THE 383 breeding sheep outfits penned for sale at Skipton Auction Mart on Easter Monday was the largest weekly turnout of the season to date, with the annual Easter ewes and lambs show also on a busy agenda, as exhibitors competed for The Currerwood Trophy for the best pen under judge Peter Houseman, Padside.

It fell to Richard Wilson, Crimple Head Farm, Beckwithsaw, who marked his first-ever appearance in the ewes and lambs show arena at Skipton with a debut red rosette success in the Continental 5s class with a pen of five 3-crop Texel-x ewes with single lambs at foot, all by a home-bred pedigree tup, which went on to sell at £300 per outfit to Kevin Marshall, Menwith Hill. Ribble Valley mart regulars Ian and Mary Lancaster, Wiswell, stood second in class with a quintet of Texel ewes with Dutch Texel lambs, which made £275 per outfit.

Travelling north from Boston in Lincolnshire, Chris Wright was rewarded with victory in the Continental pairs show class with a duo from his consignment of Blue Texel ewes with same way bred lambs, sold for £350 per outfit section top. The same vendor also headed other section prices, including Beltex with single lambs at £320 and Charollais with singles at £260.

Silsden’s Frank Throup finished runner-up in the Continental pairs show class with Texel shearlings with twin lambs, away at a section top £360 per outfit and again to Kevin Marshall.

The first prize pen of five Mules with single lambs from James Middleton, Arncliffe, made £210, the same vendor also selling a pen of eight outfits at £225, his Cheviot ewes with both twins and singles doing best of breeds at £185 and £145 respectively. The third prize Mule 5s, 3-crop ewes with twin lambs from David White, Hebden, sold at £215 the outfit.

Undertaking the first part of a flock reduction, ML&JE Kayley, Halton West, arrived with 30 Mule broken mouthed ewes with Suffolk lambs, standing both first in the pairs class, then runners-up in the 5s, their consignment peaking at £182.

Demand for strong outfits remained high, with trade peaking at £370 for Texels with twins from the Wallbank family, Embsay, who also sold Suffolk shearlings with single and twin lambs to section highs of £300 and £210.

Texels and singles were also a good trade, topping at £340 from John Barnes, Clitheroe, with other single Texel outfits at £335, £300 and £290, and Beltex singles similar at £300-plus. The average for all breeds of ewes with twin lambs was £296, singles of all breeds averaging £171.

The mart says there is continuing high demand for well-grown lambs on younger sheep to go straight in to buyers’ breeding flocks, especially with current rain conditions assisting grass growth on many farms.

Also penned for sale were 3,250 prime sheep, among them 2,710 Spring lambs and hoggs, the former seeing a cracking trade to an overall average of £162.85 per head, 363.4p/kg (SQQ 375.4p/kg).

From Whenby, York, Charles Marwood once again led the Springers’ sale at £182 per head with Charollais lambs, others from the same home at £172 and £168, and to a top of 400p/kg. Andrew Brown, Gargrave, sold lambs to £172, also achieving the top per kilo price of 436p, plus another at 416p.

Prime hoggs took another lift of 10-15p/kg on the week to average nigh on £3 per kilo at 297p/kg across the board (SQQ 307p/kg). Lightweight, handy weight and hill-bred sheep were the main beneficiaries of the uplift, while well-fleshed heavies also took another rise.

Leading the sale at £202 per head were W&M Bland, Kirkby Malham, with overweight Texels, while EP&JM Hutchinson, Faceby, returned to sell 43kg lambs at £190, these also the lead per kilo price at 441p. In addition, the Hutchinsons headed the Mule prices at £142, with Ernie Sherwin, Bedale, catching the eye when selling Wensleydales to £156.

Trade was just as strong for 540 cast ewes and rams, a much larger proportion of hill and horned ewes forward. Top-priced Texel ewes sold to £304.50 from D Pawson & Sons, Blackburn, Boston’s Chris Wright again doing well in this section when selling Charollais ewes to £224.50. Cull ewes averaged £112.79 and cast rams £162.86.

In the prime cattle sale ring, 13 cull cows, most carrying finish, again met a very good trade, producing an overall selling average of 183.99p/kg, £1,210 per head. A quartet of under 30-month Limousin-x cattle from C&J Inman, North Rigton, topped at £1,872 and 287.5p/kg.

The same morning’s sale of 58 dairy-bred rearing calves also saw plenty of trade, with Paul and Janet Bolland, Airton, again heading the prices at £515 with a British Blue-x bull calf, doubling up when also leading the Blue heifer trade at £385.