Ashford Market Report – Tuesday 6th October 2026

1,575 Sheep and 489 Cattle Sold.
New Season Lambs to £194.50 – D Isaac & Holly Chandler & Cattle to £2752.75 from Red Barn Farm.

Sheep Sales Report

New Season Lambs – 1,156 sold.

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903

Top Price Per Kilo – 382p – D Isaac & Holly Chandler.
Top Price Per Head – £194.50 – D Isaac & Holly Chandler.

A bigger entry on offer this week and better quality throughout in comparison to last week but trade is still just a little sticky, in particular for the bigger lambs.
Across the country, a number of vendors were pushed to feed lambs in August due to dry conditions and this has brought out several heavier lambs to the market at the same time. Wholesale demand for these is certainly still very much present but it is also limited in the number that can be processed each week, which pulls prices back when bigger numbers come out. These heavier sheep would be back by maybe £10/hd if we look back 3-4 weeks ago for similar types of lambs. These generally trade from £160-180 now with a top price on the day of £194.50 from Dylan Isaac and Holly Chandler, with the same vendor taking top price per kilo at 382p/kg. Lighter weight meat types are the easiest to sell with 40-44kg being the hardest to find around the country with good levels of finish and many of these are selling from 340p/kg-360p/kg.

34 – £128.00 (376p kg) – R J Adams
35 – £118.00 (337p kg) – G H Dean & Co
36 – £126.00 (350p kg) – G H Dean & Co
37 – £133.00 (359p kg) – G H Dean & Co
38 – £139.00 (366p kg) – G H Dean & Co
39 – £120.00 (308p kg) – J & K Walther
40 – £139.00 (348p kg) – R J Adams
41 – £148.00 (361p kg) – John Monnington Farms Ltd
42 – £146.00 (348p kg) – Lucy Chantler
43 – £156.00 (363p kg) – I Watt
44 – £161.00 (366p kg) – G L Harris
45 – £159.50 (354p kg) – H & J Noakes
46 – £167.00 (363p kg) – P Ashlee
47 – £179.50 (382p kg) – D Isaac & Holly Chandler
48 – £175.00 (365p kg) – N C & C G Hedges
49 – £180.00 (367p kg) – N C & C G Hedges
50 – £179.00 (358p kg) – D Isaac & Holly Chandler
51 – £179.50 (352p kg) – D Isaac & Holly Chandler
52 – £176.00 (338p kg) – P N & C Burden
53 – £175.00 (330p kg) – M R Woodroofe
54 – £181.00 (335p kg) – R G Hobbs Farms
55 – £188.00 (342p kg) – D Isaac & Holly Chandler
56 – £189.00 (338p kg) – D Isaac & Holly Chandler
57 – £185.00 (325p kg) – M R Woodroofe
58 – £175.00 (302p kg) – Kingswood
59 – £178.00 (302p kg) – Link Bros
60 – £194.50 (324p kg) – D Isaac & Holly Chandler

Prime NSL SQQ – 327.18
Lambs 32.1 to 39kgs – 76 – Top 376, Ave. 358.7
Lambs 39.1 to 45.5 kgs – 397 – Top 366, Ave. 324.0
Lambs 45.6 to 52 kgs – 386 – Top 382, Ave. 324.8
Lambs 52.1 kgs – 252 – Top 342, Ave. 318.2

Cull Ewes & Rams – 419 Sold

Auctioneers: John Rossiter 07557 392903.

Top Price Ewes: £220.00 – D Isaac & Holly Chandler – Ave. £133.07

A much improved trade this week with grazing ewes really sought after by a great deal of buyers. These leaner ewes were well sold in excess of £100/hd on most occasions up to £145/hd for the best grazing types, with all meat ewes in excess of this and topped at £220/hd from Dylan Isaac and Holly Chandler.
Best meated sorts traded from £175-200/hd with slightly leaner but meated types from £150-170/hd. Overall the averages were £133/hd, up by almost £10/hd on the week.

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 – 61 Sold

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903.

A bigger entry and another box ticked off the list for the auctioneer, breaking the elusive 400p/kg barrier three times in one week and topping at 424p/kg from Red Barn Farm for a tremendous Limousin cross heifer which grossed £2,752/hd. The same vendor also sold a similar bred animal at 400p/kg and M A Piper Farms Ltd topped at 407p/kg for another Limousin sired heifer. Generally, the cattle trade has lifted this week with reports of a measly 10p/kg lift in deadweight prices on Monday but the liveweight ring has lifted over 20p/kg in most cases, proving the worth of supporting the market. Better cattle are now trading from 370-400p/kg with the cattle with some dairy in their breeding now trading from 340p/kg-360p/kg and generally only cattle lacking confirmation selling below these levels.

