Weekly Sales News – 10th November 2020


Read on for this weeks reports….

For forthcoming sales information – www.hobbsparker.co.uk/auctioneers/livestock-marketing/forthcoming-sales/

 


Finished Sheep

705 Sold

Auctioneer: Elwyn Davies 07710 803901

Top price per head – £106.50 – Link Bros: Top price per kilo – 242p – A Denning

Report on trade: Probably the best quality show of lambs for some time were penned today with a good percentage of well fleshed Texel crosses on offer. Best light weights included  37kg Beltex crosses topping the market at £89.50 (242p) while other top prices included 39kg Texel cross £90 (231p) from D C Foy, 45kg Beltex cross £106 (236p) from N C & C G Hedges, 49kg Texel cross £99 (202p) from I Strang and 50kg Texel cross £104 (208p) from Garuara Estate.

Sales here in Ashford are supported by buyers representing a large cross section of abattoirs throughout the country. Please ensure your FABBL status is up to date and if you are not FABBL assured seriously consider becoming so – certain buyers are restricted to the purchase of only farm assured stock.

                                            New Season Lambs
KgsTop PriceAve PriceTop Vendorp per kg
3789.5079.11A Denning242.0
3875.0074.86A Denning197.0
3990.0087.91D C Foy231.0
4088.0081.98D C Foy220.0
4192.0084.62C R & G Daws and D C Foy224.0
4286.0083.85I Strang205.0
4397.5088.18N C & C G Hedges227.0
4492.0085.45M R Miles and Link Bros209.0
45106.0091.72N C & C G Hedges236.0
4699.0092.83Garuara Estates215.0
4799.0092.92A Skudder211.0
4896.5092.97E J Stanford & Sons201.0
4999.0094.05I Strang202.0
50104.0099.25Garuara Estates Ltd208.0
 

New Season Lambs – pence per kg

     Weight RangeNumberTopBottomAverageNational Av
Light 25.5 to 32 kgs19245.0233.0233.0195.0
Standard 32.1 to 39 kgs107242.0195.0217.0202.7
Medium 39.1 to 45.5 kgs328236.0136.0202.0204.9
Heavy 45.6 to 52 kgs212215.0171.0197.5190.0
Other over 52 kgs9201.0110.0168.7172.4

 

Cull Ewes and Rams

502 sold

Auctioneer: Elwyn Davies 07710 803901

Report on trade: We saw a strong trade for ewes with the few best fleshed sorts on offer selling readily around £80 and the plainer sorts looking very well sold with the majority in the £50 to £60 bracket.

A Suffolk ram topped the market at £87 from Mrs V & Miss S Tester, while the best continental cross ewes topped at £83 from Kingswood Farmers and £80 from H V Link Ptns and Suffolks to £76 from M Lack. Fleshed Mules made to £73.50 from Ben Foy Ltd and Romneys to £70 from N A Balcomb & Son.

Store and Breeding Sheep

0 Sold

Sock Lambs

0 Sold

Finished Cattle

57 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357

Report on trade: Again we can report decent numbers of finished cattle and more of the very best are wanted to satisfy a demand that is strengthening as Christmas preparations take hold. Finished cattle are very dear in Scotland and the north and this continuing to pull the trade forward. Demand through from supermarkets to independent butchers is positive from consumers eating well at home and taking food and its preparation more seriously.

Best handyweight steers and heifers readily made 220p to 245p per kg with some outstanding cattle on show. Good commercial cattle 190p to 210p with buyers looking for cover and flesh. A few keeping types 200p to 225p and very little at the bottom end.

Top price steer was a Limousin from W Alexander (Shoreham) selling at 234p and grossing £1483 with quality types also from S Marsh, W S Furnival (Brookland). Limousin x Friesians from A J Down regularly 195p to 205p £1231. Strong Sussex steers from High Chimney Farms to 187p (2) £1371 with Aberdeen Angus x Friesian steers for Leggat Farming Ltd to 193p £1271.

W S Furnival (Brookland) produced some outstanding heifers selling to 245p 243p 235p etc but again many other saw the very best 220p to 230p from D W Ferguson Ltd and W Alexander (Shoreham). Commercial Aberdeen Angus x Friesians were very well sold on the day to 192p Mrs A Farris and grossing to £1185 from V & C Smith, both non assured. Smart lightweight suckler Aberdeen Angus made to 211p from B G & M A Tomsett.

Overage trade was also very strong again with Limousin cross Heifers (3yrs+) from L E Humphreys & Sons to 148p 147p £1165 £1106.

