Steady demand for lambs at Ayr

Cast ewes sold to £274 for a Texel from Lochlands while tups peaked at £149 for a Beltex from Springfield, Arran. Flemmyland sold the best of the Scotch Mules at £147 with Cheviots selling to £137/head for Whatriggs. And hill ewes sold to £114/head for a seventeen-strong pen of Blackies from Craig.

Bullocks at St Boswells averaged 302p/kg and sold to 319p/kg, while heifers averaged 296p/kg and sold to 338p/kg, and cast cows averaged 215p/kg and sold to 241p/kg of £1853 gross. Lambs were largely unchanged on the week at an average of 311p/kg and 137/head, and peaked at £190/head for Texels or 409p/kg for Beltexes. Cast sheep averaged £125/head and sold to £219 for a Texel ewe, heavy ewes averaged £162/head, and light ewes sold to £159 and averaged £121.

Beef bred heifers at Lanark were largely unchanged at an average of 307p/kg and sold to 342p/kg for a Limousin, while black and white bullocks were similarly steady at 249p/kg and sold to 262p/kg for a Limousin cross. There wasn’t much change in cast beef and dairy cows either as they averaged 194p/kg and 154p/kg respectively, and lambs held up well at an average of 303p/kg and sold to 340p/kg or £196/head.

Prime heifers at Carlisle averaged 293p/kg and sold to 330p/kg, while young bulls averaged 271p/kg and sold to 322p/kg. Cast beef and dairy cows sold to 292p/kg and 222p/kg respectively, while prime lambs sold to 167p/kg or £560/head, and Lowland and Hill ewes peaked at £240 and £172 respectively.

Steers at Newton Stewart last Friday averaged 289p/kg and sold to 312p/kg for Limousin crosses from Cutcloy or £1640 gross for the same breeding from Glenchamber. Dairy types averaged 232p/kg and peaked at £1200 gross for Kirminnoch or 235p/kg for Balgown. Heifers averaged 278p/kg and sold to 321p/kg or £1550/head for Limousin crosses from Glenchamber.

Last Thursday’s annual district store lamb sale at Dingwall saw an average of £87/head, with Cheviot wedders averaging £80/head – up £9 on the year – and selling to £124 for Bogburn Farm. Cheviot ewe lambs also averaged £80/head and sold to £135 for East Clyne, and other breeds averaged £97/head and sold to £157 for a Texel cross from Ha.

Cast cows and bulls at Longtown last Thursday remained in demand and topped at 223p/kg for Whitebred Shorthorns from Bloch, which sold others to 216p/kg, the same price as the best of the South Devons from Howcleugh – which also topped the per head returns at £1328.

Lambs were more of a mixed bag in terms of quality with well-fleshed types achieving the favourable recent rates. The sale averaged 305p/kg and sold to 371p/kg for Texels from Kilnford Croft.