Inn.

longtown

The Cumberland and Dumfriesshire Farmers Mart PLC had forward 32 prime cattle, 16 young bulls, 38 over 30 month cattle, 5,391 prime hoggs and 3,286 cast ewes and rams at their weekly sale at Longtown last Thursday.

At the Easter Show and Sale of prime cattle, young bulls and cast cows, Mr Ross Anderson, of C.J. Anderson and Sons, made a fantastic job of judging each class and the show was kindly sponsored by Clydesdale Bank. In the prime cattle section Mr Anderson placed a Limousin bullock shown by Messrs W. and W. Faulder, Houghton House as Champion clean beast which later sold to 248.5p to Border Meats Ltd, Butchers, Lockerbie. The first prize heifer was a Limousin from Messrs A. and W.J. Taylor and Son, Dashwell Green, which sold to 240.5p also purchased by Border Meats.

Mainly dairy bred bulls were on offer for the show. Beef bull first prize went to Messrs J.C. and D. Nicholson, The Gill, and sold to 199.5p. The first prize dairy bull was a Fresian from firm of C.P. Robb, Dinwoodie Green and sold to 167.5p. Top price of the sale was 218.5p twice for Limousin’s both from J. and P. Routledge and Son, Netherton.

A larger show of cast cows were presented and the first prize was awarded to Messrs J.W. and E.S. Woodmass, Howard House and sold to 156.5p with second prize from A. and A. Ewing, Dumbretton, selling to 167.5p.

Another fine show of 5,391 prime hoggets were forward to the usual busy ring of buyers with all firms keen for sheep in the build up to Easter. More Blackface hoggets and heavy hoggets were forward with fewer runs of best Cheviot hoggs although best quality hoggs keenly bid for resulting in an average of 219ppk (227.5ppk SQQ).

The sale was topped at 316p for Beltex from RN Scott, West Meiklethwaite, and to £128 for Beltex hoggs from A. and B. Fisher, Lairdlaugh, whose run of 57 excellent hoggs averaged £124.84 and 290ppk.

Another excellent show of 3286 cast ewes and rams were forward to a crowded ring, all keen for sheep with 2109 heavy ewes averaging £99.69.

border livestock

Last week Border Livestock Exchange Ltd sold 189 prime cattle including 61 cast cows, 841 prime sheep including 294 ewes and 240 store and breeding cattle.

Aberdeen Angus cross heifers sold to 390p per kg from Fenwick Steads, Belford, to Well Hung and Tender, Berwick. Aberdeen Angus cross steers from Howden, Jedburgh, sold to 388p per kg and £1,636 per head. Organic steers from Tullochallum, Keith, sold to £1,826 per head.

Prime lambs were considerably dearer as numbers of old season lambs start to run dry. Export weight Texel crosses to 470p per kg. Suffolk crosses to 465p per kg and Romney crosses to 460p per kg and £96.60. Heavy pure Texel lambs to £110.

Store cattle continue to sell extremely well with regular customers snapping up quality consignments on farm at very satisfactory prices.