In line with other marts, the new season lamb trade slipped on the week at Newton Stewart yesterday, averaging 296p/kg or £129/head and selling to £160/head for heavy Suffolk crosses from Claughrie or to 319p/kg for Clearview and Kirkland.
Cast sheep met with greater demand and sold to £167 for Texel crosses from Drumnabrennan with tups peaking at £161 for Texels from Carseriggan. Blackies sold to £115/head for Barnvannoch.
Prime lambs also eased at Dumfries yesterday to an average of 297p/kg and a peak of 316p/kg for Blackett House or £114/head for Texels from Glenkiln. Cast ewes sold to £280 for a Texel from Newbank, with lighter sorts selling to £146 for a Cheviot from Bettyknowes, who also led the Blackie tup class at £162, with males overall peaking at £228 for a Texel from Newbank.
Bull calves at Carlisle yesterday averaged £440/head with heifer calves averaging £378/head and dairy bulls averaging £190/head. The whole sale peaked at £690 twice, firstly for a British Blue bull from Jeanfield and then for a Limousin bull from Grain Head.
Store cattle sold to £1,940/head for Angus bullocks from New House, with Herford bullocks peaking at £1,840/head for Ryeclose who also sold Flekviehs for £1,720/head. Meanwhile, 15 Holstein bullocks from the Wreay made an impressive £1,200/head.
Weaned bulls peaked at £1,660 and £1,560 for Limousins from Drumbretton, while weaned bullocks sold to £1,620 for a Blue cross from Moory Lea Farm.
Calves and stirks at Ayr on Tuesday were sharper on the week and sold to £730 for a pair of five month old British Blue crosses from Buistonhead, with heifers peaking at £610 for a Simmental cross from Kaimhill and also for a British Blue cross from Haysmuir. Stirks sold to £1,240 for a Simmental cross bullock from Balmurrie, while heifers peaked at £1,050 for a Charolais cross from Barskelly.
Breeding cattle were of a mixed quality, with plainer types hard to cash but quality types met with demand. Bulls topped at 4500gns for a five-year-old Simmental from Langholm, while heifers with calves at foot sold to £3,000 for a Saler cross from Drumore.
In-calf cows peaked at £1,400 for an Aberdeen Angus cross from Enoch, while bulling heifers sold to £1,850 for a Limousin from Holehouse, and cross-bred heifers topped at £1,750/head for a pen of nine heifers from Hapland.
New season lambs at Dingwall on Tuesday sold to 309p/kg for Texel crosses from Kinnahaird or to £148/head for crosses from Braepark, a lower return that reflected the national trend. Feeding sheep, however, continued to cash in at high levels and sold to £160 for a Suffolk ewe from Ardvennie Croft.
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