Leading Steer Prices

M A Piper & Son Farms Ltd – Limousin cross – 407p (£2276)
M A Piper & Son Farms Ltd – Limousin cross – 396p (£2571)
M A Piper & Son Farms Ltd – Limousin cross – 392p (£2212)
W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 390p (£2473)
M A Piper & Son Farms Ltd – Limousin cross – 388p (£2286)

Leading Heifer Prices
Red Barn Farm – British Blue cross – 424p (£2753)
Red Barn Farm – British Blue – 400p (£2497)
A J Thompson & Sons – Limousin cross – 394p (£2046)
A J Thompson & Sons – Limousin cross – 392p (£2134)
A J Thompson & Sons – Aberdeen Angus cross – 387p (£2222)

Average prices
Steers 200 to 550 kgs – 5 – Top 386p, Ave. 362p
Steers 551 to 650 kgs – 22 – Top 407p, Ave. 363p
Steers 651 kgs + – 6 – Top 381p, Ave. 359p
Heifers 300 to 500 kgs – 1 – Top 347p, Ave. 347p
Heifers 501 to 590 kgs – 13 – Top 394p, Ave. 372p
Heifers 591+ kgs – 14 – Top 424p, Ave. 359p

OTM Cattle & Cull Cows – 48 Sold

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903.

A nice entry of cull cows this week with some better types on offer, including some good Friesians from the dairy herds alongside strong beef cows too.
Top on the day was 333p/kg for a well fleshed beef cow from R F & E A Simmons with dairy bred cows topping at 288p/kg for well covered British Friesians from PHR Farms, grossing in excess of £2000/hd twice. Lean dairy types trade from 190-220p/kg, with leaner beef cows some 30/40p/kg above these. More cows can be sold each week, with the increased beef trade having a positive knock on effect for these more processing type animals.

Beef Cows – 17 Sold – Top 332, Average 259.0
Dairy Cows – 18 Sold – Top 287, Average 227.0

Store & Breeding Cattle – 380 sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357.

A tremendous show of cattle for the back end of the year and a great credit to the producers of the South East. Buyers out in force from far and wide, and a marvellous trade resulting in many customers going away short of numbers.
With obvious short term concerns over finished stock this winter, forward stock was an outstanding trade. Medium to long term cattle shortages also exist and those in the finishing business simply need to secure numbers to fill yards and to balance their feed supply.
Smart cow and calf units from Gallagher Farms to £2760 and £2520. A few feeding bulls 9-12 mths from Jan Boomaars saw Charolais cross to £1500, Aberdeen Angus to £1190 and Hereford to £1180. Young cattle in demand with smart Limousin cross steers 8 mths to £1480, heifers £1410 from R M & J Penny, Charolais cross steers 12 mths £1660 Jan Boomaars, and Aberdeen Angus cross 8 mths steers £1290, heifers £1200 Boty Farms. A quality run of Aberdeen Angus x Friesian steers 12-14 mths from R Haydon & Partners sold to £1560.
The main feature of the day were the runs of cattle with strength, breed and condition. Opening with an outstanding run of Limousin cross and Simmental cross cattle from the Georgetti family. Simmental steers 24 mths to £2540, Limousin steers 18 mths to £2380 with their yearling steers to £2110, £2100, £2050, £2030 and their Limousin heifers 17-18 mths £2110, £2040. Quality steers from J Hooker & Son saw their Limousin cross & Simmental cross 16-18 mths to £2050 and £2040. A large run of Limousin bred steers 16-18 mths from E W & R E Hanks, run on the North Kent Marshes this arid summer, met a storming trade to £2130, £2120, £2090, £2080 (2). Limousin steers 18 mths to £2120 from I D Machin, Limousin steers 17-18 mths to £2010, heifers £1840 H Metcalfe. Simon Kilham’s quality Aberdeen Angus 17-18 mths steers to £2250, heifers to £2080; similar story with grand Aberdeen Angus steers 18 mths from G Huntley & Son at £2180. Langrish Farmers’ Sussex steers 18 mths topping at £1900 with yearling Simmental steers also to £1900. Strong forward Beef Shorthorn steers from Kinnear & Co, much admired, and selling to £2410, £2180, and £2130, heifers to £2290. Last beast of the day, our only Black and White, selling to £1940 from Cameron Kearl.
A big thank you to all involved, particularly staff and the hauliers with big loads in and out, and buyers and sellers who combine to give the market the strength it enjoys.

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.

Store & Finished Pigs – 23 Sold