SKIPTON Auction Mart saw 2,774 prime sheep comprising 2,408 prime hoggs and 366 cast ewes and rams at Monday’s weekly sale which saw the overall average rise again, levelling at 387p/kg and £170 per head on Monday.

A top sale price of £250 came from Lea and Son, Barnsley, while 41kg lambs from JE Burrow, Hanlith, made £230 per head. A further 110 pens of lambs achieved £200 per head or over.

Mules and Mashams were very keenly contested. RG Church, of Otley, reached £188 with 55kg Mules. J Pickles, of Ribblehead, took top kilo price of 381p when his pen of 50 Mules weighing 42kg made £160.

Heath Partnership, of Macclesfield, had the top three priced pens of horned lambs with 47kg at £169, and 44kg’s at £163 and £160.

Cheviots weighing 59kg from H Downs & Son, Skipton, made £214 while 43kg Lonks from Bryan Dibb, of Menston, reached £164.

Sheep over 52kg averaged £207.64 per head or 368.3p/kg which was up 29p/kg on the week and saw a top price of £250. Messrs R&K Ibison of Longridge made £240 with Texel crosses.

Heavies 46kg to 52kg averaged £188.98 or 387.8p/kg with medium standards 36kg to 45kg averaging £162.68 or 395.5p/kg.

JE Burrows’ lambs at 561p or £230 were top price with W&M Oldfield, of Gisburn, making £225, £220 and £218, with Beltex crosses.

Good lightweight horned lambs made to 369p for 34kg at £125.50. There was plenty of trade still with the ewes with a top price of £289.50 from DN&D Capstick, Bolton-by-Bowland.

Heavy mules sold at £110-£119.50 with meat ewes £95-£105 and lean ewes £80-£90. Lonk ewes sold to £93.50 and Gritstone ewes sold to £100.50. Swaledale ewes sold to a top price of £91.50 from CD&RF Kitching, Threshfield. Plenty of full meat ewes £70-£80 with next grading ewes £58-£68 and lean ewes £40-£52.

In the prime hoggs Beltex averaged £190.92 per head or 451.3p/kg. Texel £175.61 or 391.3p/kg; Suffolk £157.71 or 380.3p/kg; Charolais £156.38 or 380.2p/kg, Blue Texel £166.87 or 412.3p/kg; Badger £192 or 436.4p/kg; Cheviot £157.33 or 383.5p/kg; Mule £159.31 or 347.3p/kg; Masham £152.80 or 343.1p/kg; Swaledale £126.24 or 321.4p/kg; Dalesbred £113.50 or 314.8p/kg; SBF £124.20 or 357.2p/kg; Herdwick £136.00 or 349.3p/kg and Easy Care £134.38 or 369.5p/kg.

Cull ewes averaged £92.81 with Suffolk to £174.50, Texel to £289.50, BFL to £139.50, Mule to £119.50, Lleyn to £86.50, Swaledale to £91.50, Masham to £129.50, Gritstone to £100.50, Cheviot to £121.50, Beltex to £179.50, Lonk to £93.50, WFW to £89.50, Dalesbred to £36.50, SBF to £79.50, Herdwick to £105.50, Blue Texel to £147.50.

Top prices were: Lowland: £289.50. Mule/Masham: £129.50. Horned: £93.50, Hill: £139.50.

Cast Rams achieved an average of £102.83 with Suffolk to £107.50, Blue Texel to £129.50, BFL to £139.50, Swaledale to £63.50, Dalesbred to £69.50 and Charollais to £169.50.

Cull cows saw black and white heifers reach a high of £1,314.67 (225.5p/kg) from PJ JE & JW Bolland, of Airton.

Other dairy crossed cows sold to 163.4p/kg. Leaner cows all selling at 150p/kg upwards. Angus cows sold to 191.5p/kg or £1,323.27 from G&MA Lawn, Grassington. Overall averages were £1,201.79 (177.69p/kg). Black and whites to 225.5p/kg av.187.20p/kg; Beef Shorthorn to 163.5p/kg av.161.28p/kg and Aberdeen Angus to 191.5p/kg av.183.79p/kg The Bolland family featured again on Monday with a top price of £470 for a Blue bull which was among an entry of 57 rearing calves; a healthy number considering there is a calf show next week.

Blue bulls sold to an average of £361.50. Blue heifers averaged £360 to £265. Nice black and white rearing models at either side of a fortnight old sold at £40-£55 with plainer, younger calves at £20-£40. Aberdeen Angus heifer calves averaged £160.