Ashford Market Report – Tuesday 24th February 2026

Sheep Sales Reports

Finished Hoggets – 1,603 sold.

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903

Top price per kilo – 405p – Langdon Farms & N & D Attwood, Kent.
Top price per head – £183.00 J Watt, Surrey.

A good entry this week with 1,600 finished sheep on offer. What a fantastic trade particularly for the 38-46kg middle weight category of hoggets. Most of these in excess of 350p kg and topping over 400p kg on several occasions with a top at 405p pk, jointly by Langdon Farms and N & D Attwood.
Trade is very strong for this class of sheep now with numbers still quite tight across the country and out of balance with the strong demand from export orders. Heavies are still a little behind but demand is improving. It is better than it was a month ago with most of these sheep trading from 300-340p kg but the better prices are generally for sheep below 50kg. Prices are favourable at the moment, and with what is anticipated to be large numbers, still on fodder crops, we would advise taking advantage of the current levels before a dry week forces those seed drills out of the shed and the hoggets to be sent packing…

Finished Hoggets

32 – £118.00 (369p kg) – C A Worley Farming Ltd
34 – £127.00 (374p kg) – W G Watkins & Sons
35 – £134.00 (383p kg) – W G Watkins & Sons
36 – £138.00 (383p kg) – A & D Mackay
37 – £146.00 (395p kg) – P Ashlee
38 – £154.00 (405p kg) – Langdon Farms
39 – £154.00 (395p kg) – A & D Mackay
40 – £159.00 (398p kg) – R White
41 – £166.00 (405p kg) – N & D Attwood
42 – £159.00 (379p kg) – P Ashlee
43 – £172.00 (400p kg) – C A Worley Farming Ltd
44 – £171.00 (389p kg) – Miss E Ashlee
45 – £168.00 (373p kg) – St. Nicholas Court Farms Ltd
46 – £172.00 (374p kg) – St. Nicholas Court Farms Ltd
47 – £173.00 (368p kg) – St. Nicholas Court Farms Ltd
48 – £176.00 (367p kg) – St. Nicholas Court Farms Ltd
49 – £174.00 (355p kg) – P Ashlee
50 – £178.00 (356p kg) – St. Nicholas Court Farms Ltd
51 – £169.00 (331p kg) – S J Reeve & Son
52 – £171.00 (329p kg) – R F & E A Simmons
53 – £169.00 (319p kg) – T R Holt
54 – £173.00 (320p kg) – J Watt
55 – £165.00 (300p kg) – C Watkins
56 – £180.00 (321p kg) – St. Nicholas Court Farms Ltd
57 – £176.00 (309p kg) – St. Nicholas Court Farms Ltd
60 – £183.00 (305p kg) – J Watt

Averages (p/kg)

Standard 32.1 to 39 kgs – 206 – Top 405, Ave. 364.6
Medium 39.1 to 45.5 kgs – 661 – Top 405, Ave. 357.9
Heavy 45.6 to 52 kgs – 499 – Top 374, Ave. 339.2
Over 52.1 kg – 232 – Top 356, Ave. 304.1

Store Hoggets  260 – Sold

Auctioneers: John Rossiter 07557 392903.

Top price per head – £147.00 – H F & J H Glover, Kent.

Less of these this week with numbers starting to decline as we are now nearly into March.
Trade shows no sign of easing though and, in fact, is boosted by the finished price, with the overall average for the stores on offer being £125 hd this week, despite a number of smaller sheep being in this entry. Very few stores under £100 hd and the majority over £110 with some pens over £140 hd and topping at £147 hd from H F & J H Glover.

Cull Sheep – 171 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

Top price ewes: £200.00 – A J W Smith, Kent. – Ave. £140.68

Less numbers in the pens with most of the scanning over, and lambing now starting in places. Numbers will always tend to dry up around this time of year.
The best regularly £150 – £180 and to a top price of £200 from A J W Smith & Son for Texels. Medium sorts £110 – £140 on most occasions with leaner grazing types £70 – £100 throughout with very few of these seen in the pens on the day.
A super trade seen for all grades with more numbers wanted on a weekly basis in order to satisfy strong buyer demands.

Top prices included:

Texels to £200 – A J W Smith & Son, Suffolk cross to £188 – J Burden, Texel cross to £185 – C R & G Daws, Crossbred to £182 – R F & E A Simmons, Romneys to £182 – G Homewood, Charollais cross to £176 – N & D Attwood, Mules to £150 – W Mandry Ltd.

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 –  51 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357.

