Last updated 16:06, Wednesday, 24 September 2008

MITCHELL’S recent fortnightly sale of breeding and store stock met a better trade than might have been expected.

Strong short-keep cattle, and younger cattle of quality, were, as always, in great demand with bids flowing freely throughout.

Store bullocks topped at £958 for a Limousin from Messrs Roberts, Riggingill, Farm which made £958. Store heifers sold to £912 for a Blonde-cross from Jack Southward, Beckside Farm.

A good entry of cows and calves included a consignment from John Hinde, Low Moor End, who topped the market with an eight-year-old cow with calf at foot, at £960.

The best entry of feeding cows for several months was in great demand to average £555.67 selling to £725 for a Limousin cow from Tony Sharp, Holmecroft.

Earlier an excellent entry of 44 calves and stirks found beef-bred calves selling really well, as always mostly to local demand.

The fortnightly sale of store lambs saw a really nice quality entry of lowland bred lambs which found much favour among local feeders.

These lambs were dearer on the week as were hill-bred lambs for which the season is now starting to commence.

Calves (under three mths) – Limousin bulls – £328 Greenclose; Belgian Blue bulls – £310, 305 Fairladies; Friesian bulls – £88 Aikbank, Belgian Blue heifers £310, 300 Fairladies, 200 Watson Hill; Limousin – £250 Greenclose.

Stirks – Limousin bulls – £442, 382 Annaside; Limousin heifers – 358 Hall Carleton.

Dairy cows – Newly-calved cows – 1500, Scott, Mid Farm; newly-calved heifers – 1,200 Scott, Mid Farm.

Feeding cows – Limousin – £725 Holmecroft; 645 Wythop Hall; Belgian Blue – £675 Commongate; 625 Wythop Hall; 585 Little Mill.

Cows and calves – £960, 910, 900 Low Moor End.

Store bullocks – Limousin – £958, 865 Riggingill; 900, 868 Foxhouses; 855 Broom Farm; 785 Overcroft; Belgian Blue – £905 Riggingill; 755 Middle Boonwood; Charolais – £755, 748 Sandwith; 702 Fangs; Aberdeen Angus – £788, 762 Low Fields; 555 Skalderskew; Friesian – £735, 665 Riggingill; 718 West End (Pattinson); Simmental – £715 Sandwith Farm; Suckled Bull Calves £568 Dockray Nook.

Store heifers – Blonde – £968, 688, 678 Beckside; Limousin – £865, 705 Broom Farm; 758 Braystones; 702, 698 West End (Dobson); 702 Overcroft; Aberdeen Angus – £678 Lowfields; Charolais – £678 Askhill; 648 Ehenside.

Store lambs – Texel – £45,43 De Burgh House; 43 Seaview, 40, 39.50 East Town End; Charollais – £44, 42 East Town End; 37.50 Kirkhouse, 34.50 Gill Bank; Suffolk – £39.80, 38.50 East Town End; 37.50 Sea View; Texel-cross-Herdwick £28, 26.50 Easthwaite; Herdwick – £20, 16 Brotherilkeld; Swaledale – £19.20 Hope Farm.

Big trade for lambs

PRIME stock saw a similar entry of prime sheep through the ring, on Wednesday, last week.

Local producers are responding very well to buyers’ requests for good meat, with an excellent show of lambs on offer.

Vendors of quality lambs were well rewarded with a tremendous trade with lambs considerably dearer than some of the early week markets.

Lambs averaged 131.7p/kg, a rise of more than 6p/kg, against last week’s expectations.

Prime butchers’ lambs were the best trade for several weeks selling to a top of £82 per head (182.20p/kg) for Texel-cross lambs produced by Reg Almond, Irton House, and bought by Richard Wilson, butcher, Egremont.

Close behind was George Gate, of Hollins whose £81Texel lambs were bought by Richard Lindsay, butcher, Cockermouth.

Some buyers were still short of lambs on at the end of the sale.

Prime ewes were forward in similar good numbers, finding meaty lean ewes still good to sell. Mule ewes were rather dearer on the week and plainer fell ewes were a similar trade.

In the prime cattle ring the sale began with an excellent entry of cast cows which as expected were cheaper on the week.

Good continental cows remained in demand selling to a top price of 117.5p/kg. This was given for an Aberdeen Angus cow from David Pigg, Linethwaite, and was bought by Highland Meats of Ayr.

Holstein Friesian cast cows found many lacking flesh, however good fit cows were in demand again, selling to a top of 105.5p/kg (£820.79) for a cow from John Bowe, Hunday, which was again bought by Highland Meats.

Prime cattle fully maintained recent rates with both bullocks and heifers selling to a top of 179.5p/kg.

Top price heifer was a Limousin from Graham Stamper, Row Brow, bought by Geoff Riley, butcher, Burnley, for £1,193.68.

Bullocks sold to the same price (£1032.13) for a Limousin from Sam Bowness, od Galemire, which was bought by Ian Jolly, Felltop Meats.

A smaller entry of prime bulls provided a very similar trade, selling to 157.5p/kg for a Montbeliarde-cross, from Ian Langcake, Isel Old Park, which was bought at £1,001.70 by Michael Atkinson, Ripon.

Friesian bulls sold to 138.5p/kg paid to George Gate, Hollins, again bought by Michael Atkinson.

