Ashford Market Report – Tuesday 17th January 2023

Sheep Sales Reports

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903

Finished Hoggets – 2,088 Sold

Top price per kg: 281p – Mrs E Sargent
Top price per head: £133 – Barleybrook Farm

Less finished hoggets on offer today following the drop in national trade last week but rates have recovered, somewhat, with the averages back up to where we were before Christmas. Overall, the finish of the hoggets was also much improved on last week which certainly helped to boost the averages to 249p kg. Less weight on offer with very few lambs over 48kg but those that were sold on a strong trade topped at £133 head from Barleybrook Farm. Nationally, far less hoggets were out on Monday, which is another factor which helped the trade to recover. In order to make the most of lambs, in these difficult times, they need to be presented dry and empty. Our lairage facilities are available every week to assist with this.
Almost 900 stores penned today and the trade is following the trend set by the finished price, with the best stores trading from £80-85, the medium term types being £70-80 and only long termers below these figures. Top of the day was £85.50 from Plumpton College.

Top Prices

32kg – £90.00 (281p/kg) – Miss E Sargent
35kg – £92.00 (263p/kg) – W G Watkins & Sons
36kg – £91.00 (253p/kg) – Brockhill Park Performing Arts College
37kg – £87.00 (235p/kg) – J A Farming
38kg – £100.00 (263p/kg) – Beslee Farms
39kg – £105.50 (271p/kg) – M A Piper & Son Farms
40kg – £105.50 (264p/kg) – M A Piper & Son Farms
41kg – £110.00 (268p/kg) – M A Piper & Son Farms
42kg – £113.50 (270p/kg) – M R Woodroofe
43kg – £111.50 (259p/kg) – A Jull
44kg – £120.00 (273p/kg) – M A Piper & Son Farms
45kg – £121.00 (269p/kg) – Beslee Farms
46kg – £124.50 (271p/kg) – David Clark (Farms) Ltd
47kg – £127.00 (270p/kg) – David Clark (Farms) Ltd
48kg – £120.00 (250p/kg) – A Jull
49kg – £124.00 (253p/kg) – R & S L M Smith
50kg – £130.00 (260p/kg) – A Jull
53kg – £124.50 (235p/kg) – P Bates
54kg – £116.50 (216p/kg) – D R Thompson
55kg – £133.00 (242p/kg) – Barleybrook Farm
57kg – £116.00 (204p/kg) – D Napthine
60kg – £133.00 (222p/kg) – Barleybrook Farm

Averages (p/kg)

Standard 32.1 to 39 kgs – 208 – Top 281, Average 242.8
Medium 39.1 to 45.5 kgs – 633 – Top 273, Average 249.1
Heavy 45.6 to 52 kgs – 285 – Top 271, Average 254.5
Over 52.1 kgs – 26 – Top 242, Average 232.5

Cull Sheep – 220 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07712 246474

Ewes: Top £180 – Jan Boomaars, Average £80.65
Rams: Top £118 – Barleybrook Farm, Average £74.86

A smaller number in the pens following the larger show last week. Trade much the same remaining harder work all round. The best ewes £85-£110 on most occasions, to a top price of £180 from Jan Boomaars for his superb Texel ewes. Medium sorts plentiful and regularly £60-£85 and the plainer sorts £40-£60 with very few being sold below these brackets.

Texel to £180 – Jan Boomaars, Charollais to £180 – Jan Boomaars, Suffolk cross to £104 – M R Woodroofe, Romneys to £85 – Bosney Farm, Mules to £79 – W G Watkins & Sons

Cattle Sales Reports

Finished Cattle – 49 Sold

Auctioneer: Elwyn Davies 07710 803901

Finished prices firming again, despite the season, as the tightness of supply strikes hard into the slaughter and processing sector. More faces around the ring, a clear indication of the direction of the trade.
Best beef bred types now topping 280p and regularly over 260p. A top drawer Limousin cross heifer from W Alexander (Shoreham) topped the sale at 289p, £1572 whilst the steers were led by a Limousin cross from W G Vant & Sons at 276p, £1749.
Other notable highlights were a Limousin cross steer from R F & E A Simmons grossing up at £1974 (262p) and a Limousin cross heifer from P W & P Sim & Son at £1800 (269p).
A J Down`s well fleshed run of Limousin x Friesian steers 240-255p, up to £1737 and averaging £1640.
Native cattle strong throughout with good finish wanted by all. Hereford cross steers to 250p, £1472 W S Furnival Ltd, Hereford cross heifers to 229p, £1668 K Bugden; Sussex steers to 249p, £1429 W Alexander (Shoreham), 248p, £1324 W S Furnival Ltd; Aberdeen Angus cross steers to 248p, £1670 W S Furnival Ltd, Aberdeen Angus cross heifers 242p, £1558 Burden Bros, 242p (2) £1328 P Bates.

