Oct 13.

Pigs
The monthly sale of pigs saw 94 forward and were sold to a sharper trade than the previous sale. Well finished prime pigs sold to £136 for a pen of 3 gilts from Messers Strong & Preston, Row Moor Farm followed by P Woof, Stainton selling gilts at £134, £120. Prime pigs easiest sold in the 85kg - 100kg weight range.  Cast sows sold to £92.  Weaners sold to £30 for Pietrain x from N Wilkinson, Roosecote Farm with others £28, youngest sorts £10 - £15.

The next sale of pigs will be held on Tuesday 10th November. Please contact the office with entries to help us when contacting buyers.

Prime Lambs - An entry of 2,157 prime lambs sold to a market average of 135pkg for a 100% clearance with 12 buyers ringside, this average being in line with other sale centres and with a reported falling national average.

The sale commenced with a new section for light lambs which saw towards 300 forwards, best meated sorts £53 (34kg) with others £50 - £52. Pure hill lambs saw a pen of 31kg Herdwicks achieve £45 and Swaledales £42. Buyers keen to attend this sale with meated lambs required, not stores.

The market topped at £83.50 for heavy weight Suffolks from T Parkin with well finished pens of 42kg – 45kg lambs £65 - £69 peaking at £70 for Texels from SP Pease. Well fleshed lambs short of requirements and selling at 140p/kg – 155p/kg and peaked at 160p/kg for best Texel x lambs for JE Nuttall.
Leaner and under finished lambs harder to sell with buyers also showing a preference towards assured lambs. We would encourage vendors to consider joining an assurance scheme to allow lambs to be marketed to their full potential. Hill bred lambs rising in numbers with mules achieving £55-£61, cheviots £54 - £60 and horned lambs £40 - £53.

Cast Sheep - The weekly sale of cast sheep and rams had another good entry of sheep with 545 passing through the ring. A strong trade for the quality of sheep forward with many consignments of hill bred and plainer ewes forward in the market. Better quality Texel ewes sold to a top of £94 from SW Atkinson & Son of Capplerigg Farm with Texel rams selling to £91 from ML & SM Dobson of Espford Farm. Stronger Texel ewes selling £70 plus. A plainer show of Mule ewes in the market with stronger types selling £60 plus and plenty of pens medium types of ewes selling in the late fifties. Hill types saw Cheviot ewes top at £62 and average £46. Swaledale ewes sold to £42 with leaner ewes eagerly bid for as all Swaledale’s forward selling to average over £30.  

Top prices: Prime lambs – Suff: £83.50 Meadow Oaks; £67 Hill Park; £66 Low Tarn Green, Underley; £64 Trees Farm.  Texel: £70 Underley; £67.50 Low Tarn Green, Red Lodge, Masongill Hall; £66.50 Low Hall.  Char: Trees Farm; £64.50 Yealand Manor; £61.50 Barker Knott.  Dorset: £51 Brow Head.  Mule: £65 Topthorn Farm; £60 Red Scar; £59 Low Longmire, Owlnook.  Masham: £48 Mash Grange.  Swale: £42 Whinney Haw.  Rough Fell: £53.50 Stepps Farm.  Cheviot: £62 Brow Head.  Herdwick: £53.50 High Biggarsbank; £50 Bannerigg Farm.

Cast ewes – Texel: £94 Capplerigg; £85 Stubb Farm; £82 Steel Croft; £81 Kate Farm.  Suff: £67 The Orchard.  Char: £78 Kate Farm.  Masham: £54 Killington Drive.  Mule: £62 High Low Wood; £60 Scargill Farm; £58 Capplerigg, Kate Farm.  Masham: £54 Killington Drive.  Swale: £47 Buck Bank; £41 Brookside, Scargill.  Rough Fell: £50 Stepps Farm, Low Deepslack; £49 Killington Drive.  Chev: £62 Low Tarn Green; £58 Brow Head.  Gritstone: £47 Moss End Farm.  Herdwick: £55 Hodgson Green Farm; £40 The Galleon.
Cast rams – Texel: £91 Espford; £78 Crosscrake.  Leicester: £86 Ashstead.  Char: £76 High Green Farm.  Rough Fell: £64 High Green Farm.