Weekly Sales News – 25th April 2017

New Season Lambs

Top price per head – £93 – and top price per kilo – 245p – Friday Street Farmers

Report on trade: A bigger entry of new season lambs this week with a slight fall in the prices per kilo to an average price of 215p and a top spot of 345p. Nationally there have been a lot of lambs on offer, in particular in the West Country. Numbers are set to jump forward over the next few weeks as reports suggest lambs are finishing very well in the kind weather conditions.

A similar sized entry of hoggets this week saw some better quality forward in the pens but once again a lot of heavy weight sheep on offer. Nationally in the main hogget finishing areas there is a huge proportion of 45kg plus sheep on offer and this is the main determining factor that is holding the price back on these sheep to £80-£85 in general. .

Best continental, export grade hoggets are still breaking the £2 per kg barrier to a top price of 202p from C A Worley Farming Ltd. Heavy weights were topped by some super Texel hoggets from M D & T Healy which weighed 53kgs and made £97.

 Producers please note – For top results please present well fleshed lambs which are preferably dry and clean. Lairage facilities 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: An improved trade throughout the entry despite a considerable increase in the entry from last weeks small numbers with strong competition for all classes of ewes on offer which sold to a top price of £103 from H J & J F Glover closely followed by many other ewes sold in the £90-£100 bracket. Leaner ewes for further grazing made between £50-60.

Top prices were continental ewes to £103 from H J & J F Glover, Suffolk crosses to £86 from D & C Betts, Mules to £74.50 from Miss J A Biddle and Romneys to £79.50 from Beaute Farms.

Auctioneer: Elwyn Davies 07710 803901

Report on trade: The strong trade for store hoggets continues late in season with the best selling readily around £65 and topping at £67 for a pen of Charollais crosses from A J Thompson & Sons. A pen of medium Suffolk x Mule ewe hoggets sold at £74 from J Mountfort.

Several lots of ewes and lambs were offered and sold exceptionally well with majority of aged ewes with lambs at foot attracting prices between £48 to £55 per life. Top prices included Lleyn cross ewes with pairs up to £160 and singles £134 (£67 per life) from  Palmer Farms.

Report on trade: Numbers forward came back again this week – a mixed quality entry still found plenty of customers. 18 lambs sold to £35 and averaged £25.27

Report on trade: This was a similar strong trade with smart handy weight cattle making in excess of 210p per kg while more commercial types ranging from 175p to 190p.

A quality Limousin cross steer topped the market at £1174 (218p) from G L Boulden & Sons closely followed by a Limousin cross heifer at £1171 (217p) from D W Ferguson Ltd and a British Blue cross heifer at £1246 (210p) from W Alexander (Shoreham).

Heavier commercial types were grossing in excess of £1200 notably a British Blue cross steer at £1292 (192p) from W Alexander (Shoreham), a Limousin cross steer £1230 (189p) from F J Horsnell and a Limousin cross steer at £1214 (182p) from D W Ferguson Ltd.

A run of Friesian steers topped at £905 (149p) from R Price & Son.

Report on trade: There is no stopping the trade for processing beef at present! A more varied mixture of stock is coming through as producers rightly seek out the non productive and recognise this is a great time for a tidy up! A good number of well overage steers were forward today (4yr plus) but again all selling extremely well. Grazing types were in short supply today but all on offer very well sold. Keep looking and remember your older empty cows are better turned into a replacement cow and calf or a bulling heifer.

Outstanding Blonde cows from G L Boulden & Sons made to 169p, 164p, 161p and grossed  £1311, £1211 & £1179!! Good meat cows included British Blue crosses 145p £1055 from W J Hurley, South Devon 139p £1018 W E Baines and Aberdeen Angus cross 135p P A Mummery.

Overage steers included  Aberdeen Angus crosses 158p, 157p, 145p £1370, £1305 and British Blue crosses 150p, 149p £1068 P Taylor and Longhorns 155p, £152p £950 from Wintershall Estate.

A decent show of dairy culls and whilst it is those best heavyweight meat cows that they want most trade for all grades remains remarkably firm with the lean boners looking very well sold again. Holstein Friesian 124p £1204 Appleton Farms, 121p £934 P J Forknall, 120p, 119p, 118p £1078 J Warnock & Son;  British Friesians 125p £900 M H & M G Butcher; Guernsey 125p £878 W G & T A Manford; Montbelliarde 116p M H & M G Butcher and Jersey 82p Hickson Bros.

