Ashford Market Report – Tuesday 24th March 2026

Sheep Sales Reports

Finished Hoggets – 2,848 sold.

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903

Top price per kilo – 468p – Keeley & Hobden, East Sussex.
Top price per head – £226.00 – T Lyle & Partners, Kent.

What a trade! Absolutely flying from start to finish and a trade like we have never seen before, even in the peak days of spring 2024. Those rates were surpassed by today’s prices with an overall average of £187 head, with all the entry of 2,900 finished hoggets included.
This incredible demand, created by the end of Ramadan last week, has coincided with the onset of the Easter period and thoughts suggest that cheaper imported alternatives from the Southern Hemisphere may not make it to our shores for Easter so the supermarkets are desperately trying to secure stock for their shelves.
A very long list of top prices with more than 75 pens of sheep selling at over £200 head on the day and topping out at £226 head from T Lyle & Partners, who also topped the sale last week with their superb Beltex crosses.
A good number of vendors this week sold in excess of £220 including S W Batch, St Nicholas Court Farms Ltd, James Wayman, C & J Georgetti & Sons and R L Goodman & Son, to name just a few.
Another quality run of note from Keeley & Hobden sold exceptionally well, with a showstopper pen beating all others to a top price of 468p kg for some very well bred Beltex hoggs.
Numbers on offer do not seem to be able to slow the trade and it would take a very brave vendor to hold out for more at the moment….

Finished Hoggets

31 – £130.00 (419p kg) – O’Neil Smith Ltd
34 – £140.00 (412p kg) – O’Neil Smith Ltd
35 – £111.00 (317p kg) – L Stevens & Sons
36 – £140.00 (389p kg) – R White
37 – £173.00 (468p kg) – Keeley & Hobden
38 – £177.00 (466p kg) – Keeley & Hobden
39 – £176.00 (451p kg) – J Metianu & S Aspital
40 – £183.00 (458p kg) – Keeley & Hobden
41 – £183.00 (446p kg) – Keeley & Hobden
42 – £180.00 (429p kg) – O’Neil Smith Ltd
43 – £193.00 (449p kg) – Michael Keeley (Agri Services) Ltd
44 – £193.00 (439p kg) – Michael Keeley (Agri Services) Ltd
45 – £210.00 (467p kg) – T Lyle & Partners
46 – £202.00 (439p kg) – T Lyle & Partners
47 – £195.00 (415p kg) – O’Neil Smith Ltd
48 – £215.00 (448p kg) – J Metianu & S Aspital
49 – £219.00 (447p kg) – T Lyle & Partners
50 – £220.00 (440p kg) – O’Neil Smith Ltd
51 – £218.00 (427p kg) – O’Neil Smith Ltd
52 – £213.00 (410p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
53 – £215.00 (406p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
54 – £214.00 (396p kg) – G A Mitchell & Son
55 – £216.00 (393p kg) – C & J Georgetti & Sons
56 – £221.00 (395p kg) – J Wayman
57 – £218.00 (382p kg) – T Lyle & Partners
58 – £220.00 (379p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
59 – £224.00 (380p kg) – S W Batch
60 – £221.00 (368p kg) – C & J Georgetti & Sons
61 – £220.00 (361p kg) – R L Goodman & Son
62 – £226.00 (365p kg) – T Lyle & Partners
63 – £218.00 (346p kg) – J Metianu & S Aspital
65 – £214.00 (329p kg) – R G Hobbs Farms
66 – £220.00 (333p kg) – L Stevens & Sons
73 – £224.00 (307p kg) – St. Nicholas Court Farms Ltd

Averages (p/kg)

Standard 32.1 to 39 kgs – 135 – Top 468, Ave. 421.9
Medium 39.1 to 45.5 kgs – 929 – Top 467, Ave. 407.9
Heavy 45.6 to 52 kgs – 1017 – Top 448, Ave. 400.5
Over 52.1 kg + – 736 – Top 427, Ave. 373.1

Store Hoggets  383 – Sold

Auctioneers: John Rossiter 07557 392903.

Top price per head: £173.00 – J & H Robinson (Iford Farms) Ltd, East Sussex.

Unbelievable trade.
Topping at £173 for genuine stores from J & H Robinson (Iford Farms) Ltd, with an overall average of £144.70 all included. I don’t think I need to say any more than that.

