Weekly Sales News – 19th June 2018

New season lambs Top price per head – £126 – C & J Georgetti & Sons; Top price per kilo – 277p – C & J Georgetti & Sons0000000000000000000

Report on trade: The biggest entry of lambs we have seen so far this season with just  under 2000 penned and despite the increase in numbers on offer the trade held at a similar level to recent weeks. Our averages was 241p per kg SQQ but a spread of the prices was very noticeable this week with the heavier and intensively fed lambs selling to a huge premium over and above the grass fed alternatives.

Two superb runs of well fed lambs from T Masters and C & J Georgetti & Sons, which were predominantly over 44kgs, sold tremendously well with the majority making in excess of £115. Export grade lambs from Ms H V Link sold to 267p (£104) and 274p from J Donaldson (£115).

We appear to be reaching the end of the hoggets with just about 200 penned and all shapes, sizes and breeds were on offer! The best of these hoggets, provided they were meat and still showing lambs teeth, sold at around the 200p with the rest falling behind this to average approximately 180p.

Producers please note – For top results please present well fleshed lambs which are preferably dry and clean. Lairage facilities and dagging are available every Monday evening.

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 on offer this week, as has been the case nationally with many of the bigger markets this week selling a fraction that they sold last week. The ewes that were on offer were slightly dearer than last week with the averages returned just £2 – £3 ahead of last week.

Top prices included continentals to £94.50 from J Metianu, Suffolk crosses to £85.50 from Beslee Farms and Romneys to £77.50 from NA Balcomb & Son.

Selling Cull ewes and rams

In common with many of the larger cull ewe markets in the country we have introduced the practice of only taking £1 increment bids rather than the previous 50p and 20p. The final bid price will be reduced by 50p to establish the hammer price. This practice will speed the sale process considerably and will be of no detriment to price establishment.

Report on trade: A strong trade for finished cattle with improved prices on the week. A smart Blonde heifer topped the market at £1356 (236p per kg) from G L Boulden & Sons whose Blonde cross steer also sold well at £1317 (215p) and a handy weight Limousin cross steer made £1190 (213p) from W Alexander (Shoreham).

More commercial sorts made 185p to 195p notably a British Blue cross steer at £1233 (186p) from K & P M Sinden & Sons. A run of continental x Friesian steers and heifers £1050 plus and up to £1174 (190p to 199p) on a par with recent weeks from A J Down.

A few native bred cattle were on offer with the pick including an Aberdeen Angus cross steer £1054 (193p) from M Gammons, a Sussex steer £1085 (186p) from R J Horsman and a Sussex cross heifer £1007 (176p) from K & P M Sinden & Sons.

A selection of bulls on saw a Limousin cross topping at £1212 (190p) from W Alexander (Shoreham) and a Sussex bull well sold at £1036 (184p) from C E & W S Millson.

In the  OTM section a Sussex cross steer made £1172 (168p) from A D Bentley.

Auctioneer: Richard Wood

Report on trade: Much the same number forward but overall quality was down in both the dairy and the beef lines. The overall average was only down 1.5p per kg so trade was pretty much stand on.

Top prices in the beef section included a 7yr Blonde from G L Boulden & Sons at £1330 (183.5p), Limousin to 153.5p for A J Husk, Sussex to 153.5p from D J Miles and a 4yr Lincoln Red from A W Vincent at 136.5p.

The dairy cows were nearly all Holstein bred and included Appleton (Ledger) Farms at 145.5p, 144.5p, 143.5p and 142.5p grossing up to £1234 and these cows were all 7-9 yrs old. Plainer sorts also looked well sold with the majority making from 125p to137p.

4 Older bulls sold but with nothing of the quality of last week. Top call was 124.5p for a 12yr Limousin.

Report on trade: A large entry of cattle for the time of year were well received with a good attendance of buyers at ringside competing for all on offer.

A relative large percentage of youngsters were keenly sought after and looked exceptionally well sold from £400 to £700. The few strong cattle to finish short term attracted prices in excess of £1000 and up to £1140 for Limousin cross heifers from C Watkins and a British Blue cross heifer to £1110 from Barleybrook Farm.

Several customers in attendance keen for heifers for breeding with a run from J G Jenkin & Sons selling exceptionally well. These included British Blue x Friesian heifers at £800 and Aberdeen Angus x Friesian steers at £700.

