A STRONG  trade continued at CCM Skipton Auction Mart’s second seasonal sale of store lambs  on Wednesday (July 24) with 3,591 head producing a very healthy overall average of £101.95, very close to the £102.97 average for 2,700 head at the opener a fortnight earlier, but well up on the £81.70 overall average for 4,298 lambs at 2023's 2nd sale. 

The sale included the annual show for pens of 50 or more Down-cross lambs and saw the Robert Morphet Memorial Trophy travel only a short distance to the Riddings flock at Bolton Abbey, when James Foster was handed top honours for his 1st prize pen of 83 Suffolk lambs that sold at £126 per head. He also claimed top price of £139 for a pen of 18 Suffolks.

Last year’s trophy winner Robert Metcalfe, of Grange Farm, Brearton, Harrogate, took 2nd and 3rd prizes with his Suffolk lambs. His pens of 50 head and 60 head made £126 and £102 per head respectively.

Strong Suffolk lambs sold upwards of £110. Large pens of mid-keep lambs sold at £100-£108 for many pens of 50-60 head. Long-keep Suffolks sold at £85-£95. Overall, 411 Suffolks averaged £107.82.

Beltex lambs averaged £122 per head with a top price of £135 reached twice for a pen of 20 from Frankland Farms, Rathmell, and a pen of 20 from BR Lawson & Son, Richmond. Plenty of good skinned lambs sold at £120 upwards with younger Beltex all selling £122 upwards.

Texel lambs sold to £125 from JC White, Horton-In-Ribblesdale. Strong Texel and Texel x lambs again sold at £108-£118 while good skinned long-keep lambs sold at £90-£105.

Long-keep Texel x lambs out of North of England Mule ewes sold at £80-£90 with a few pens of young Texel-x-Swaledale (Tex-dale) selling at £71-£80.

A large entry of tup lambs sold to a wide audience of buyers. Charollais x tups sold to a top of £108 for a pen of 41. Plenty of large framed fellows sold at £95-£108 with the younger boys reaching £72-£84.

Mule lambs sold to £122 from Flasby Estates, Skipton, for a pen of 15 gimmers. Wether lambs sold to £100 for a pen of 30 from A Newbould & Son, Dallowgill. Strong Mules made £78-£90 with younger lambs £63-£78 depending on frame.

Principle prices: Beltex – (av £122.37) - £135, £130, £126 BR Lawson; £135, £128 Frankland Farms; £130 AJ Haggas; £121 R Marwood; £121 MJ Wells Suffolk - (av £107) - £139, £126 CA Foster; £115 RD Metcalfe; £112 A Newbould; £108 T Priestley; £106 MR&VL Parson; £106 DH Challis; £106 S&F Walker.

Texel - (av £99.14) - £125 JC White; £120 JW Sayer & Son; £118, £115 J Sugden; £116 ID Brown; £115 JI MP Greenwood; £115 J Verity & Son. Mule - (av £90.68) - £122, £120, £102, £78 Flasby Estates; £100 A Newbould; £89 JW Sayer & Son; £79 J Verity.

Dutch Spotted - (av £89.04) - £90, £89 W Howarth.

Masham - (av £85.29) - £90 £79 J Verity. Charollais - (av £96.13) - £105, £76 J Maltby; £102 D Hallam. Cheviot - (av £98) - £98 WM & E Dugdale.