Weekly Sales News – 13th July 2021

New Season Lambs – Top price per head £135.50 – Miss K Tucker: Top price per kilo  – 309p – G H Dean & Co

Report on trade Another good entry of lambs with over 2,000 penned in readiness for the upcoming festival of Eid. The biggest and best lambs sold for more than we have seen for a number of weeks with Miss K Tucker taking top spot in both the lamb and cull ewe sections. Her lambs topped at £135.50 with others from C & J Georgetti & Sons and L Stevens & Sons selling in excess of £130. Another super run of lambs from G H Dean & Co topped the pence per kilo at 309p per kg with the whole run of over 500 well finished lambs sold to average an impressive £112. Smaller lambs and the export types were sold on a similar trade to recent weeks with the overall average returned at 257p.

Please keep the lambs coming and contact us with numbers so we can notify the buyers.

Auctioneer: Elwyn Davies 07710 803901 / James Cook O’Connell

Report on trade: Cull ewe’s this week remained in strong demand for the best and well finished, however plainer ewes seemed to have dropped back a bit with a few pens bought for grazing and further finishing and still a good trade for what they were. Top price of the day was £149 (twice). Firstly, for a good pen of Texel’s from H V Link Ptnrs and secondly for a pen of Charollais from Miss K Tucker. There was also a good run from N A Balcomb and Son selling Texel’s to £139 and Romney’s to £110.

Top prices included Suffolk’s to £126 from N A Balcomb and Son, Continentals to £149 from H V Link Ptnrs and Miss K Tucker, Mule’s to £123 from Mrs J Hope and Romneys to £110 from Langrish Farmers

Report on trade: Again a good show of finished cattle with several runs of top quality continental cross beef bred sorts on offer. Vendors were again rewarded with premium prices either side of 250p per kg and only very few cattle below 210p.

Top runs of continental cross heifers took the pick of the trade notably making 220p to 257p (twice) and grossing up to £1564 from W S Furnival (Brookland), 246 to 251p and grossing £1360 plus and up to £1452 from D W Ferguson Ltd and 220p to 234p and grossing up to £1301 from A J Thompson & Sons.

Other good prices included a run of continental cross steers with the majority making 227p plus and up to £1506 (247p) from R C & J L Pickering, Limousin cross steer £1550 (235p) and £1426 (227p) from F Sole & Sons, Limousin cross heifer £1241 (244p) and Charolais cross steer £1434 (230p) from W Alexander (Shoreham) and Limousin cross steer £1419 (237p) from R F & E A Simmons.

A run of continental x Friesian steers sold well ranging in the 213 to 225p bracket and up to £1323 from regular vendor A J Down while top gross was £1760 (204p) for a heavyweight steer from Leggat Farming Ltd.

A few native bred cattle were on offer with an Aberdeen Angus cross steer topping the section at £1399 (199p) from S E Lane & Ptnrs, Friesian steers to £1227 (181p) from E J Ledger & Son Ltd, Hereford heifer £1099 (214p) from Mrs J C Vant and a Sussex bull £1137 (200p) from H Richards.

Report on trade: This again an outstanding trade with demand as strong as ever for a strong seasonal entry. With just five beef cows in the entry the dairy sector dominated proceedings.

A tidy shaped Limousin cross cow topped at 186p per kg from R C & J L Pickering with the dairy section led by Holstein Friesian cows from Appleton Farms and G R Edgar & Son, at 160p kg grossing up to £1458. The plain light cows are below 100p but anything with any level of flesh is soon 120p plus.

Headliners were Limousin 186p £1002 R C & J L Pickering and 158p £1103 R F & E A Simmons; Sussex 160p, 155p £1058 K 7 P M Sinden & Sons and Red Poll 131p £646 J Stygal

In the dairy lines Holstein Friesian 160p, 156p (2), 154p, 151p, 150p, 149p (2), £1458, £1415, £1377, £1312, £1252, £1200 Appleton Farms; 160p £1172  G R Edgar & Son; 151p, 146p, £1233, £1099 P J Forknall and 141p (2), 140p, 135p £1054, £1032, £1026 J W Boyd & Sons with Foreign cows to 126p £1004. British Friesian to 144p £961 Westnedge & Knight and Jersey to 85p £330 S E Lane & Ptnrs

Keep feeding them! They are certainly wanted! Many thanks.

Report on trade: A shortage of stock in the pens and with summer events opening up in front of us pigs were wanted today by local wholesale and retailers.

In the finished pig pens we had very few real top shaped pigs but still all 4 producers saw pigs make over 130p per kg. The best shaped pigs came from L R & Sons whose light Pietrain crosses made 130p to 140p and up to £93. Heavier pigs made to £128 and £118 from P & R Marshall and C Higgins.

As many boars as sows in the cull pens saw sows make to 40p and boars 32p.

Just one pen of store pigs which were hard farmed improvers which made £14.

Please note if you do not 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

The Stockpot Café at Ashford Market – reopening fully

Normal service will resume from Monday 19th July with the usual full range of eat in meals, snacks and drinks

We would respectfully ask that masks are still worn when queuing and away from a table in this area.

