Weekly Sales News – 1st February 2022


Read on the all the news from Ashford Market …..

For forthcoming sales information – www.hobbsparker.co.uk/reports/forthcoming-sales 


Finished Sheep

1,534 Sold

Top price per kilo – 300p – S Saunders & G P King (Jointly): Top price per head – £150 – M Woodruffe & R & S L M Smith (Jointly)

Report on trade: Another good entry of hoggets this week with the total opposite in terms of weights on offer in comparison to last week. Last week we had an entry of predominantly handy weights and this week, it was hard to find any sheep below 40kg in the entry. This could be due to heavier sheep now being drawn from root crops as arable farmers are keen to get on with spring works but despite the large amount of heavies on offer, they were also the best sold! Twice we broke the £150 barrier for Charollais hoggets from both M Woodruffe and R Smith, with P Burden and H Noakes also breaking the £140 price barrier. Overall, the averages were on a similar level to last week but prices per head were up by £5-10 in places. Lighter sheep sold well also with lambs at £3 per kg once again and countless lots in excess of 280p with a super run of 180 finished shorn hoggets selling to average over 280p from L Curtis.

At this time of year it is very much appreciated if you can let us know what you plan to send, with lairage facilities available form 3-6pm on Monday afternoons.

 

 

Hoggets

KgsTop PriceTop Vendorp per kg
36108.00S Saunders, G P King300.0
37110.00L Curtis297.0
38110.00G P King289.0
40115.00L Curtis288.0
41117.50C Ballard287.0
42120.50A Jull287.0
43122.00Langrish Farmers284.0
45131.50L Curtis292.0
46119.00W G Vant & Sons259.0
47133.00P N & C Burden283.0
49138.00A Jull282.0
50136.50L Curtis273.0
51139.00M R Woodroofe273.0
52   146.00M R Woodroofe281.0
53   142.50P N & C Burden269.0
54   132.00A C Hutton & Son244.0
55   150.00M R Woodroofe273.0
57   150.00R & S L M Smith263.0
 

Hoggets – pence per kg

 Weight RangeNumberTopBottomAverageNational
Standard 32.1 to 39 kgs209300.0156.0283.8268.2
Medium 39.1 to 45.5 kgs663292.0247.0273.2272.2
Heavy 45.6 to 52 kgs513288.0233.0268.9261.6
Other over 52.1 kgs148281.0203.0265.4246.2

Cull Ewes and Rams

808 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook O’Connell

Top price ewe: £151 from N A Balcomb and Son

Top price ram: £130 from H F & J H Glover

Report on trade: A larger entry of ewes on offer today with trade as good as ever with no fewer than 12 individual buyers competing well for all grades of ewes. Some superb sheep penned with highlights to mention: – N A Balcomb & Son to £151 (Texels), J R Warnock & Son to £139 (Texels), J Goffin to £135 (Texels), M B Farms to £128 (Beltex x) and D Isaac to £120 (Texel x). Leaners sorts ranging from £70 – £100 and again the majority would be killing sheep given the current national shortage. We hope to continue to see the numbers we had forward today consistently over the coming weeks ahead.

Top prices included:

Continentals to £151 from N A Balcomb & Son

Suffolk X to £119 from N A Balcomb & Son and Whiteleaf Farms

Mules to £100 from Whiteleaf Farms

Romneys to £100 from N A Balcomb & Son

Store and Breeding Sheep

869 Sold

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903

Report on trade: Several stores penned again this week and what a trade once more, with genuine stores selling to £116.50 from J & C Kellett for Suffolk crosses, closely followed by E & M E Brundrett at £115 for the same breeding. White faces topped out at £111.50 from P Tassell and the whole entry averaged £92.

Another show of good in-lamb ewes this week with 100 Mule ewes from E Morris & Son, in-lamb to a Suffolk scanned at 185%. These topped at £224 for the strongest and averaged a very respectable £175.

We also sold some Texel x ewes from G & A Wood in lamb to a Blue Texel and scanned at 193% which topped at £172.

There are more in-lamb ewes on offer over the coming weeks with 200 NZ Romneys in-lamb to a Romney scanned at 172% next week (08/02/2022).

Store sheep

 NumberTopBottomAverage
Breeding ewes114224.00146.00174.54
Store tegs755116.505.0092.76

Sock Lambs

0 Sold

Finished Cattle

36 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357

Report on trade: A few less cattle forward this week with rates overall very similar with our strong customer base of wholesalers and local butcher still keen for quality cattle.

Top price of the day for Limousin cross heifers from S Marsh at 250p and 249p whilst Limousin cross steers from W Alexander (Shoreham) sold to 248p. Gross returns were led by a superb heavyweight from G L Boulden & Sons at £1616 (245p). Dairy bred steers sold to 217p from A J Down whilst several good shaped Sussex cross steers from A H Hoad & Son, and Gillshaw Farms sold to 226p and 220p respectively. Holstein steers to 182p (£1133) from W S Furnival Ltd, Angus x Friesian to 214p E & J H Maylam.

