Ashford Market Report – Tuesday 3rd June 2025

Sheep Sales Reports

New Season Lambs –833 Sold

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903

Top price per kilo – 408p kg – M J Ashworth
Top price per head – £208 – M J Ashworth

Another decent entry of lambs with a boosted trade, slightly unexpected, but largely helped by this weekend’s festivities for the Qurbani Festival. Lambs have lifted all around the country by about 50p per kg over the weekend and we broke the top ceiling price of £200 to a maximum of £208 for some marvellous lambs from M J Ashworth. This run, one of the best seen for some time, also took top price per kilo at 408p. Lighter lambs were regularly approaching £4 per kg this week but the heavier sorts may not have lifted quite so much as the alternative of hoggets are still available for buyers, at a lower price level. Will the price stay up at this level….? I will tell you next week!

36 – £142.00 (394p kg) – S W Mount & Sons Ltd
37 – £140.00 (378p kg) – W T Kemp
38 – £145.00 (382p kg) – Luandy Farming
39 – £155.00 (397p kg) – Link Bros
40 – £154.00 (385p kg) – David Thompson
41 – £161.00 (393p kg) – M J Ashworth
42 – £164.00 (390p kg) – Link Bros
43 – £166.00 (386p kg) – T R & J R Kirk
44 – £171.00 (389p kg) – M J Ashworth
45 – £181.00 (402p kg) – M J Ashworth
46 – £179.00 (389p kg) – M J Ashworth
48 – £168.00 (350p kg) – David Clark (Farms) Ltd
49 – £185.00 (378p kg) – M J Ashworth
51 – £208.00 (408p kg) – M J Ashworth

Averages (p/kg) 

Standard 32.1 to 39 kgs – 205 – Top 394, Ave. 365.5
Medium 39.1 to 45.5 kgs – 508 – Top 397, Ave.367.4
Heavy 45.6 to 52 kgs – 72 – Top 408, Ave. 380.0

Finished Hoggets – 880 Sold

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903

Quite a big entry of hoggs for the time of year but, as expected, very mixed in quality with all sorts on offer in this section. These hoggs topped on the day at £162 for heavy sheep with erupted teeth hoggs topping at £150. Numbers are slipping away in this section now and demand is likely to drop after this weekend as most processors will aim to switch their bulk of killing over to new season lambs for consistent product. Good runs of these are still selling in excess of £3 per kg and averaged £130.

Cull Sheep – 370 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

Top price ewe: £220.00 – D Stephens & J Warnock & Sons – Ave. £132.30

A super trade throughout with numbers a little shorter after a month of big numbers. The best heavy ewes were particularly short and regularly £150 – £180 with a top price of £220 (twice) for smart Texel ewes from both D Stephens and J Warnock & Sons. Medium sorts £110 – £140 with leaner grazing types £70 – £100 throughout with only very few sold below these figures. Please do inform me of ewes that you intend on selling in the coming weeks with buyers forward every week for all grades of ewes.

Top prices included:

Texels to £220 – D Stephens and J Warnock & Sons, Beltex to £208 – M S D Wood, Suffolk cross to £196 – I M Kirk, Border Leicester to £196 – R J & S E Whitcombe, Romney to £181 – A J Thompson & Sons, Mules to £164 – M A & F W Owen

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 Sales Reports

Finished Cattle –  79 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357

An excellent entry of well finished cattle both from beef and dairy backgrounds. Pleasing to welcome several new faces to the live ring recognising the convenience and immediacy of the markets. Trade holding up very well with the increased numbers and whilst we all must accept that prices go up and down the dynamics created by fluctuation in supply and demand brings fresh opportunities to both buyers and sellers. Thank You!
Top end beef bred cattle still readily over 400p with a smart run of Limousin x from Chris Cook, Crawley topping the steer and heifer sections at 410p £2457 and 418p £2609 respectively.  Plenty of good types 375-400p with a nice mixture of butchers and small, medium and large wholesalers in attendance.
Plenty of flesh on the dairy bred cattle whatever their strength of conformation. Alan Down`s Friesian bred Limousin x steers to 375p, 372p, 371p £2303, £2285, £2247; Friesians to 337p, 336p £2013, £2002 whilst Ryan Haydon`s Angus x Friesian heifers sold to 357p, 356p, 355p £2353. British Blue x steers from Leggat Farming Ltd to 362p £2332, heifers to 360p from George Sim.
A nice show of Sussex amongst the natives with steers to 381p £2549 W S Furnival Ltd, 370p £2309 Dan Mackelden Ltd with a nice trio of handyweight Sussex heifers from William New to 371p £1927.
Young Bulls (3) A well bred Simmental bull 398p £3140 from A C Hulme & Sons with commercial Angus from B G & M A Tomsett to 343p & 341p £2209.

