Weekly Sales News – 11th June 2019

New seasons lambs: Top price per kilo – 232p – Mrs C Wimble: Top price per head £103 –  A J Thompson & Sons

Report on trade: A similar entry to last week on offer with some lovely runs of quality well finished lambs in the pens. A strong trade was seen throughout the sale despite nationally the price being reported to be in decline with the major wholesalers dropping deadweight prices considerably in the past couple of days.

The best lambs were the best sold as is always the case and proving the point that the live selling system will always reward quality despite what pressures are being placed on the markets nationally by the big players. Top spot was taken by Mrs C Wimble this week with some smart continental cross lambs selling at 232p per kg (38kgs at £88).

A mixed entry of about 350 hoggets were on offer. The best and biggest were still selling to £99 from P J Hewitt. Sheep with erupted teeth, of which there was several, sold between £60 and £80.

Sheep 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.

Report on trade: A small entry of ewes were on offer again this week but there was just a little bit more spark in the trade for all grades. The leaner sorts were most improved for the wholesale trade as opposed to the grazing market for a change.

Best ewes sold to £91 from R Hayden with the leaner sorts selling from £50 to  £65.

Top prices include Texel ewes to £91 from R Hayden, Suffolk cross ewes to £82 from R L Goodman & Son and Romneys from the same vendor to £72.50.

Report on trade: Again a very fair and competitive trade with a smart Limousin cross heifer topping the market at £1088 (214p per kg) from W Alexander (Shoreham). Other quality handy weights attracted prices in excess of 200p notably Blonde cross heifers at £1063 (207p) and £1053 (203p) from G L Boulden & Sons and Limousin cross steers £1296 (200p) and £1172 (204p) again from W Alexander (Shoreham).

More commercial sorts made around 180p with a Limousin cross steer at £1146 (190p) from R F & E A Simmons and an Aberdeen Angus cross heifer grossing well at £1251 (179p) from D W Page & Son.

OTM cattle made up to £1069 (165p) for a Limousin cross steer from E T Ledger & Son Ltd.

Report on trade: A quieter week in the cow section and rates holding up well despite a considerable move from the deadweight sector to remove value from the cow market.  We are getting towards the seasonal tipping point in the trade but higher numbers of culls from the dairy sector combined with this recent period of wet weather in cow counties is not helping.

Best of the fleshed beef cows made up over 140p per kg and plenty still 125p to 135p per kg. Younger grazers still a sharp trade to 150p but older cows easing a little.

The best calls included Aberdeen Angus cross 152p and 134p J Prior & Son; Limousin 144p, 134p £993, £954 MB Farms; Simmental 129p, 128p(2) £1250, £1099, £1097 (Non FA) M W Rix; Limousin cross 129p £919 R F & E A Simmons; British Blue cross 121p A J Thompson & Sons with Sussex 118p £764 J G & D G White.

In the dairy lines British Friesian 118p, 117p, 116p (2), 115p £881, £839, £817 Debden Court; Holstein Friesian 116p £914 H O Champneys Ltd; 114p £936 W S Furnival Ltd and 114 £857 J C & S K Williams.

A Blonde stock bull made 120p and £1165

Please do not hesitate to ring at anytime for marketing advice.          

Report on trade: A good strong competitive trade for all on offer with plenty of customers in attendance keen for cattle to graze this summer and many more could have been sold at favourable prices.

High lights of the day included Limousin and Aberdeen Angus cross heifers at £800 from M L W Williams and A J Strand & Sons respectively. A run of Aberdeen Angus cross from L A Charman & Ptnrs were well received with steers to £770 and heifers to £710.

Report on trade: Good demand and a cracking price for the cow and calf offered – £1,300 for a 2014 born Aberdeen Angus cow with super Limousin x British Blue bull calf. The 2 years older and in calf to the same bull cows made £680 to £910 – all sold by L J Osborne & Son

Report on trade: A larger than anticipated entry met a ringside full of buyers to produce a vibrant trade which topped at £385.