TOP PRICES – Prime heifers – Limousin – 179.5p Row Brow, 129.5 Abbey Flatt; Belgian Blue – 157.5p Back House; Aberdeen Angus – 123.5p Line Wath.

Prime bullocks – Limousin – 179.5p, 153.5 Galemire; 152.5, 151.5 Croft House; 152.5 Hill Green; Belgian Blue – 163.5p, 134.5 Galemire; Friesian – 130p Galemire; Simmental – 122.5p, 113.5 Ashley Grove.

Prime bulls – Montbeliarde – 157.5p, 155.5, 153.5, 147.5 Isel Old Park; Friesian – 138.5p Hollins; 123.5 (x2) Hill Farm.

Cast cows – Limousin heifers – 128.5p Bridekirk Hall; Aberdeen Angus-cross cows – 117.5p Linethwaite; Belgian Blue-cross cows – 111.7p Linethwaite; 109.5 Knott Houses; Belgian Blue-cross bullock – 113.5p Hemplands; Friesian cows – 105.5p Hunday; 102.5 Hall Carleton; 101.5 Arkleby Hall; Limousin cows – 107.5p Stock Bridge; 104.5 Abbey Flatt; 104.5 Overcroft.

Limousin Bull – 105.5p Stowbank; Simmental-cross cow – 103.5p Lonning Farm; 96.5 Near Swallowhurst; Simmental-cross heifer – 100p How Hall.

AVERAGES – Cattle – Premium grade: max 179.5p/kg ave 157.6p; Prime: max134.5p/kg ave 125.3p.

Bulls – Premium: max 157.5p/kg ave 150.6p; Prime: max 123.5p/kg ave 123.5p. TOP PRICES – Prime Lambs – Texel – £82 Irton House; 81, 70 (2), 68 (2) Hollins (Gate); 67.50 Millstone Moor; 65 Highside (Mawson).

Dutch Texel £72, 69, 66 Nook Farm; Beltex – £55.80 Elva Plain.

Suffolk – £55 Scalemoor; 55 Commongate; 54.50 Millstone Moor.

Charollais – £60.50 Scalesmoor; 56.50, 54 Row Brow (Stamper); 55 High House (Ashburner); 55 Greensyke.

Cheviot – £53, 52 Galemire.

Lleyn – £55 Bothel Cragg.

Rouge-cross – £50 Birks Farm.

Mule – £52.50 Little Braithwaite; 48.50 Highside (Mawson).

Herdwick – £40 Welcome Nook.

Cast Ewes – Texel – £49.50 W Skelton, Rook Farm; 49.50, 48.50, 46.50 A & J Clark, Cherry Tree House; 47.50 Mrs H Marrs, Rose Farm; 46.50 B G & D E Marrs, Elva Plain.

Beltex – £47.50 L Southward, Cragg View.

Suffolk – £42.50 W J Parkin, Greenbank; 35 M/s Matterson, Stone Croft.

Blue-Faced Leicester – A G & K F Nicholson, Swinside.

Cheviot – £38.50 M/s Matterson, Stone Croft; 35.50 B G & D E Marrs, Elva Plain; 34.50 J & J K Spedding, Salter Hall.

Mule – D Malloy, Slatefell; 37.50 G Gate, Hollins; 35.50 R M & E R Jackson, Scalesmoor; 35.50 S W & V Bowness Gale Mire.

Rams – Texel – £58.50, 49.50 W & S Brownrigg, Millbeck Hall.

Lambs sale

THE annual sale of Mule Gimmer lambs, on Friday last week saw an excellent catalogued entry of 5,850 lambs bred on farms from throughout the Lake District.

The annual prize show had a new format with two judges in operation. David Mattinson, Cragg Farm and Tom Fawcett, Little Blencowe, worked in tandem to judge the top six. Championship honours went to Robert and Judith Emmott, of Wythop Hall, whose lambs made £100 and were purchased by David Mattinson. The reserve champion lambs were bred by A & D Smith, Kelmore Hills,

These also made £100, boughty John Fell, Stanger Hill. However the top price was an impressive £115 for the third placed lambs from G W Whitfield & Sons, Stowbank.

Lambs were a very decent trade with best tupping lambs selling very well. Running lambs had more customers than ever with many new faces around the ring and actually grew dearer as the sale progressed..

Prize Show – Mule Gimmer Lambs – 1 and Champion – R W & J H Emmott, Wythop Hall £100 to D Mattinson, Cragg Farm; 2 and Reserve Champion – A & D Smith, Kelmore Hills £100 to J Fell, Stanger Hill; 3 G W Whitfield & Sons, Stowbank £115 to R Sawbridge, Milton Heynes; 4 Messrs Folder, Wesco £90 to Messrs Bowe, Calvo; 5 R J & A Y Armstrong - £90 to R Sawbridge, Milton Heynes; 6 R M Clark, Mossergate £69 to D Mattinson.

Top Prices – Mule Gimmer Lambs – £115, 86 Stowbank; 100, 93, 90, 89 Kelmore Hills; 100 Wythop Hall; 97 Swinside End; 90, 89 Terrace Farm; 90, 80 Wesco; 80 Oakbank; 80 Burns Farm; 80 Setmabanning; 77 Low Kinmount; 73 Kirkland House; 70 Grange Farm.

Half Bred: £60, 57 Struddabank