Farming

Round-up

Lamb prices at Newton Stewart yesterday dropped on the week to an average of 289p/kg or £126/head and sold to 317p/kg for Risk or £164/head for Texels from Balligmorrie. Mules peaked at £149/head or 287p/kg for High Ersock, while cast sheep peaked at £159/head for Texel crosses from Orchardton with tups selling to £121 for Texels from High Ersock. And hill ewes sold to £100/head for Blackies from Barholm.

Store cattle at Lockerbie on Tuesday sold to £1,410 gross for a Limousin cross bullock from Justenlees, just ahead of Hunthills who topped the British Blue class at £1,180 for a bullock before leading the heifers at £1,400 for a smart Limousin.

Longtown Auction Mart held the principal prize show and sale of 10,005 Cheviot Mule gimmers and ewe Lambs on Tuesday, and saw a record average of £255/head – up £67/head on the year – and a peak of £315/head for a pen of twenty from Hartree. Other highlights included a run of 197 from Over Finlarg that achieved an impressive average of 293p/head.

Prime bullocks at Dingwall on Tuesday averaged 303p/kg and sold to £1,957 gross, while heifers averaged 301p/kg and peaked at £1,977 gross. New season lambs sold to 302p/kg for both a 46kg Charolais and a pair of 44kg Texel crosses from Ord Farm, or to £152 gross for the same breed from Druid Temple, while feeding sheep sold to £218 for a Beltex ewe from Camaultmuir.

Store lambs from North Uist at Thainstone on Tuesday averaged £91/head – up £33/head on the year - and sold to £125/head for Suffolks from Tigharry. Breeding sheep averaged £136/head and sold to £175/head for Texel ewes from Cracken View.

New season lambs at Huntly on Tuesday averaged 275p/kg or £131/head and sold to 302p/kg for Texels from Mains of Skeith or to £158 gross for a Texel from Corskie. Ewe prices were sharper on the week, averaging £110/head and peaking at £250 gross for a pure Texel from Auchenbreddie.

Third and fourth draw lambs at Oban on Tuesday met with a steady trade, averaging £80/head and selling to £125/head for Texels from Seil Croft.

Prime steers at Orkney on Monday sold to 315p/kg for a Limousin from Huan, while heifers peaked at 314p/kg for a Charolais from South Seatter, and OTM cows averaged 190p/kg and sold to 219p/kg for Millburn or £1,710 gross for Eastaquoy. OTM bulls topped at £1,760 for a Charolais from Odiness, while prime lambs averaged 277p/kg and sold to 295p/kg or £152/head for Withaquoy. Store lambs averaged £99/head and sold to £109/head for Beltexes from Garth, and cast sheep peaked at £180 for a Texel ewe from Braeside, Evie.