Cull Sheep – 353 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

Top price ewes: £227.00 – J Wayman, Surrey. – Ave. £159.78

Yet another flyer with buyers forward in competitive manner as numbers start to tighten in the pens.
The best regularly £160 – £190 and to a top price of £227 from J Wayman for Texel crosses. Medium sorts £130 – £160 on most occasions with leaner grazing types £100 – £130 with only 3 sheep sold under £105 per head and 28 sold over £200 per head.
More ewes of all grades are wanted on a weekly basis in order to satisfy weekly buyers demands.

Top prices included:

Texel cross to £227 – J Wayman, Texels to £220 – A J W Smith & Son, Suffolk cross to £214 – Lucketts Farm, Romneys to £194 – Woolly Dog Farm, Berrichon to £194 – D Stephens, Mules to £181 – M R Woodroofe.

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 –  59 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357.

Still no real bite and determination in the beef trade at present with major retailers making very little effort in their stores to support the red meat sector. Tight supply still the critical factor and the NFU and recent reports of food security are right to raise the subject of the difficulties for the near future of feeding the nation.
Not a bad show of cattle in terms of quality and finish but, certainly, a few more lightweight and out of spec awkward types to affect averages overall.
The better beef bred cattle 360-380p in general, with some top drawer Limousin heifers to 398p, £2166 from W Alexander (Shoreham) Ltd and 389p, £2098 from R F & E A Simmons. Smart Limousin steers from R F & E A Simmons topping at 379p, £2233. A bit more weight on offer this week with a Blonde steer to £2764, 374p G L Boulden & Sons; Blonde heifer to £2581, 380p Dan Mackleden Ltd; and Limousin heifer £2617, 364p Leggat Farming.
Limousin x Friesian steers 353p-359p, and up to £2315 from A J Down whilst the Holstein Friesian crossbreds more generally 325-345p. Black & White heifers 310-320p, and Wagyu heifers out of dairy crosses 345p, 338p, £1869.
Native Sussex, Hereford and Angus cattle saw Angus to 360p, £2103 Leggat Farming, Sussex steers and heifers both to 353p, £2362 & £1833 from Dan Mackleden Ltd and Friday Street Farmers, respectively. Hereford steer to 345p, £2170 W S Furnival with traditional Herefords to 333p, £1446, but generally the commercial lighter weights, less than 480kg, challenged by the oncosts of killing charges

Leading steer prices

R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 379p (£2233)
G L Boulden & Sons – Blonde D’Aquitaine cross – 374p (£2764)
W Alexander (Shoreham) – Bazadaise – 370p (£2199)
R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 366p (£2211)
Leggat Farming Ltd – Aberdeen Angus cross – 360p (£2103)

Leading heifer prices       

W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 398p (£2166)
R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 389p (£2098)
Dan Mackleden Ltd – Blonde D’Aquitaine – 380p (£2581)
W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 380p (£2011)
R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 366p (£1937)

Average prices

Steers 200 to 550 kg – 3 – Top 333p – Ave. 300p
Steers 551 to 650 kg – 15 – Top 379p – Ave. 352p
Steers 651 kg + – 9 – Top 374p – Ave. 352p
Heifers 300 to 500 kg – 7 – Top 338p – Ave. 307p
Heifers 501 to 590 kg – 16 – Top 398p – Ave. 350p
Heifers 591 kg + – 9 – Top 380p – Ave. 356p

OTM Cattle and Cull Cows – 27 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357.

We are getting to that time of the year when culls are at their shortest, and with most producers having taken advantages of price levels over recent years and kept their herds tidy I can only see numbers remaining very tight.
A small show this week but trade again highly competitive with only a few meat cows, and the majority feeding and grazing types which found no shortage of customers.
Good beef youngsters to feed flying up to 370p and 346p for Angus from A C Hulme & Sons with tidy older feeding types regularly 280-320p. Good meat cows 280-310p.
Angus 370p, 346p, £2090, £1848 A C Hulme & Sons; Simmental 322p, 301p, £1881, £1652 J & H Robinson (Iford Farms) Ltd; Limousin 320p, 282p £1645 J & H Robinson (Iford Farms) Ltd, 304p, £2109 Beaute Agri, 283p, 276p, £2331 Farrant Bros; Blonde 298p, 262p, £1791, £1785 J & H Robinson (Iford Farms) Ltd, 268p, £1793 Jones & Garratt; Devon 281p, £1907 Farrant Bros; Sussex 264p, £1910 Farrant Bros, 256p, £1903 S C Gammon.
Few dairy culls this week with decent Holstein cows from P F Forknall to 259p, £1952; leaner types 210-230p but looking very well sold.
Overage (5) A small offering but some good flesh and shape on offer. A smart 3+ Limousin steer from John Berryman to 344p, £2422; Charolais OTM heifer 340p, £2003 Leggatt Farming; OTM Hereford heifer 320p, £2428 J Berryman; OTM Angus heifer 319p, £1911 Beaute Agri.