Cull Cows and Bulls

119 Sold

Report on trade: Another big show of cows and cull cattle coming both from across the greater south east and above the bridge. Competition remains intense with a large company of buyers present to take all grades. Keeping cows are the number one trade at the moment with buyers looking to have cattle ready for the new year period. Slaughter stock has slipped particularly the lean lightweight carcases that require proportionately greater work to recover less processable meat.

Again, young feeders made 140p to 180p per kg with good beef meat cows still 120p to 140p. Plain tired cows around the 80p to 100p but with so much grass now about many of these long-term cows are being given a chance to improve. More dairy culls were penned this week and were a similar trade to last week. Good yielding meat cows still made 100p to 120p but the lean steakers 80p to 100p. Plain lightweights easier and less money.

Beef bet included Aberdeen Angus cross 181p 153p 136p £1047 Burden Bros and 137p £1103 Campbell Bros; Limousin cross 179p 178p 148p £932 Campbell Bros, 177p 146p 141p £935 £934 Burden Bros, 169p £1180 (Non FA) A Boyd & Co, 133p £954 P N & C Burden and 148p (Non FA) F W Hare & Sons; Charolais 136p £1179 Vexour Pedigree Cattle and Hereford 116p £884 also from Vexour Pedigree Cattle.

In the dairy lines British Friesian 143p 124p £834 £821 Debden Court; Holstein Friesian 116p £1074 W G & T A Manford, 116p 106p 103p 101p 100p £899 £885 J S & M D Antrum and 100p J Warnock & Son with Guernsey 94p 93p £759 £711 W G & T A Manford.

A Hereford stock bull made 113p £1232.

Cull cattle section – pence per kg
ClassificationNoTopBottomAverage
Beef cows71180.539.5111.5
Dairy cows33142.535.587.2
Bull1112.5112.5112.5

Next weeks sale will include a pedigree Aberdeen Angus (Red) bull bn 2016 from and Essex farm

Store Cattle

443 Sold

Report on trade: Another excellent entry and with more buyers around the ring from across the region and well beyond. The sale saw another strong trade with the suckled calves probably a little firmer on the week. The beef trade is driving farming confidence and whilst the shortage of straw is a national issue fodder is not a problem with most of the country well stocked following good crops of grass and maize silage having been conserved and as well good availability of by product materials from vegetable and food processors.

Some decent young bulls are coming forward at weaning time and wanted. These included Charolais from Vexour Breeding Cattle 6-7mths £745 £710, Aberdeen Angus cross 7mths £570 K I Lingham & Son and Simmental cross 6mths £450 Betchworth Estate Farms.

Amongst the suckled calves there were some real crackers led by quality Limousin steers from K I Lingham & Son, with a touch of British Blue in their breeding and coats, which sold to £840 (22 aver £822). Also Llewellyn Farms (East Sussex) smart Aberdeen Angus cross steers 10mths £860 £750; Messrs Gardners always bring grand cattle down from Essex and their March/April South Devon and Saler steers sold to £755 £685 £670; Vexour Breeding Cattle saw their Charolais steer calves 7mths to £845, Aberdeen Angus to £695 and Hereford to £610.

There was more interest from regional buyers in the yearling cattle as more sense that cattle for next years grazing are going to be short. Aberdeen Angus cross steers 10-12mths £750 C A Watson; British Blue x Friesian steers 7-8mths £550 £475 and heifers £555 £520 £500 Hill House Farms; British Blue x Friesian steers 12mths £660 £655 £585 and heifers £635 and smart Sussex steers 10-12mths from High Chimney Farms £880 with their Hereford cross heifers £810. Amongst the forward and stronger cattle there is plenty of interest with quality Limousin x British blue steers 15mths £1060 and heifers £970 F S Husk; class Charolais heifers 16-17mths £1115 Highfield Park Farms; E J Gribble consigned a run of principally Aberdeen Angus x Friesians at 14-16mths and steers £820 £790 £690 with heifers £725 £660 £590, Blonde cross steers £680 £620 and heifers £575 with British Blue cross steers £805 and heifers £675. R Winstone’s load of older cattle saw Aberdeen Angus cross steers to £1070, British Blue cross steers to £960 and heifers £890; Beef Shorthorn cross steers to £830 and heifer £770 and Sussex cross steers to £820 with heifers £835.

