WHILE sheep trade nationally is coming under pressure with more numbers on the market appearing harder to move on, the overall average of £140.87 per head, or 320.8p/kg (SQQ 321.7p/kg), for over 1,000 new season lambs at Skipton Auction Mart on Monday was deemed a very good result and more could easily have been sold to a strong and active company of buyers.

Good heavy lambs were a super trade, WM Hall, Grassington, selling Texel to £190, M Ryder & Son, Haverah Park, Harrogate, seeing their Texel pens make £188, £181.50, £179, and £178, while Beltex from PB Fox & Son, Elvington, York, again did well at £185, £180 and £172, with per kilo prices from the same home of 402p, best of the day, 391p and 390p.

The smart end of Spring lambs were a sharp trade and other solid by-weight selling prices were seen from Tony any Kay Kiernan, St Michaels, at 397p, 395p and 390p, while Franklands Farms, Rathmell, made 394p and 392p, both again with Beltex pens.

Plenty of nice skinned types could achieve 340p-380p/kg, or generally £100-£110 for handier weights, with good heavies getting away at £110-£120. Continental prime commercial lambs traded around 310p-325p/kg, depending on weight and quality, while a Suffolk Mule could achieve 290-310p/kg, again depending on weight and type.

Individual Spring lamb averages were: Beltex £156.54, 370.2p/kg, Texel £140.54, 322.5p/kg, Suffolk £136.13, 310.2p/kg, Charolais £144.21, 323.5p/kg.

In total, there were 1,615 Spring lambs and hoggs penned for sale, the latter producing an overall slling average of £116.83 per head, or 247.7pp/kg (SQQ 240.6p/kg). This was viewed as another good trade for the very mixed quality on offer.

Per head prices peaked at £173 for Texel from JR Sayer, Askwith, Otley, Jeff Burrow, Malhamdale, having two pens at £172, with one heading the section per kilo prices at 340p.

Prime hogg section averages: Texel £135.23, 271.5p/kg, Suffolk £125.63, 261.2p/kg, Mule £94.54, 215.6p/kg, Swaledale £82.77, Dalesbred £78.38, 182.3p/kg, Gritstone £110.48, 254.3p/kg, Cheviot £118.76, 268.2p/kg, Blue Texel £110.70, 283.5p/kg.

The cast sheep section attracted 591 head and while trade was as anticipated slightly easier on the week with numbers tighter all classes sold well, cull ewes averaging £104.94 and cast rams £146.78. Frankland Farms was again to the fore when consigning the top price £237.50 Texel ewes, while tups sold to £244.50 for a single Charollais from JT Robinson, Foulridge.

Best pure Texel ewes with weight made over £200, medium pure Beltex/Texel ewes selling at £150-£170 and lighter pure ewes £120-£150. First-crossed ewes with weight sold well at £150-£160, the next grade of full meat ewes at £130-£145, while medium ewes made £110-£125 and plain ewes £70-£95, depending on frame.

Pure Suffolk ewes sold to £217.50 from AJ Slater, Preston, and crossed Suffolk ewes at £140-£150 for the best end with weight and mediums full of meat at £110-£130. Lean ewes were £105-£115 and plain ewes £80-£100.

Swaledale ewes sold to £101.50 from Ashfield Farms, Lothersdale, those full of meat and size making £80-£98, with mediums £55-£70, lean ewes £45-£60 and plain ewes £25-£40. Lonk ewes sold to £118.50, again from JT Robinson, with Herdwick ewes trading to £102.50.

A smaller turnout of 50 breeding sheep would be a slightly better trade on the week, with Sam Coy, Rotherham, returning to sell correct Texels with twins to £260 and correct Mules and twins to £225. Suffolk hoggs with singles sold to £230 and Texel hoggs with singles to £175 from RJ Ashworth, West Marton.

The weekly sale of 23 dairy-bred rearing calves produced a top price of £450 for a British Blue-x bull from regular vendors Paul, Janet and James Bolland, Airton, with Blue-x heifer calves selling to £345 from James Wellock, Eshton. Native prices peaked at £300 for an Aberdeen-Angus bull from Malcolm Fewster, Cleckheaton, Angus heifers from the same vendor topping their class at £235.

Medium Blue bull calves were £350-£380, some bobbies £200-£250, and medium heifers £300-£330, bobbies £200-£240. Medium Angus bulls made £280-£300 with youngsters £230-£280, medium heifers selling either side of £200.

A small entry of cull cows sold to an overall average of 154.67p/kg, or £908.79 per head, black and white cows with weight again from the Airton Bollands making section tops of £1,428, 183.5p/kg.

Potential purchasers should note that the dairy farming Bollands will begin a much anticipated ongoing herd dispersal at the next Craven Dairy Auction this coming Monday, June 19, with some 20 cows and heifers in milk anticipated from the long-established high health herd.