Leading steer prices

Top Steers

C R Cook – Limousin cross – 410p (£2457)
L Smith – Limousin – 402p (£2489)
C R Cook – British Blue cross – 396p (£2293)
L Smith – Limousin cross – 395p (£2288)
W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 393p (£2531)

Top Heifers

C R Cook – Limousin cross – 418p (£2609)
C R Cook – Limousin cross – 416p (£2326)
C R Cook – Limousin cross – 398p (£2166)
Leggat Farming Ltd – Limousin cross – 395p (£2485)
W Alexander (Shoreham) – Limousin cross – 394p (£2203)

Average prices

Steers 200 to 550 kg – 3 – Top 358p – Ave. 356p
Steers 551 to 650 kg – 35 – Top 410p – Ave. 360p
Steers 651 kg + – 5 – Top 388p – Ave. 357p
Heifers 300 to 500 kg – 3 – Top 365p – Ave. 352p
Heifers 501 to 590 kg – 16 – Top 416p – Ave. 366p
Heifers 591 kg + – 14 – Top 418p – Ave. 350p

OTM Cattle and Cull Cows – 64 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357

Very good numbers continue to come to Ashford each week with our buying support remaining resolute in securing numbers of both slaughter and feeding cows. Quality overall strong this week with all producers having full confidence in keeping stock in good condition.
Best beef cows well over 300p with purebred British Blue from Andrew Price to 344p £2593. Plenty of strong meat cows 270-320p with anything with youth on its side commanding a good premium. Nothing under 230p!
British Blue 344p £2593 Price & Shelbourne, 278p £1970 W G Vant & Sons; Angus 330p, 307p, 296p, 290p, 286p £2261, £2160, £2128, £2127, £2125, £2110 A C Hulme & Sons, 269p £1880 R Haydon & Ptrs, Arundel; Hereford x 320p £1885 R C & J L Pickering, 255p £2061 R Haydon & Ptrs; Limousin x 314p £1662 R Coleman & Sons, 308p, 280p £1873, £1661 A Boyd & Co, 294p £1878 R C & J L Pickering; Charolais x 287p £1633 R C & J L Pickering; Sussex 270p £1752 L Stevens & Sons; Beef Shorthorn 266p £1766 I D Machin.
A small show from the dairy sector but trade very similar as supplies continue tight. The watershed in the trade tends to come midsummer, as grass quality weakens, and dairyman, the country over, tend to cull stale milkers and buffer feed the high yielders. Maiden heifers finding a premium.
British Friesian heifer 305p £1827 R Haydon & Ptrs; Holstein Friesian heifer 300p £1737 J W Boyd & Sons Ltd; British Friesian cows 276p £2108 R & J Ledger Ltd, 264p(2) £2068, £1871 R Haydon & Ptrs; Holstein 236p, 229p £1754, £1737 P J Forknall; Jersey 166p, 148p, 147p £803 Hickson Bros.
Stock Bulls (2) Strong trade.
Simmental 255p £1858; Hereford 236p £2178
Overage (7) Plenty of flesh on offer and a strong trade throughout from huge Angus 3+ steers at 330p £2835 through to fleshed Dexter steers 5+ at 280p £1476!
Angus x Fr OTM heifers 344p, 329p, 328p £2456, £2211, £2053 E & J H Maylam; Angus x 3+ steers 330p, 326p, 319p £2835, £2636, £2571 R G Gibson & Son; Simmental x 3+ steer 307p £2789 W J Hurley; Dexter 5+ steers 280p, 264p £1476, £1384 M Keeley (Agri Services) Ltd.

Beef Cows – 35 Sold – Top 344, Average 291.0
Dairy Cows – 18 Sold – Top 300, Average 207.9

Cattle Passports
We remind producers that on no occasion should the details on a cattle passport be changed other than by returning it to BCMS.
If details are incorrect return and advise BCMS or advise the auctioneers on market day without writing on the passport.

Store & Finished Pigs – 29 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

A good show of pigs with strong demand for the best fed pigs. Top call going to High Barn Farm at 142p per kg and £151 per head. Brooker & Son had smart well fed white pigs to 135p and £145.80, with the majority of the finished 120 – 140p throughout. Just a few culls remaining very hard to shift. For the best results please ensure your finished are 85kg plus and have plenty of cover.

Forthcoming Auctions

Tuesday Livestock – 10th June 2025

Regular Weekly Market with a sale of Store and Breeding Cattle

For our Auction Calendar and Catalogues click here