Top Steers 

W G Vant & Sons – Limousin cross – 276p/kg (£1749)
R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 262p/kg (£1974)
R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 256p/kg (£1852)
A J Down – Limousin cross – 256p/kg (£1737)
A J Down – Limousin cross – 255p/kg (£1679)

Top Heifers

W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 289pkg (£1572)
W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 278p/kg (£1609)
W G Vant & Sons – Limousin cross – 274p/kg (£1750)
W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 273p/kg (£1512)
K & P M Sinden & Sons – British Blue cross – 272p/kg (£1479) 

Average Prices

Steers up to 550kg – 4 sold – Top 248p – Ave 240p
Steers 551kg to 650kg – 10 sold – Top 276p – Ave 249p
Steers over 651kg – 9 sold – Top 262p – Ave 253p
Heifers up to 590kg – 12 sold – Top 289p – Ave 253p
Heifers over 500kg plus – 11 sold – Top 274p – Ave 245p
Bulls – 1 sold – 205p

OTM Cattle and Cull Cows – 135 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357

Quite simply outstanding!  From the best pedigree British Blue, through the commercial varieties of the beef world, fed and unfed; via the individualities of the minority breeds, horned and polled; and from strongest Black & Whites to the slightest Jerseys in the dairy sector we saw, probably, the dearest cull section trade EVER at Ashford. With exactly 50 of the entry over 200p, 79 over £1200 (27 over £1500!) and more buyers around this week it clearly represented the strengths of the live auction system to the full.
A record breaking British Blue cow from Price & Shelbourne at 270p kg £2116 rightly takes the headlines but as notable, in its way, are a 15 year old South Devon cow at close to £1500, a 14 year old Longhorn cow at £1600 and Holstein dairy cows over £1600. A big thank you to all our supporters, big and small, dairy and beef, purebred and crossbred.
This level of trade is here to stay for some time. Much of today`s entry were good meat animals and with feeders in short supply the pipeline over coming months can only tighten. Beef cows ought to be in calf or with calf, and dairy animals ought to be keeping the tank full, but we don’t live in a perfect world so keep looking through your herds, assessing cost and gain, and taking advantage of this level of trade.
British Blue 270p, £2116 Price & Shelbourne; British Blue cross 234p £1343 (Non FA) C Kearl, 231p, 218p, £1490, £1380 (Non FA) P J S Farms; 228p, 227p Betchworth Estate, 226p, £1511 M J Ashworth; Limousin cross 252p, £1371 (Non FA) E Stretton, 234p, 223p, 221p, £1424, £1367, £1334, £1310 J Berryman, 222p, £1650 L E Humphreys & Sons, 200p, £1446 (Non FA) N Cannon; Aberdeen Angus 238p, 226p, £1736, £1519 Jan Boomaars, 232p, 226p, 216p Betchworth Estate; Hereford cross 231p, £1648 (Non FA) K Bugden, 231p, £1360 Jan Boomaars, 227p, £1472 A J Thompson & Sons; Simmental cross 227p, £1291 L S & A R Young, 227p, 225p Betchworth Estate, 223p, £1691 L E Humphreys & Sons, 207p, 206p, £1675, £1518 M J Ashworth; Charolais 226p, 221p, 216p, £1821, £1808, £1754, £1624 Jan Boomaars, 206p, 196p, £1717, £1574 (Non FA)  N Morgan; Sussex 217p, £1331 (Non FA) A B Jones & Ptnrs , 198p, £1294 J Berryman; South Devon 198p, 191p, 187p, 182p, £1457, £1434, £1422, £1361 H & S Nesfield; Longhorn 173p, £1596 Woodland Trust.
The dairy sector are rightly feeding their cows well in late lactation, and when dry, and are reaping the rewards of weight and condition. Maiden older heifers 200-220p, good cows 170-190p; no Black & Whites under 150p. Only very lightweight Jerseys.
Holstein OTM heifers 223p, 219p, 201p, £1694, £1602 Appleton Farms; Holstein cows 193p, 183p, 180p, £1607, £1487, £1364 Appleton Farms, 180p, 178p, £1499, £1447 P J Forknall; Holstein Friesian 185p, 184p, 180p, £1421, £1413, £1274 J W Boyd & Sons Ltd, 178p (2) £1385, £1340 H O Champneys Ltd; British Friesian 178p (2) £1385, £1340 B J Goodsell & Son; Jersey to 125p.
Stock Bulls (5) Meat is wanted so ask the question of your old and weary! Sussex 148p, £1342, Beef Shorthorn 148p, Simmental 146p, £1666, Charolais 146p, £1615, Limousin 145p £1510.
Clean Overage (14) Some good cattle in this section and a real trade pushed up by the increasing clean UTM prices with a RECORD return for an overage heifer at £1900 from Burden Bros.
Stabiliser cross OTM heifers 239p, 238p, £1900, £1336; Sussex OTM heifer 239p, £1312; Simmental cross OTM heifers 237p, 233p, £1312, £1151; Aberdeen Angus cross heifer 3yo+ 216p, £1530; Holstein steers 3yo+ 214p, £1608.