Trade firmer for all grades, without doubt, helped by tight national supplies and with 3 important religious festivals not that far away. More customers around the ring and trade bright from start to finish for a largely commercial entry with no real show stoppers this week. Cattle nicely finished and a credit to producers. A few more heavyweights in the entry with smaller cattle, again, at a premium.
W Alexander (Shoreham) topping the steers with strong Limousin at 384p, £2715, just ahead of Blondes from G L Boulden & Sons at 383p, £2697. Heifers were led by a nice well fleshed Limousin at 380p from D W Ferguson Ltd. Generally, the better cattle 370-385p depending on weight and finish.
Not so many dairy bred cattle this with A J Down`s weekly quality run of quality Limousin x Friesian steers 365-373p. A few Angus x Holstein Friesian steers with weight 325p-335p and over £2500.
A few more native bred cattle this week led by a tremendous run of Sussex, and Limousin x Sussex steers, from Gillshaw Farms which sold to 374p, £2419 and 374p, £2382 respectively. Angus steers from B G & M A Tomsett to 365p, £2315; Hereford steers to 359p, £2312 W S Furnival Ltd; Welsh Black steer 348p, £2241 W Alexander. Amongst the heifers Angus from D W Ferguson sold to 374p, £2110, Sussex to 365p, £1895 Gillshaw Farms; and Herefords to 360p, £2175 J Berryman.

Leading steer prices

W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 384p (£2550)
G L Boulden & Sons – Blonde D’Aquitaine – 383p (£2697)
R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 376p (£2084)
W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 375p (£2715)
Gillshaw Farms Ltd – Limousin cross – 374p (£2297)

Leading heifer prices       

D W Ferguson Ltd – Limousin cross – 380p (£2163)
J Berryman – Charolais cross – 377p (£2146)
Dan Mackleden Ltd – Limousin cross – 376p (£1952)
D W Ferguson Ltd – Aberdeen Angus cross – 374p (£2110)
R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 371p (£2093)

Average prices

Steers 200 to 550 kg – 1 – Top 374p – Ave. 374p
Steers 551 to 650 kg – 24 – Top 376p – Ave. 364p
Steers 651 kg + – 11 – Top 384p – Ave. 358p
Heifers 501 to 590 kg – 12 – Top 380p – Ave. 364p
Heifers 591 kg + – 3 – Top 367p – Ave. 360p

OTM Cattle and Cull Cows – 65 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357.

Trade dearer overall with a strong turnout of customers for all grades with the quality of the entry excellent throughout.
Some outstanding best beef cows, and many well fleshed fed commercial beef cows that have responded well to hard feeding since weaning.
Special mention to N C & C G Hedges with 3 purebred Limousin cows selling at 334p, 318p, 304p grossing up at fabulous returns of £3015, £2968, and £2731.
Both feeding and killing beef cows readily over 300p, with good commercial types 250-280p. Not so many feeders coming forward now but badly wanted by fatteners recognising the long term confidence in the trade.
Limousin 334p, 318p, 305p, £3015, £2968, £2731 N C & C G Hedges, 312p, £1962 A J Thompson & Sons, 305p, 300p, £2276, £2071 M J Ashworth, 288p, £1984 J Berryman; Angus 312p, £2212 Birt Bros, 300p, 292p, £2201, £1977 P N & C Burden, 297p, £2194; Simmental 288p, 287p, 276p, £2218, £2091, £2056 M J Ashworth, 284p, £1857 W J Hurley; Sussex 270p, 262p, £1967, £1909 I G Pilcher, 269p, 268p, £1800, £1645 Torry Hill Farms; South Devon 262p, £1909 H & S Nesfield; Hereford 258p, 256p, £2356, £2185 G & R Bailey.
More dairy culls this week and more trade for this sector. A few more dry fed types topside of 250p but the majority in the parlour state and very well sold at 210-230p. Big gross returns throughout with best types over £2000.
Holstein Friesian 259p, 250p, 248p (2), 246p, £2129, £1874, £1817, £1796 W G & T A Manford, 255p (2), 253p, £1731, £1718, £1603 J W Boyd & Sons, 254p, 244p, 233p (2) £2281, £2021, £1817, £1732 J Warnock & Sons; Jersey 247p, £1473 Goddard & Son.
Stock Bull (1) A Hereford bull, in very good condition, well sold at 221p, £2668.
Overage (11) Continued strong demand for the finished and the lean.
OTM Charolais heifer 355p, £2180 Leggat Farming; OTM Limousin heifer 355p, £1950 J Berryman; OTM Simmental steer 328p, £1857 W J Hurley; OTM British Friesian heifer 312p, £2071, 3+ Norwegian Red Heifer 290p, £1694 D Murdoch & Sons; 3+ Belted Galloway steers 295p, 292p, £1531, £1341 Surrey Wildlife Trust.