Local Agricultural Show and ploughing match dates and news

Southern Shears UK – Sunday 17th July – Copford Sawmill, Dern Lane, Heathfield, East Sussex. TN21 0PN. Open to the public – £5 admission

Southern Shears UK is a sheep shearing competition set up to achieve the following aims – to promote the skill and craft of sheep shearing and wool handling, to hold an annual competition; to promote and encourage an interest in wool and to encourage co-operation in the local farming community.

The National Sheep Association is running its Young Shepherds competition qualifiers at this event

For all details and entries please visit website httpa://southernshears.com.

Edenbridge & Oxted Show – Sunday and Monday 29^th and 30^th August – For further information contact  the show office on 01342 832307 or visit www.edenbridge-show.co.uk

Moreton in Marsh Show, Gloucestershire – Saturday 4^th September –,For all details go to www.moretonshow.co.uk

Weald of Kent Ploughing Match – Saturday 18^th September at Honey Farm, Munday Bois Road, Pluckley, Ashford, TN27 0SU (by kind permission of the Gwillim family). Full details available from Secretary Liz Copping 07872 501951or on www.wkpma.co.uk

East Kent Ploughing Match – Wednesday 29^th September at Upper Venson Farm, Eastry near Sandwich CT13 0JH (by kind permission of the Ledger family. Full details available from joint secretaries Sarah Ledger on 07802 974 838 or Lorna Astbury on 07538 547 010 or www.ekpma.co.uk

Auction of Boats and Marine related items

Hobbs Parkers car auctions team have arranged an online auction to be held on Tuesday 7^th and Wednesday 8^th September.

Entries invited and for more information on entering your vessel, or for the Auction process please contact Hobbs Parker auctioneers or enquire at Ramsgate Harbour Office.

Ashford Cattle Show news – Summer competitions and Christmas Show.

Show day – Tuesday 30^th November

We are pleased to announce a list of classes for this year.

Due to the ongoing Covid situation and the uncertainty of this year we have decided not to host a full 2 day show. We will instead hold a one day event judged in pens on this Tuesday.

This show and sale is for quality livestock prepared for the pre-Christmas trade and supported by Hobbs Parker, Ashford Cattle Market Co and Ashford Cattle Show committee

Entry forms will be available closer to the event. Any requests for forms and any questions and information regarding the event should be directed to the show secretary Julie Coney preferably via email ashfordcattleshow@gmail.com

All judges still to be confirmed. Entries are limited to on exhibit per exhibitor per class. All YFC entrants must be fully paid up members of an affiliated club

Cattle Classes – for cattle born after 30^th May 2019.

1)            Best steer exhibited by a Young Farmers Club or individual Young Farmers Club member.

2)            Best heifer exhibited by a Young Farmers Club or individual Young Farmers Club member.

3)            Best steer sired by a continental breed bull

4)            Best heifer sired by a continental breed bull

5)            Best steer sired by a native breed bull

6)            Best heifer sired by a native breed bull

Sheep Classes – for lambs born in 2021.

7)               Best pen of 3 lambs sired by a continental breed ram and exhibited by a Young Farmers Club or individual Young Farmers Club member.

8)               Best pen of 3 lambs sired by a Native breed ram and exhibited by a Young Farmers Club or individual Young Farmers Club member.

9)               Best pen of 3 lambs sired by a Continental breed ram.

10)             Best pen of 3 lambs sired by a Native breed ram.

Pig Class – for pigs born in 2021.

11)             Best pen of 3 pigs.

In a year when the Ashford Cattle Show in its recent form, a 2 day event with lamb carcases as well a dead stock judging classes and many other fringe events, could not be planned with any certainty it was decided to hold a one day show and sale in the Market.

Bar any unforeseeable problems a full event will return in 2022 and the Show Committee plan a special event to mark the 150^th annual exhibition in Ashford Market.

Young Farmers Clubs news

Everyone associated with Kent Young Farmers clubs should be congratulated on their attendance at the Kent County Summer Fayre last week and the show, particularly of livestock, they presented.

Seven open clubs presented cattle, sheep, pigs and goats judged over two days and paraded on both days – well done Ashford and Canterbury, Jeskyns (North Kent) and Mount Lodge (Benenden), Tonbridge and Weald of Kent and not forgetting Vigo clubs

Social media is the place to find information on Kent Young Farmers Clubs and many reports with photographs of this event.

Forthcoming store and breeding sheep sales

Friday 30^th July

First sale of store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 13^th August

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 27^th August

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 3^rd September

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 10^th September

Store lambs and breeding sheep with a special show and sale of crossbred ewe lambs

Friday 17^th September

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Monday 20^th September

Catalogued ram sale and the annual show and sale of South East Texel Groups breeding females and rams at 3pm

Friday 24^th September

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 1^st October

Romney Day sale of ewe lambs, ewe tegs and breeding ewes together with Romney Sheep Breeders Society show and sale of pedigree rams

Friday 8^th October

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 15^th October

Store lambs and breeding sheep including catalogued ram sale

Friday 29^th October

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 12^th November

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 26^th November

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 10^th December

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Sales generally commence at 11am unless advised otherwise