A nice shaped 2yo Sussex bull sold at 180p (£1248).

 

Leading steer prices

ProducerWeightAge and breedP per kgGross £
W Alexander (Shoreham59522mths Limousin248.01472
G L Boulden & Sons66122mths Limousin245.01616
R F & E A Simmons60522mths Limousin244.01473
G L Boulden & Sons58024mths Blonde240.01389
W Alexander (Shoreham)61022mths Limousin239.01454
Leading heifer prices
S Marsh55019mths Limousin250.01372
S Marsh53519mths Limousin249.01329
W Alexander (Shoreham)57922mths Limousin240.01386
S Marsh57419mths Limousin237.01357
R F & E A Simmons56022mths Limousin236.01318

 

Average prices

Steers up to 550kg                              3                             210 to 226p  Av 217.0p

Steers 551 to 650kg                            17                           182 to 248p  Av 227.8p

Steers over 651+                                 6                             211 to 245p  Av219.3p

Heifers 551 to 590 kg                          8                             191 to 250p  Av227.9p

Heifers 591+                                         1                                    to 195p  Av195.0p

Cull Cows and Bulls

68 Sold

Report on trade: No stopping demand for the culls and overage with rates, if anything, faster again and certainly as strong as we have seen for the hard outdoor grazing cattle which are certainly benefitting from the dry period of weather.

Short of meat, generally, amongst the beef cows but still very dear with an outstanding Beef Shorthorn cross cow from S Marsh selling to 176p £1457. Other good meat cows 140p – 160p. Feeders and grazers on fire with best young types to 200p from J C Loveridge and even the older hard sound cows 130p – 150p.

Limousin cross 200p £1247 J C Loveridge, 158p 155p (2) £1128 £1126 £1102 A J Bray, 147p (Non FA) G J Ostridge, 146p (Non FA) N A Vincent, Beef Shorthorn cross 176p £1457 S Marsh, Angus cross 168p £1173 A J Bray; Charolais cross 160p £1268 J C Loveridge; British Blue cross 154p J C Loveridge; Sussex 150p £1054 C D Bishop T/A C D & J Bishop, 143p 138p £1162 £1026 K & P M Sinden; Simmental cross 154p G J Ostridge, 147p 144p £1040 J C Loveridge; Hereford 152p 150p £1174 J C Loveridge, 138p £1191 A J Bray, 133p £875 (Non FA) Grace Natural Foods.

A small show from the dairy section but not a bad sample and prices extremely firm throughout. Best meated and shaped cows up over 140p with a grand Flekvieh topping at 152p £1210 from E P Knight.

Flekvieh 152p £1210 E P Knight; Norwegian Red 148p £1062 Westnedge & Knight; British Friesian 144p 142p £1005 Debden Court; Holstein Friesian 141p £1124 W F Farms, 137p £1119 P J Forknall; Danish Red import to 118p £776; Jersey to 111p £613 S E Lane & Ptns.

A few overage steers and heifers and a superb trade. OTM Sussex heifers to 210p 208p £1162 £1161 W Hurley; OTM Holstein Friesian steers to 190p 177p 170p £1317 £1210 (2) R Scott, OTM Angus x Dexter heifers to 170p £703 C Kearl.

Lean stock bulls on offer today but a good trade.

Sussex to 116p 107p 96p £1058 £952 £902; traditional Hereford to 127p £860.

ClassificationNoTopBottomAverage
Beef cows42200p86140.4
Dairy cows13152p68124.5

 

Store Cattle

26 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357

Report on trade: Only a small offering but an outstanding trade for mostly hard dairy bred cattle. Cattle are wanted and whilst it is early in the season people are keen to secure stock both for immediate and later turnout.

 

Principal prices include  

Angus cross steers, 10mths                              £520                       R M Christie

British Blue cross heifers, 16mths                    £915-£1028          K M Goddard

Hereford x Friesian steers, 27mths                  £1150                    P & G & J Carden

Angus x Friesian steer, 22mths                        £1070                    P & G & J Carden

Angus x Friesian heifers, 23mths                     £1180                    P & G & J Carden

Holstein steers, 22-23mths                                £1030                    P & G & J Carden

Holstein steers, 22mths                                      £902                       D Ward

Norwegian Red cross steers, 28mths              £1010                    C Kearl

MRI cross steers, 30mths                                  £990                       C Kearl

Breeding Cattle

0 Sold

Calves

51 Sold

Report on trade: A smaller entry saw a sharper trade at the top end this week with a high of £460!

