OVER 3,000 head of sheep passed through the ring at CCM Skipton’s latest weekly Monday sale, the turnout comprising 2,850 prime and 159 breeding sheep, with the headline a new record high at a weekly sale of £6.25 per kilo for a single prime hogg.

In fact, a much better trade than anticipated was seen for the 2,331 prime hoggs on parade, which, boosted by solid export and catering demand, levelled at £172.95, 389.3p/kg (SQQ 389.5p/kg).

Heavy and overweight hoggs were in high demand, easily matching the previous week’s trade, while handy weight sheep saw good meat selling extremely well, smart sorts dearer on the week and the new record weekly high of 625p/kg, gross price £250, achieved by a single 40kg Beltex from Peter Longdin, travelling north from Tickhill, Doncaster.

No less than 40 pens of hoggs made £5 per kilo or more, Paul Baines, Gisburn, doing best among the overweights with Texels at £268 and £266, and the pick of the heavies coming from Newsholme brothers William and Michael Oldfield, with Beltex pens to £245 top.

There were also some excellent runs, Rob Bailes, Aldborough, selling 102 to average £228.05, the Faceby Hutchinsons again returning with 121 to level at £225.93, and Rob Marshall, Dacre, averaging £225.83 with 18 sold. In addition, eight other vendors achieved a run average of £200-plus.

The 65 Spring lambs traded to an overall average of £198.53, 446.2p/kg (SQQ 449.0p/kg), Charles and Valerie Marwood and son, Stephen, Foulrice Charollais flock, Whenby, York, returning to take top headage price of £232 for 49kg lambs going to Knavesmire Butchers, York.

The same home was also responsible for a 45kg pen at £228, 506p/kg, with the leading per kilo price of 518p, £228, falling to 44kg Texel from Chris Craven, who trades as B&ME Craven & Son and again caught the eye when travelling across from Kexby, York. Also returning from Ingleton were Easter Spring lamb champions Robert and Jackie Towers, and daughter, Josie, who claimed £230 with 50kg Charollais.

Of the 454 cast sheep, cull ewes topped at £279.50 for Texel from Daniel Thackray, Fewston, smart heavy ewes making £200-plus and plenty of heavy North of England Mules away at £130-£140, peaking at £143.50 from D&J Herd, Hebden. The section averaged £110.89, with cast rams levelling at £120.69.

A large proportion of Mule ewes with lambs made up the bulk of the breeding sheep entry, with trade for stronger outfits, particularly singles, as good as previous weeks, the weather proving a key factor, with some settled dry weather set to provide an injection to prices if and when it arrives.

Joint top of £280 per outfit fell to two pens of Texel ewes with twins from the Holt family, Bradford, followed by another pair at £275, while heading the Mule trade at £260 with a pen of eight ewes with 16 lambs was by Jonny Metcalfe, Linton.

Well-grown outfits with single lambs proved very easy to sell. Single Texel outfits were strong, these also peaking at £260 courtesy of Richard Umpleby, Killinghall, who also topped with Suffolk singles at £250. Lambs with a bit of age and size are still in high demand.

In the prime cattle sale ring, a nice turnout of 20 cull cows saw all classes meet high demand, producing an overall section average of £1,052.41, 164.55p/kg. Feeding heifers sold to 195.5p/kg for a black and white from Brian and Judith Moorhouse, Aireburn herd, Bell Busk, with a top gross of £1,431 for another from P&RM Sutcliffe, Queensbury. Plenty of fed cows with weight sold at £1,200-£1,400, lean cows at 140-160p/kg. Aberdeen- Angus cows sold to £1,124, 155.5p/kg, from LN&JE Roe, Rathmell, while a single mature Blonde bull from N&R Sutcliffe, Todmorden, made £1,381, 170.5p/kg.

A lighter turnout of 17 rearing calves – many more are expected this coming Monday – averaged £285.88, with a high of £480 for a Limousin-x bull from Michael and Susan Winchester, Coniston Cold, the former also stepping into the prime hogg sale ring to sell consignments of Herdwick on behalf of Lincolnshire vendors G Read & Son, Louth, which topped their section at £169 and 367.4p/kg.

Back with the calves, Blue-x bull calves sold from £380 to £410 top from Andrew Ayrton, Eastby, who also headed the native prices with Angus bull and heifer calves at £340 and £250, as well as consigning the £135 top price black and white bull calf.