Beef Cows – 76 Sold – Top 270, Average 200.0
Dairy Cows – 46 Sold – Top 223, Average 163.8

Store Cattle – 118 Sold

Auctioneer: Elwyn Davies 07710 803901

A nice show of store cattle early in the year and there is no doubt that there is considerable interest in cattle of all ages but particularly, at this stage of the year, in the short-term finishers.
A quality run of young, crossbred bulls 7-10m from Jan Boomaars found plenty of interest to £915, £845, £790, £735, etc.
Younger 6-12 m dairy bred stores reflecting the longer-term nature of their production but no shortage of confidence from local farming buyers looking for this year`s grazing cattle.
Mid – term cattle 15-24 m regularly £700-£1000 with a good pens of dairy bred Aberdeen Angus steers 20-24 m from N J & A M Howlett selling at £1060, the heifers at £945. Sussex heifers 22 m from P & A Love to £845; Limousin x Friesian heifers 21 m from P M Langridge £770.
It is the strong aged, or out wintered types that really ‘tick the box’ with strong Hereford x Continental steers 23 m from L S & A R Young to £1515, £1490, and £1300. Limousin cross steers 24-27 m from D Ward at £1280 whilst Limousin cross from R J Husk 22 m saw steers to £1160, £1045 and heifers to £1100. Hard out wintered Charolais cross steers 24 m from J Mountfort at £1075 and £1010.
Decent entry anticipated 31^st January. Entries as soon as possible.

Calves – 86 sold

Auctioneer: Tom Hamplett 07966 104532

Calves generally harder work today with buyers showing more caution in selecting calves to buy. Buyers citing limited housing space, higher input costs and tight labour supplies with lambing round the corner. Best calves sold today certainly those closest to weaning with size and strength the order of the day. Smaller calves particularly those affected by ARLA restrictions proving most challenging to place. Nevertheless, all found homes with certain buyers willing to take a chance.
Best continental bulls a decent enough trade today with most £180 -£230. Top price went to R & J Ledger for a Simmental at £295; other Simmentals to £260, and £200 (x20 from H O Champneys Ltd. British Blues to £230 from H O Champneys Ltd and £220 with the regular younger consignment from J W Boyd & Sons Ltd to £195. Charolais from the Falconhurst Estate to £190. The native trade looked to be offering value today with best strongest bulls to £285 and £210 from A & W J Hitchcock and £205 and £185 from H O Champneys Ltd. A single Hereford from PHR Farms topped at £250 to complete the native bulls.
Heifers, a similar story to the bulls with Blues to £120 from W G & T A Manford, £100 from J W Boyd & Sons Ltd as well as Hickson Bros and Falconhurst Estate. Aberdeen Angus heifers the only natives forward with tops of £180 from A & W J Hitchcock. Plenty of Aberdeen Angus heifers well below the £100 mark looking like they might be worth taking a punt on as either stores or potential suckler replacements.
Dairy bulls to £160 for Friesians from R & J Ledger, with Holstein Friesians generally £40 – £60; bobbies £1-£10.

Bull Calves

British Blue cross – 15 – Ave £130.33 – Top £230 – H O Champneys Ltd
Charolais cross – 2 – Ave £167.50 – Top £190 – G Talbot
Simmental cross – 5 – Ave £227 – Top £295 – R & J Ledger
Hereford cross – 1 – Ave £250 – Top £250 – PHR Farms
Aberdeen Angus cross – 21 – Ave £90.52 – Top £285 – A & W J Hitchcock
British Friesian cross – 1 – Ave £160 – Top £160 – H O Champneys Ltd

Heifer Calves

British Blue cross – 13 – Ave £81.54 – Top £120 – W G & T A Manford
Limousin cross – 2 – Ave £40 – Top £70 – G Talbot
Aberdeen Angus cross – 11 – Ave £50.18 – Top £180 – A & W J Hitchcock

Forthcoming Auctions

Tuesday Livestock – 24th January 2023

Regular Weekly Market with a sale of Store and Breeding Cattle

For our Auction Calendar and Catalogues click here