Trade for continental bulls looking sharper particularly for the best. Topping the trade was a British Blue x from T Castle & Son at £400 with Mrs Clifford Baynes seeing £300 and Hickson Bros at £270. One single Simmental bull today from H O Champneys to £260. Native bulls perhaps lacking some of the power and strength we have become accustomed to with a top of £210 for a run of Angus x from R & J Ledger.

Heifers up a gear for the best with a top of £460 for a suckler bred Simmental x from S Marsh. Blues to £300 from T Castle & Son and £270 from H O Champneys Ltd. Native heifers more in line with other national centres again this week with a top of £175 from R & J Ledger for their run of Angus.

Only a handful of black and Whites this week with a stand on trade which topped at £50 from R & J Ledger.

Weanlings:

A single pen of lovely Sussex cross weanlings from A Laver this week, looked well sold at 6m in age at £435. Demand still strong for weanlings with a good crowd of potential purchasers all looking on and looking to get started.

 

A reminder that we are able to offer calves from Arla vendors under 56 days old subject to a declaration being signed by the purchaser, any queries on this please do get in touch.

Calf averages – £ per head 
Bull CalvesNoAverageTopVendor 
British Blue13228.8400.00T Castle & Son 
Simmental1260.0260.00H O Champneys Ltd 
Aberdeen Angus9187.2210.00R & J Ledger 
Heifer calf 69.33130.00W G & T A Manford
British Blue8207.5300.00T Castle & Son 
Simmental3268.3460.0S Marsh 
Aberdeen Angus1156.5175.00R & J Ledger 
Heifer weanling     
Sussex4435.0435.00A Laver 

Store and Finished Pigs

0 Sold

General information

Notices – Tom Hope Snr, Egerton

Family and friends have asked us to report that Tom sadly passed away in hospital on 25th January after a very short illness. Tom, a true countryman, had until very shortly before his illness been an active farmer, feeding sheep every morning. He was a lifelong supporter of this market and friend to many who attend.

 

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

For Sale – Litter of Border Collie puppies bred from working parents with excellent temperaments – West Kent.  Ring 07961 893682 for details

 

South East Farmer and Farm Machinery magazines

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

 

For up-to-date information on all livestock sales please contact

Elwyn Davies (Cattle & sheep) 07710 803901 or 01233 861263

Peter Kingwill (Cattle & sheep) 07795 200357

John Rossiter (Sheep, machinery plus commercial vehicles) 07557 392903

Simon Husk (Cattle & sheep) 07885 968077

Mark Cleverdon (Pigs) 07741 845230

Tom Hamplett (Calves, weanlings, breeding cattle & rams) 079661045

James Cook O`Connell (Sheep- Ewes and Breeding Sheep) 07712 246474

 

 

Cattle Producers, Please Note – Revised Advice Inconclusive Reactors

All IRs from high risk or edge areas that have had a negative (clear) result on retesting remain restricted on their holding for the rest of their life and can only move direct to slaughter or an approved finishing unit (AFU).

In a low-risk area if there has been a TB breakdown (i.e., with reactors) then again, any IRs that subsequently have a negative test are still only allowed to go direct to slaughter or an AFU, however if only IRs are identified in a low-risk area herd test then no movement restrictions are placed on those animals if they subsequently retest negative (clear).

Should any low-risk area producer have any doubts, about the position please do not hesitate to contact Peter Kingwill.

 

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 advice the auctioneers on market day without writing on the passport.

 

 

Hay and Straw register

For a small charge we are quite happy to advertise your hay, straw, and fodder for sale in this register which will now run until early May for further details please ring our auctioneers office on 01233 502222.

For Sale – Freshly dug fodder beet available in large quantities in the Ashford area. Can be delivered. Ring 07764 273798

For Sale – 3,000 conventional wheat straw bales from the Ashford area. 07876273254

For Sale – Conventional baled and 4 string big bales meadow hay on a farm in the Ashford area. Can be delivered. Ring Michael on 07715651766 or 01233 820261

For Sale – large quantities of hay, hayledge and straw in the Ashford area. Ring 07707 879642

For Sale – large quantities of top-notch feed and bedding – Round bale naked hay, Round bale wrapped haylage, Mini Hesston bales naked hay, Round bale wrapped silage, Round bale naked wheat straw, Round bale naked barley straw, Round bale naked oat straw, Whole Wheat and barley in crane bags, Logs of all varieties, shapes, sizes and prices.

All from our own Red Tractor certified farms (with full field traceability) and keenly priced ex farm or delivered locally or nationwide. Richard Barnes (Farms) Ltd, Etchingham, TN19 7AZ.

01580 819000, 07768 771933

For Sale – Second quality conventional baled meadow hay clean and thistle free, genuine enquiries only please, from a farm around the Tenterden area 07805847071.