Trade of the season to date in CCM Skipton prime hogg market

This compared to 317p/kg (SQQ 321.68p/kg), or £136.60 per head, the previous week, which was itself £30 per head up on the same day the previous year.

Handyweight lambs in particular were very good to sell, producing a double top of £5 per kilo, £210 per head, for 42kg Beltex crosses from Newsholme brothers William and Mick Oldfield, whose total run of 109 averaged 391p/kg and included others to £200 and 487p/kg twice. The Beltex average was £154.50 per head, 383.6p/kg.

Medium/standard 36-45kg lambs were a stunning trade throughout, the smartest goods selling at 400-500p, good skinned sorts 355-400p and commercials mainly 310-350p, a few pens either side of 300p. However, the weight range average of 344p/kg, or £101 over the weight, clearly indicated the strength of the trade, this also including hill lambs falling into the weight range.

A shortage of sheep in the over-52kg category saw trade match the relative scarcity as they averaged 306.6p/kg, £181 per head, or for easy reckoning the equivalent of £121 each over the weight.

The Faceby Hutchinsons had yet another field day when making their regular trip down from south of Middlesbrough to present their regular run of well-fed Continental and Suffolk Mule hoggs, again being in among the thick of the leading prices when seeing 105 head average a sparkling £192 each, with 22 pens selling at £190-plus to a top of £209, second highest of the day, for 56kg Beltex. They also headed both the Texel and Suffolk section prices, three pens of the former selling for £200 upwards to £206, the latter to £198.

Back with the overweights, the Rathmell Maudsleys made £188 with 63kg lambs, Sandy Harrison, Cowling, selling a 61kg pen for £188, the best of the rest £170-£186, in total 46 pens away at £170-plus.

There was no let up among the 46-52kg heavies, which averaged £153.98, 321.3p/kg, and peaked at £195 for 51kg Continentals from Lea & Son, Barnsley ,Taylor Bros, Tosside, making £180 and £171for 48kg and 50kg pens, the Hugill family, Hellifield, producing their usual good consignment of well-fleshed heavies to sell at £176 for 49kg lambs. The majority of the better lambs in this weight range were mid-£150s to mid-£160s. Lightweight 32-35kg lambs averaged £117.88, 342.4p/kg, a lovely pen of 35kg Beltex from M&S Eddleston, Great Harwood, making £164, 468p/kg.

The solidity of overall trade was represented in the averages, with, among the Continentals, Texel levelling at £150.28, 329.6p/kg, Suffolk £155.73, 312.6p/kg, and Charollais £149.65, 337.2p/kg.

Hill lamb trade also stepped up a gear, solid demand and very sharp prices seen for both North of England Mule and Masham, especially if well-fleshed. Mules averaged over £3 per kilo, £130.69, the Hutchinsons claiming yet another section top of £157 with a 52kg pen, John Hitchen, Luddendenfoot , next best with 49kg lambs at £148. The Masham average was £124.50, 304.2p/kg, with a per head high of £139 from James Pate, Gisburn, and by-weight top of 314.3p from Tom and Sophie Holgate, Halton West.

The Heath Partnership, Macclefield, topped the Swaledales at £139, A Guy & Son, Elslack, selling Lonks at £145 and £140, Joe Bosworth, Rossendale, claiming £168 with 56kg Gritstones and £170 for 54kg Cheviots.

Also penned for sale were 558 cast sheep, cull ewes meeting a similar trade on the week when averaging £92.38, with a top of £219.50 for Texel from Russell Peel, Pateley Bridge, plenty of smart sorts making £160-£190. Mule ewes sold to a top of £119.50 from DF&HJ Swinglehurst, York, Swaledale to £87.50 from Jeff and Judith Throup, Silsden Moor, Scottish Blackface to £76.50 from John Roebuck, Stalybridge. Cast rams averaged £110.10.

Also on parade for the opening ewe and lamb sale of the new season were 36 breeding sheep, 14 outfits comprising 11 twins and three singles. A healthy start it proved to be, twins averaging £260 and topping at £300 for Texel-x from Andy Brown, Gargrave, with singles, all from Calderdale’s John Hitchen, levelling at £198.