Beef Cows – 30 Sold – Top 334, Average 278.6
Dairy Cows – 24 Sold – Top 259, Average 233.3

Store & Breeding Cattle – 351 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

A fierce trade ringside with the weather looking to be on a positive turn and buyers taking full advantage of the quality show of cattle in the pens.
To start the day, we had a Sussex breeding bull 34 mths from Gallagher Farms to £2440 and Angus In- Calf cows from J Cargill scanned 7 mths in calf to the Angus bull topping at £2400. W G & T A Manford had British Blue x Friesian heifers 4 – 6 mths to £760,, and Hereford cross steers 11 mths to £1060 from G D K George. A fine run of Angus steers and heifers 8 – 10 mths from R Brown & Daughter topped at £1400 with others £1300 and £1260 followed by smart Limousin steers 11 mths from L Palmer & Sons to £1830, heifers from the same home to £1680. Limousin steers 7 mths from A J Thompson & Sons to £1410, with their heifers to £1240. A well batched run of Friesian steers 13 – 17 mths from R T J B & I Lockwood topped at £1360. Charolais crosses 10 – 12 mths from M & C Farms topped at £1900 for the steers and £1800 for the heifers whilst Blue crosses 10 – 12 mths from N C & C G Hedges saw a superb heifer reaching highs of £2120. P Tassell had their smart Charolais 9 – 11 mths to £1700 for the steers and £1510 for the heifers. M J Ashworth taking it to the next level with their well-done Angus steers 11 mths out of continental cows to £2040. C & J Georgetti & Sons up next with a fantastic show of Simmental and Limousin cross steers 11 – 13 mths topping at £2300 with others £2190, £2140, and £2100 from the same home. Top spot on the day £2400 from P N & C Burden for a 23 mth Limousin heifer. Angus steers 20 – 26 mths from C Greenland to £1940, and dairy bred Beef Shorthorn steers 17 mths from S J F Agriculture to £1770. Sussex cross steers 21 mths from W J Hurley to £2000. Smart Limousin heifers 20 mths from A J Strand & Sons topped at £2260 with 22 mths Angus heifers from the same home to £1670. D M Brown saw £2110 for 18 mths Limousin cross steers. Gallagher Farms had £2250 for a superb 28 month Limousin heifer. Angus steers 22 mths from S Salbstein Ltd topped at £2100. Gillshaw Farms sold Limousin x Sussex steers 24m to £2220, their Sussex steers 22m £2170 and £2050.  J S & M I Tilley in close attendance topping at £2050 for Angus steers 18 – 22 mths.
A super days trading with the clear sign from industry experts that cattle numbers are short. The live auction ring continues to be the best place to market you stock.
Our next sale with larger numbers of store and breeding cattle will be on Tuesday 10^th March with entries now open and numbers already coming forward for this date.

Principal prices include:

Continental:
Simmental cross steers 13 mths – £2300 – C & J Georgetti & Sons
Limousin cross steers 24 mths – £2220 – Gillshaw Farms Ltd
Limousin cross steers 18 mths –  £2190 – Gallagher Farms
Limousin cross heifers 23 mths – £2400 – P N & C Burden
Limousin cross heifers 20 mths – £2260 – A J Strand & Sons
Limousin cross heifers 28 mths – £2250 – Gallagher Farms

Native:
Aberdeen Angus cross steers 22 mths – £2100 – S Salbstein Ltd
Aberdeen Angus steers 16 mths – £2090 – Gallagher Farms
Sussex cross steers 23 mths – £2170 – Gillshaw Farm Ltd
Aberdeen Angus cross heifers 22 mths – £1890 – S Salbstein Ltd
Aberdeen Angus cross heifers 21 mths – £1840 – J S & M I Tilley
Shorthorn cross heifers 20 mths – £1740 – A J Strand & Sons

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

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

Trade on a par with our last sale a fortnight ago. Top call this week went to C K Guest with well fleshed gilts to 144p per kg and £141.12 per head.
Other well fleshed continentals from P J & P B Wade to 142p per kg and £140.58 per head with crossbreds from A P & P C Rose just short of 100kg per head grossing at £129.36.
Just a few cull sows and boars on offer this week which remain hard to shift.
The best results in the finished section are being achieved with continental sorts that are well covered and 85-100kg.
Please do inform us of pigs you have to come in the next sale on Tuesday 10^th March.

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