Ashford Market Report – Tuesday 1st September 2026

Sheep Sales Report

New Season Lambs –835 sold.

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903

Top Price Per Kilo – 400p – Miss G Landells, East Sussex.
Top Price Per Head – £202.50 – P N & C Burden, Kent.

A small entry of lambs this week with a slightly improved trade again, in particular for the heavier and well-bred lambs, with several pushing towards £200/hd and topping at £202.50/hd from P N & C Burden. Smart export types were in short supply with many of the bigger finishers now coming to the end of the 2026 crop. Top on the day in the pence per kilo section, with some very smart continental lambs, was Miss Georgia Landells, showing her lambs from her own flock and achieving 400p/kg and £191/hd. With the current climate now changing a little and lambs now doing quite well, numbers here will begin to lift as we get through September and the schools returning will certainly help the wholesale meat prices also.

36 – £124.00 (344p kg) – D Thompson
38 – £136.00 (358p kg) – R J Adams
39 – £136.50 (350p kg) – D Thompson
40 – £147.00 (368p kg) – Bosney Farm
41 – £150.00 (366p kg) – C R & G Daws
42 – £161.00 (383p kg) – R J Adams
43 – £147.00 (342p kg) – Bosney Farm
44 – £157.00 (357p kg) – H J Hecks & Son
45 – £164.00 (364p kg) – R & G Daws
46 – £184.00 (400p kg) – Miss G Landells
47 – £166.00 (353p kg) – S T Phillips
48 – £168.00 (350p kg) – H J Hecks & Son
49 – £183.00 (373p kg) – C R & G Daws
50 – £191.00 (382p kg) – Miss G Landells
51 – £184.00 (361p kg) – P N & C Burden
52 – £181.00 (348p kg) – K & P M Sinden & Sons
53 – £189.00 (357p kg) – P N & C Burden
54 – £189.00 (350p kg) – P N & C Burden
55 – £178.00 (324p kg) – Miss G Landells
56 – £194.00 (346p kg) – S T Phillips
58 – £194.00 (334p kg) – K & P M Sinden & Sons
60 – £202.50 (338p kg) – P N & C Burden
61 – £189.00 (310p kg) – P N & C Burden

Prime NSL SQQ – 332.28
Light 32.1 to 39kgs – 51 – Top 358, Ave. 339.6
Medium 39.1 to 45.5 kgs – 395 – Top 383, Ave. 330.3
Heavy 45.6 to 52 kgs – 308 – Top 400, Ave. 342.1
Over 52.1 kgs – 61 – Top 357, Ave. 341.8

Cull Sheep – 293 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

Top Price Ewes: £222.00 – S W Batch, Kent – Ave. £111.72

Trade on par with last week and buyers forward competitively for all grades. The best fleshed sorts were short in the pens with a large percentage of leaner grazing types. The best regularly £150 – £170 and to a top price of £222 for a smart Texel from S W Batch followed by T Archer not far behind with Texels to £220 per head. Medium sorts £120 – £140 on most occasions with leaner grazing types £90 – £110 throughout with only a small number sold below these figures.
Keep these ewes coming forward with a very respectable trade being seen, more numbers would be of no concern.

Top prices included:

Texels to £222 – S W Batch
Suffolk cross to £161 – S T Phillips
Beltex cross to £160 – Wey Street Farm
Texel cross to £157 – R Vant & J Claringbould
Romneys to £154 – S Wimble

Ear Tags in Sheep
Please be aware of your responsibilities with regard to the tagging of sheep of all ages and in all sections of the market.

Cattle Reports

Finished Cattle –  30 Sold

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903.

Very much a stand on trade from last week, with less in the pens and similar quality on offer. Smarter handy weighted heifers topped the day from W Alexander (Shoreham) at 368p/kg with Alan Down’s Limousin steers topping at £2,369/hd. Trade has been very consistent recently and performing well in excess of what the deadweight firms will quote, that’s if they will even quote at times.
Best returns are received in the live ring for all types of cattle at the moment.

Leading Steer Prices
P N & C Burden – Limousin cross – 354p (£2368)
A J Down – Limousin cross – 353p (£2203)
A J Down – Limousin cross – 350p (£2097)
W S Furnival Ltd – Limousin cross – 350p (£1992)
A J Down – Limousin cross – 349p (£2300)

Leading Heifer Prices
W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 368p (£2058)
W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 368p (£1948)
R F & E A Simmons – Limousin – 360p (£2049)
W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 354p (£1821)
R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 353p (£2080)

Average prices
Steers 200 to 550 kgs – 3 – Top 330p, Ave. 321p
Steers 551 to 650 kgs – 7 – Top 353p, Ave. 343p
Steers 651 kgs + – 7 – Top 354p, Ave. 337p
Heifers 501 to 590 kgs – 9 – Top 368p, Ave. 354p
Heifers 591+ kgs – 4 – Top 353p, Ave. 330p

OTM Cattle & Cull Cows – 35 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357.