A grand load of quality cattle again out of Essex from Hales Farm saw Limousin cross steers 15mths £980 and heifers £975. Some horned Ayrshire steers 24mths met approval selling to £700 and a black crossbred topping at £960 from A N Walters.

A very positive day around the ring and a big thank you to all staff, hauliers and buyers and sellers who are making our industry the success that it is in these very difficult Covid days. Take care!

Breeding Cattle

2 Females Sold

Report on trade: Just two in calf cows sold this week, a 2017 Beef Shorthorn Cow from M Britton sold for £520 and a 2018 South Devon cow from Mrs H Edmonds sold for £460.

Calves

93 Sold

Report on trade: A tremendous entry of calves this week selling on what can only be described as another fantastic trade here at Ashford.

A fantastic choice of continental calves this week with calves for all budgets. Leading todays trade was a British Blue at £310 from Falconhurst Estate with other leading lights in the bull section including British Blues to £300 and Limousin’s to £280 from T Castle & Son. Strong demand for continental heifers today saw trade flying. Top call of £290 went to Parrett & Son for a Simmental, T Castle & Son sold Limousin heifers to £265 and North Kent College sold British Blues to £255.

Strong trade for natives this week, more could have been sold to vendors advantage with many buyers requiring more to fill orders! We only had heifers forward with a top price of £190 (x2) went to Falconhurst Estate for their run of Herefords. Aberdeen Angus heifers from J W Boyd & Son sold to £175.

An absolute flyer of a trade for dairy sired calves with 33 calves selling to an average of £70.67! Top price of £170 was achieved twice, the first was a Fleckvieh heifer from the Falconhurst Estate and the second a British Friesian bull from Parrett & Son. Plenty of the smaller rearing calves £60 to £70, the smaller types £40 to £50 and the very smallest £30.

Aberdeen Angus cross weanlings out of Jerseys from S E Lane & Ptnrs were presented well and sold for £240 for 3 steers and £180 for the heifer (all TB Low) and J Gormley sold a Limousin cross heifer (also Low) for £270.

Calf averages – £ per head
DescriptionNoTopBottomAverage
Continental bulls20310.0055.00208.75
Continental heifers24290.00140.00203.13
Native heifers11190.0070.00155.91
Friesian – 1st10170.0072.00110.0
Friesian – 2nd2070.0045.0056.75
Friesian – 3rd and Bobbies335.0030.0032.33
Weanlings 
Continental females1270.00270.00270.00 
Native males3240.00240.00240.00 
Native females1180.00180.00180.00 

Store and Finished Pigs

0 Sold

General information

South East Farmer and Farm Machinery magazines

The November edition of this popular regional farming magazine is now available here in the market. Hobbs Parker is a regular contributor to the editorial content.

 

Please note if you don’t wash out at Ashford

Drivers of vehicles leaving Ashford empty without cleansing and disinfecting MUST complete a declaration form obtainable from the Market Office.

You must then cleanse and disinfect as soon as possible and within 24 hours, or before using again for livestock.

This is a LEGAL responsibility and are subject to checks by Local Authority Animal Health and Welfare Officers

 

Bovine TB Test Dates

It is very important that the date (first part of test) is recorded on cattle entry forms for all cattle sold from TB1holdings. Any recent whole herd test dates from TB4 holdings must also be recorded. This information is critical to purchasers who may be required to test animals again and who will wish to avoid the risk of a false positive by testing again within the 60-day period.

Please advise of test dates when making cattle entries for cataloguing from TB! Holdings.

 

Miscellaneous livestock and general goods and services for sale and wanted ex farm

Wanted – a farmworker on a local beef, sheep and arable farm. Ring 07774408059 for details

Wanted – Experienced stock person required. Supervising & training residents at HMP East Sutton Park. Full Job specification and application on Ministry of Justice jobs website.

Call Chris for more info 07968908641

For Sale – 9 Holstein x Friesian heifers, 24mths and in calf to an Aberdeen Angus bull – East Kent. Ring Peter Kingwill on 07795 200357

For Sale – ready for work Limousin bull. East Sussex. Ring Mark Cleverdon for details 07741 845230

 

Covid-19 Protocol at Ashford Market – updated November 2020

  • we will be once again implementing a “Drop and go Policy” and no vendors will be permitted to attend the market other than to deliver stock.

Only registered buyers must enter either the penning areas or sales ring.

  • customers wear a face covering whilst at market.
  • social distancing, high standards of hygiene and responsible behaviour to others should be maintained.

strict control of the numbers attending market is asked for and both buyers and sellers should not bring additional people with them to market.