A good selection of continental cross calves were on offer today, with heifers in particular seeing the strongest demand. Bulls were mixed in terms of quality with the best the best making £200 plus. Smaller types with less potential were harder work. Top priced bulls were £330 for a Simmental cross from R & J Ledger, £290 for a Limousin from W S Furnival Ltd and £250 for a British Blue from J Warnock & Son. Continentals seemingly more in demand with the top price of the day going to T Castle & Son with a British Blue at £320, the same vendor also selling further British Blues to £310 (x2). Continental heifers were generally traded in the £150 – £250 region, with only real superstars more than this.

A strong demand for native sired calves today saw trade top at £385 for an older Hereford bull calf from T Castle & Son. Younger calves topped at £280 for an Aberdeen Angus bull from D Murdock & Sons. Bulls were generally traded between the £150-£200 mark with the best achieving more. Heifers were limited in terms of the numbers forward, top price of £190 for a Hereford was from T Castle & Son. Heifers generally sold in the £170 – £190 region.

Trade for black and whites seemed buoyant as ever with strong prices achieved for all specifications! £155 was top call of the day for a British Friesian from D Murdock and Sons. The best were £90 plus, second quality £40 – £70, and smaller less well fleshed around the £30 mark.

Good numbers of stirks forward this week with plenty of buyers present for all types. Top price was a pen of March born Aberdeen Angus cross steers which sold for £430 from M Gammons, the same vendor also selling Hereford and Limousin steers to £370 and £380 respectively. Heifers sold well with an older Blonde from C Kearl selling to £400, M Gammons also sold younger native bred heifers to £340. Trade was strong for all types of stirks showing there is certainly a demand at Ashford market. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have some to sell!

Vendors: Please try to inform us of entries for the calf and stirk sale as early as possible to enable us to inform buyers of the expected entry. This allows both us and them to plan better for the days sale. Please do try to make every effort to register the sire of your native bred (principally Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cross) calves. Calves that do not have registered sires are at a disadvantage when offered for sale!

We remind all calf sellers and buyers of the information below

Calf sellers and buyers should be aware that welfare regulations state that while an animal can be sold at 7 days old if they are offered at under 10 days old they cannot be transported more than 100km from the market. Buyers are notified from the rostrum when these calves are offered.

From a sellers view it is best not to present calves at under 10 days old to avoid possibly restricting the number of potential bidders for your stock.

Report on trade: Another big show of sows (the largest in the modern era of Ashford pig sales we believe – we do not mind being corrected!) – the best heavier fleshed sows made 80p to 90p per kg. The averages through the sale as presented in table below tell the full story.

No real excitement for the finished pigs sold today but not a disaster either. Best young light pigs made to 128p per kg twice for pens of 2 from a Hertfordshire farmer and S J M Evans with heavier models grossing to £145.70 for gilts from H Hawkins.

Very few store and breeding pigs. A small black gilt and 10 piglets made £120.

We remind all pig farmers of the information below

Identification of pigs – again we draw your attention to the fact that it is essential all pigs have permanent identification when offered for sale in a market i.e. slap mark or ear tag. Please ensure you comply with this regulation.

Hobbs Parker Auctioneers and Car Auctions run over 200 auction sales every year

Our next Auction Sales include……

Commercial Vehicles

Thursday 20^th June at 3.00pm

A wide selection of up to 40 vehicles are generally offered in these sales

Classic Car and Vintage, Veteran and Modern Tractors plus Rural Bygones sale

Friday 12^th July at 10.00am

A special sale of classic and vintage cars, vintage, veteran and modern tractors plus rural bygones.

Collective Machinery & Equipment sale

Friday 16^th August at 9.30am.

Catalogues will be available about a week before the sale

Lots will include new & newly near mowers & garden machinery. New tools, farm & agricultural equipment, timber plus a large selection of miscellaneous items.