A decent entry after the bank holiday, and the Edenbridge & Oxted Show, met a firmer trade particularly for a better show of dairy culls as meat processors recognise that with the dairy companies lifting the milk price dairy culls will shorten this month.
Mostly dairy culls this week with a short entry of beef cows which were mostly Herefords which carrying flesh were well sold at 230-250p/kg, grossing up to over £2,000 from Old England, feeding Blue Friesian cows to 238p, £1,544.
A better show of Black & White cows generally 200-250p/kg with just a few plain types 170-190p/kg.
Stock bull (1) A good strong Hereford bull at 234p, £2,405.
Overage (3) A bit of weight, but decent flesh, well sold.
OTM Hereford x Friesian steer 306p, £2,322.
OTM Aberdeen Angus x Friesian heifers 300p, £2,111.

Beef Cows – 12 Sold – Top 267, Average 237.1
Dairy Cows – 19 Sold – Top 290, Average 218.7

Calves – 60 sold

Auctioneer: Tristan Howell 07917024340.

Numbers holding well and another first time East Anglian buyer seen around the calf ring travelling all the way to Ashford for calves.
Hickson Bros returning after their busy harvest season with a run of Jersey x British Blues highlighting at £300 for both bulls and heifers. R & J Ledger Ltd with two Simmental heifer calves at £500 and £490 and Aberdeen Angus calves from A Goddard & Son finding £270 for a heifer calf. A new vendor in the calf ring, Mr G Smith, selling calves in the market for the first time and wanting to return. 16 fresh calves averaging a respectable £476 from this home, with mixed ages and breeds, the dearest being a month-old Aberdeen Angus steer at £585. P J Forknall’s usual quality Charolais calves hitting £635, and an Aberdeen Angus bull calf from Parrett & Son was £575. W G & T A Manford had Sussex cross calves to £350 and £345, and a smaller Holstien Friesian calf to £165 from the same home.
Mr G Smith started the weanlings strongly, two 4-month British Blue steers finding £680, and a similarly aged Aberdeen Angus steer to £570. Also, from this home was a Black & White bull seeing £455. From Mrs A Farris, a pair of Aberdeen Angus heifers at 6-7 mths reaching £810 and Kent Game Shooting’s Aberdeen Angus heifer saw £640 with his Black & White steer finding £675.

Bull Calves                                                                 

British Blue cross – 1 – Ave. £465.00 – Top £465.00 – G Smith
British Blue x Jersey – 5 – Ave. £291.00 – Top £300.00 – Hickson Bros
Charolais cross – 1 -Ave. £480.00 – Top £480.00 – P J Forknall
Aberdeen Angus cross – 2 – Ave. £410.00 –  £575.00 – Parrett & Son
Sussex cross – 5 – Ave. £321.00 – Top £350.00 – W G & T A Manford
Wagyu cross – 3 – Ave. £163.00 – Top £200.00 – Hickson Bros

Heifer Calves
British Blue cross – 3 – Ave. £473.33 – Top £560.00 – G Smith
British Blue x Jersey – 2 – Ave. £285.00 – Top £300.00 – Hickson Bros
Charolais cross – 3 – Ave. £521.67 – Top £635.00 – P J Forknall
Simmental cross – 2 – Ave. £495.00 – Top £500.00 – R & J Ledger Ltd
Aberdeen Angus cross – 6 – Ave. £271.67 – Top £375.00 – G Smith
Hereford cross – 1 – Ave. £360.00 – Top £360.00 – G Smith
Sussex cross – 4 – Ave. £258.75 – Top £275.00 – W G & T A Manford

Steer Calves
British Blue cross – 2 – Ave. £530.00 – Top £555.00 – G Smith
Aberdeen Angus cross – 6 – Ave. £469.17 – Top £585.00 – G Smith
Hereford cross – 1 – Ave. £560.00 – Top £560.00 – G Smith

Bull Weanling
Holstein Friesian – 1 – Ave. £455.00 – Top £455.00 – G Smith

Heifer Weanling
Aberdeen Angus cross – 1 – Ave. £640.00 – Top £640.00 – Kent Game Shooting

Steer Weanlings
British Blue cross – 2 – Ave. £680.00 – Top £680.00 – G Smith
Aberdeen Angus cross – 3 -Ave. £730.00 – Top £810.00 – Mrs A Farris
Holstein Friesian – 2 – Ave. £457.50 – Top £675.00 – Kent Game Shooting

Ear Tags

Producers are reminded that all cattle require two ear tags with at least one large distance readable tag. Please inspect stock in good time to order replacement tags as, regrettably, any stock that are incorrectly tagged may not be offered for sale. Local authority inspectors will be taking note as stock comes to market.

 

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