Principal prices include:  

Report on trade: G J Reynolds offered a selection of strong, young cows and calves and in calf cows which made to £1460 for a cow with 2 Stabilizer cross calves, £1300 for a South Devon cross calf and Stabilizer cross bull calf and £1100 for a Hereford cross in calf cow. Older cows and calves to graze made to £770 for a Beef Shorthorn cow and a young calved Simmental cross heifer and calf £1040.

Remember if you have cattle to sell please ring any of our team of auctioneers and fieldsmen for advice and to ensure cataloguing and proper advertising within our sales

Report on trade: Again mainly young (2 to 8 weeks old) calves were offered in the ring and up to 12 month olds in the stirk pens by 13 vendors and 12 individuals made purchases. The strength of the market is its ability to find buyers for all classes and qualities of stock.

Highlights included The John Graham Centres offering of February and March born Limousin bulls to £400 (twice) and British Blue heifers £350 (twice), J C & S K Williams 4 British Blue heifers to £260 and averaging £252, A & J W Hitchcocks April born Aberdeen Angus bull £210, W S Furnivals mid May born Blonde bull £250. Dairy bulls topped at £140 for the Hitchcocks mid April calf and both W S Furnival and Appleton (Ledger) Farms sold early April borns for £115.

In the stirk pens Valley Farm YFC sold a Parrett bred Dairy Shorthorn x Simmental heifer born November 2017 for £450, M Gammons Hereford steers for £440 and an Aberdeen Angus heifer for £390 and N Velvick Aberdeen Angus steers £420 and heifers to £390.

Report on trade: A good demand for pigs in all sections with the summer season now with us and a rise in wholesale prices for pork and pork product reflecting back to the value of live pigs. This is the picture nationally and here in Ashford the picture is no different.

Messrs S Scott & Son and S J M Evans both offered well bred finished pigs with weight which made to 126p per kg grossing to £115.32

The large entry of cull sows attracted a number of bidders and the best shaped with weight made to 40p and grossed just short of £100.

Store pigs were in demand if well bred with a run of 20 Pietrain x Welsh from D J Cole making to £45 and averaging £37.85 and just weaned with good shaped £28 from R Vidler

For up to date information on all livestock sales please contact

Elwyn Davies (Sheep) 07710 803901 or 01233 861263

Peter Kingwill (Cattle & Sheep) 07795 200357

Martin Crowhurst (Sheep & Cattle) 07710 803903 or 01797 343936

Simon Husk (Sheep & Cattle) 07885 968077 or 01304 842393

Mark Cleverdon (Rams, Breeding Cattle, Pigs & Calves) 07748 202688

John Rossiter (Cull ewes & store sheep plus commercial vehicles) 07557 392903

Sheep Tagging

All sheep sent to market require to be correctly tagged.

Sheep under 12 mths – Single electronic batch tag and ewes and over 12 mths – Double tagged

Incorrectly tagged sheep may have to be returned home. Single electronic batch tags are not acceptable for ewes and sheep over 12 mths.

No More Exempt Section

It is with regret that we will no longer be able to offer an exempt section at Ashford with immediate effect.

The rigid requirements for total separation and the difficulties associated with cleansing and disinfecting significant market areas during in the middle of a sale gives us no alternative but to withdraw from the exempt sale process.

We recognize that this will give less marketing options to farmers from East Sussex and other one year testing counties and we will be happy to talk through alternative options.

May we thank all who have supported the section over recent years. We will continue to monitor and review Bovine TB issues as they change and develop.

Vehicle Bedding

We have been reminded by Trading Standards to remind you that bovine animals under 6 mths of age and travelling over 50km require bedding.

Ashford Cattle Show summer competitions

Entries are now required for these – thanks to sponsors this year Agrii for crops, Wilkins Kennedy and Hallett & Co for sheep flocks and Michael Owen AnimalScan for beef herds.

For Sheep flocks please contact Ian Lockwood 07779297153 email: hello@duckpitvalley.co.uk

For Beef herds please contact Charlie Bull 01797 230503 or 07825 665498 email: bull_herd04@btinternet.com

For Crops please contact Tim Porter 07557 200611 email: tim@fengrain.co.uk