Ashford Cattle Show summer competitions

Plans are well in hand for these now.

Sheep flocks. Competition, sponsored by Wilkins Kennedy (Accountants) and Hallett & Co (Solicitors), has now been judged.

Beef herds. Competition sponsored by Michael Owen (Animalscan) and Nick Bates.  Judging is planned for August.

Please contact Charlie Bull 01797 230503 or 07825 665498 email: bull_herd04@btinternet.com

Crops. Competition sponsored by Agrii (Agronomy services). Entries immediately please with judging planned for next week

Please contact Tim Porter 07557 200611email: tporter_esq@hotmail.com

Summer events / meetings in the area of interest to farmers

Wednesday 26^th and Thursday 27^th June – Royal Norfolk Show, Norwich. Full details from Holly Whittaker on 01603 748931 or visit www.royalnorfolkshow.co.uk

Kent County Show – Friday to Sunday 5^th to 7^th July – All show enquiries to 01622 633051. Hobbs Parkers are again pleased to be sponsoring cattle and sheep sections

South East Farmer and Farm Machinery magazines

The June editions of these popular regional farming magazines are now available here in the market. Hobbs Parker is a regular contributor to the editorial content.

In addition our Property Consultants Outlook for Summer 2019, is included with this months publication and again are available hare in the market. Articles from our Property Consultants team and James Hickman’s commentary on the agricultural land market makes interesting reading for all landowners and occupiers.

RABI, Young Farmers Clubs, 91 Club, Kent Herdsmans Club and FCN news

RABI – copies of a summer newsletter are available here in the market.

EORS Field contest farm walk – Thursday 27^th June at home Farm, Sundridge (with the Westacott family). All details from Beer, Siggs and Griffin (NFU) 01732 496050

Cream Tea and Garden tour – Hole Park, Rolvenden TN17 4JA. Tickets £15 from Charles tassel or Sheila Adams 07783 398439

For further information on all RABI events in Kent ring Charles Tassell – 01622 858733, 07973 412179 or email charles@tassell.co.uk

Kent Herdsmans Club

For all details on Herdsman’s Club events please contact Chairman Alan Jull 07708283220 or Jo Masters 01580 240568.

Wanted – Agricultural Worker required on a mixed farm. Full time position. Duties to include milking, sheep work, tractor driving and general yard work. For more information contact

Robert on 07849092323 or e-mail r.warnock@hotmail.co.uk

Notices – David Thomlinson, Carlisle

We consider it appropriate to advise that David passed away in tragic circumstances last Saturday (8^th June). David was a livestock auctioneer and pedigree livestock farmer held in high regard throughout the country. He visited Ashford back in 1998 while Chairman of the Livestock Auctioneers Association and spoke at the dinner to mark the opening of the new market. More recently as Chairman of the National Beef Association he was here on a visit.

A funeral service will take place at Scaleby Church, Carlisle, Cumbria on Tuesday 18^th June at 12 noon

Ashford Cattle Show News

The Ashford Cattle Show Society are pleased to announce that George Horne has kindly accepted the invitation to be our president for 2019 in the build up to 150^th show in 2020. George comes from an old Kentish yeoman farming family, who have been farming in Westwell for many generations. A sporty family, his father and uncle raced horses in point to points before the war, his mother played cricket and he himself played rugby for 40 years. His ambition is to ski in his 80th year.

He is married to Jane (nee Campbell) also a point to point rider and they have two girls, Louise is working in construction in the middle east and Catherine who is married to Tom Brandreth and they have twin boys. Both Catherine and Tom along with George and Jane are at Nash Court where they all look after the farms which involve growing arable crops as well as cattle and sheep. The sheep are generally regarded on the oldest registered pedigree Romney flock in the world.

See earlier in this report for summer competition details. The 2019 show will be held here in Ashford Market on Monday and Tuesday 26^th and 27^th November