Lambs at Newton Stewart yesterday averaged 252p/kg or £110/head and sold to £146/head for Charolais lambs from Over Airies or to 279p/kg for Boghouse. Cast tups sold to a peak of £138/head for Cheviots from Quarter with ewes selling to £116 for Roussin crosses from Duchra, Lochans. Hill ewes from Kildarroch sold to £89 while Larg Farming Co led the Blackie section.

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Store lamb prices remained largely buoyant at Longtown yesterday with lambs selling to £125 and £117 for Texels from Townhead, with others selling to £122 for Beltexes from Kilberry Home. Suffolks sold to £109 for Bradley, while Charolais sold to £119 for Faradale. Feeding ewes were dearer on the week and sold to a top of £173/head for Texels from Faradale and to £127/head for Suffolks. Cheviots sold to £132/head for Boreland while Blackfaces from Butterbridge sold to £78.

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At Portree on Tuesday, 3379 store lambs averaged £53/head and sold to £105 for Beltex crosses from Penifiler, while feeding sheep sold to £96 for a Cheviot from Ellishadder. At the same time, new season lambs across at Dingwall averaged 235p/kg and sold to 281p/kg or £125/head gross, while feeding sheep sold to £242.

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Despite a slight drop in overall quality, prime cattle prices at Carlisle held up well on Monday with a Limousin cross steer from Halfway Well selling to £2315, while a Limousin cross from Hundith House sold to £2302 or 303p/kg. A Charolais from Ellen Bank sold to £1940 while a Beltie from Old Rectory sold to £1438. Heifers sold to a peak of £2140 for a Limousin cross from Rose Farm while a lightweight Charolais cross heifer from Raggetsyke sold to £1604. Prime bull prices sharpened on last week and sold to £2248 for a Limousin from Townfoot with another from the same vendor selling to £2178. Messrs Mitchinson, Beck House, topped the per kilo price at 290p for a 665kg Limousin cross, while Black & Whites sold to £1604 for a Friesian from High House. In the rough ring, beef cows sold to 260p/kg for a Limousin cross from Townfoot. Dairy cows were similarly sharper this week, with Messrs Vance, Whithorn, topping the trade at £1591 for one of several impressive Holstein crosses. Despite a general impression amongst buyers that prime lambs lacked a little finish, trade remains ahead of last year and peaked at £178/head for Beltexes from High Mindork. A day’s average of £115/head represented a decent result compared with August 2022.