SKIPTON Auction Mart’s fortnightly midweek store lambs fixture on Wednesday, September 22, produced solid trade and an overall selling average of £88.96 for 6,886 head, well up on the previous year’s £77.03.

With grass and grazing available country-wide and customers keen to secure mouths to eat it, all classes met the requirements of another packed and well-travelled ringside, with lambs moving to Scotland, Wales and the full reach of eastern, western and central areas of England.

Texel-x gimmer Lambs sold to £152 from the Cracoe Carlisles, other white-faced gimmers with size regularly making £120-£130 and strongest pens of Texel-x stores £100-plus. Tosside brothers Trevor and Clive Robinson always do well at this sale with their Beltex stores and again led the way on price with a pen of 11 to £148, while J Greenwood, Addingham, sold another pen of 11 to £145. With some quality goods on offer, Beltex lambs met a fierce trade, the smartest readily making £130-£148.

Mule wether lambs sold to £95 for a pen of 50 from Chris and Christine Ryder, Blubberhouses, the strongest runs of Mule lambs making £88-£95.

The annual show for horned and hill wether lambs was judged by North Lincolnshire mart regular Steve Dorey, with Cheviot class winner, Ben Rushmer, Kettlewell, selling his pen at £88.50, closely followed at £88 by the second prize winners from J&H Varley, Cowling.

Swaledale lambs sold to £59 for the second prize pen from the Masons at Oddacres, Embsay, just pipping the first prize £58 pen from E&E Metcalfe & Son, also Cowling, the same selling price also falling to the red rosette-winning Scottish Blackface from Rossendale vendor Alice Fielding, Haslingden. The first prize Dalesbreds from DH Challis, Middlesmoor, made £50.

Horned lambs with size were generally £50-£59, mid-keep lambs £40- £48 and long-keep lambs £25-£42. Individual breed averages: Beltex £110.09, Suffolk £97.85, Texel £93.73, Cheviot £92.89, Mule £79.18, Blue Texel £98, Kerry Hill £69, Masham £76.50, Swaledale £50.74, Dalesbred £43.68.