Beef Cows – 17 Sold – Top 370, Average 286.2
Dairy Cows – 5 Sold – Top 259, Average 229.2

Store & Breeding Cattle – 391 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

The grass is growing and buyers were forward from all directions looking for all grades with a high percentage of the cattle penned grazing sorts.
Top call on the day went to G S W Squier, Chelmsford with Aberdeen Angus cross steers 24 mths to £2110 per head.
Young sorts from Oncoland Ltd with well reared British Blue x Friesian steers 7 mths to £1120, followed by Aberdeen Angus cross steers 10 – 11 mths from A C Hulme & Sons to £1400, their heifers to £1370. Well done Limousin x Sussex steers 11 mths from K T D Axell topped at £1380, with slightly harder sorts from F & J M Rumsey to £1980 for 17 mth old heifers and £1890 for 12 mth old steers. Farrant Bros had Hereford cross steers 11 mths to £1580 and heifers to £1180 Smart Limousin cross steers 13 mths to £1770 from Friday Street Farmers. M J Ashworth had a good run of both Limousin crosses and Aberdeen Angus crosses 11 – 12 mths topping at £2080 for the steers and £1930 for the heifers. R Douglas had Limousin steers 22 mths to £1930. Aberdeen Angus x Friesian steers 13 – 14 mths from P Tassell to £1400 and British Blue x Friesian steers 15 mths from P Ashlee to £1970. Harder sorts from D Hurst saw Limousin cross steers 11 -12 mths reach £1450 and heifers £1180. R T, J B & I Lockwood topped at £1390 for 13 – 16 mths hard Friesian steers. S J F Agriculture saw £1720 for their 17 mth Shorthorn dairy cross steers. R Fidler had a super trade for 17 mths out-wintered British Blue x Friesian steers topping at £2010, with Aberdeen Angus x Friesian steers to £1780 from the same home. S C Gammon had Sussex steers 24 mth to £1870 and Aberdeen Angus cross steers 21 mths to £1760 followed by a run of out-wintered Sussex 22 – 23 mths from J & H Robinson (Iford Farms) Ltd topping at £1910 for the steers and £1670 for the heifers.
A super day`s trading had by all.
Show & Sale of store cattle being held on Tuesday 7^th April with good numbers already entered, and a breeding cattle sale being held on Tuesday 14^th April with 160 Limousin x Friesian bulling heifers from PHR Farms already entered for this day

Principal prices include:

Native:
Aberdeen Angus cross steers 24 mths – £2110 – G S W Squier
Aberdeen Angus cross steers 11 mths – £1920 – M J Ashworth
Sussex steers 23 mths – £1910 – J & H Robinson (Iford Farms) Ltd
Aberdeen Angus cross heifers 12 mths – £1800 – M J Ashworth
Sussex heifers 23 mths – £1670 – J & H Robinson (Iford Farms) Ltd
Aberdeen Angus x Friesian heifers 25 mths – £1490 – J H & A H Godden
Continental:
Limousin cross steers 11 mths – £2080 – M J Ashworth
British Blue x Friesian steers 17 mths – £2010 – R Fidler
British Blue x Friesian steers 16 mths – £1970 – P Ashlee
Limousin cross heifers 17mths – £1980 – W F Kirk
British Blue cross heifers 17 mths – £1980 – F & J M Rumsey
Limousin cross heifers 12 mths – £1930 – M J Ashworth

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 – 19 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

Less penned today with top call in the finished section going to B Arnold with 115kg well fleshed Saddleback to £147.20 per head followed by Lucketts Farm topping at £124.16 per head.
White stores from Mrs D Ashlee top at £45 per head and just a few sows forward which remain hard shifted.
As the weather starts to pick up and outdoor events start, we will require more finished pigs penned in order to satisfy regular buyers demands.

 

For our Auction Calendar and Catalogues click here