Report on trade: The largest show of store cattle seen at Ashford for many years met a marvellous trade from start to finish resulting in a 100% clearance. Buyers, including new faces, were present in significant numbers and competition was sharp as confidence remains high in the beef sector.

The entry was evenly split between suckler bred and dairy bred stock with a good number of Sussex and Sussex cross in the entry too. Whilst the considerable majority of the cattle were from low county status there was no discrimination against edge cattle. Younger cattle for grazing were more in evidence this sale with the hard open yarded types also at a significant premium. Short term cattle were in tight supply but still a strong demand.

A big thank you to all producers, hauliers and staff who dealt with the large numbers so efficiently early in the morning and late at night!!

If you have store cattle to sell you would be well advised to enter over this coming weeks while trade remains strong.

Principal prices included:               

Continental crosses                                                                                                                         

Report on trade: A good sized entry with a wide mix of age and quality sums up todays sale. Confidence in the beef sector and the continuing very strong trade for store cattle underpins demand from farmers looking for young calves to rear.

Highlights this week included:

6 Beef bred Charolais calves, weaned directly from mums to £500 for steers and £520 heifers and an Aberdeen Angus cross £355, all late March and April born and averaging £430 from P J Baldock

15 South Devon cross bull calves to £280 all January to mid February born and averaging £155.80 from Squerryes Estate Dairy Ptnrs

British Blue Bulls to £320 at 5 weeks and Sussex heifers £175 from J Warnock & Son

British Blue bulls £310 at 8 weeks and  £320 at 7 weeks from R Torrance & Son and W S Furnival Ltd

Simmental bulls £295 and heifers £320 at 8 weeks from H O Champneys Ltd

Aberdeen Angus bulls £235 and heifers £170 at 5 to 8 weeks from Kingcot Dairy (S Reynolds)

6 Holstein bulls  £35 to £62, all late March and April born and averaging £49 from Oncoland

9 Holstein bulls  £38 to £108, all February and March and averaging £76.40 from M W Goddard

Please keep your entries of calves coming. At our fortnightly sales we expect to have plenty of enquiries for all shapes, sizes and ages of stock. Thank you all for texts and messages with early notice of your entries for forthcoming sales – it does help.

Report on trade: The good demand for stock in the pig pens continued again to produce very good prices for all grades in the finished and cull pens and there was good demand for stores too.

Best finished pigs grossed regularily over £110 this week for S J M Evans, P W & P Sim, R J & E F B Russell & Son, H Richards and High Weald Academy. Bocketts Farm sold Mangalitsas to 106p per kg and £90

In the cull pens trade good demand was maintained with the best to 57p.

Store pigs sold included strong pure Welsh weaners to £38 from D Finch and feeders to £49.

Our pig sales are held once a fortnight and with the summer now we are seeing plenty of competition and more confidence in the pig sector after very low levels which prevailed for about 3 months in the spring. Please keep in touch with us here in Ashford if you have pigs to sell.

Hobbs Parker Auctioneers and Car Auctions

run over 200 auction sales every year

Our next Auction Sales are ……

Car Auctions May Day Extravaganza

Monday 1^st May at 10am

Spring bank Holiday extravaganza sale for all classes of vehicles– well over 500 vehicles will be offered including a wide selection of 4 x 4 models.

Commercial Vehicles

Thursday 11^th May at 3.00pm

Commercial vehicle sale

Shenley Farm Machinery sale

Saturday 13^th May at 9.30am

Large entries of tractors, trailers, vehicles, arable equipment, haymaking equipment, tractor attachments & spares, livestock kit, garden machinery, workshop tools and a large and varied selection of rural bygones are expected

Spring Breeding Sheep and Livestock Equipment sale

Friday 19^th May at 11.00am

Up to 400 ewes and lambs from one Weald farm and a consignment of 80 lots of livestock farming equipment already entered. Further entries of both sheep and equipment are welcome

Horse & Saddlery Sale

Thursday 1^st June at 10am

Catalogues will be available about a week before the sale.

Entries expected of riding ponies, event horses and youngstock

New & nearly new saddlery & tack, grooming kit, yard equipment, rugs, harness Riding boots, show jackets, jodhpurs, body protectors, yard clothing & boots

Collective Machinery & Equipment sale

Friday 16^th June 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 large selection of miscellaneous items.

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DEFRA and our Local Authority trading standards officers regularly remind us of our responsibilities regarding unfit animals. No unfit animal should be exposed for sale in a market.

We have been reminded by the Local Authority that it is against current Welfare and Market Regulations to move stock to market, or any other holding, in the final stages of pregnancy (final 4 weeks). Please be careful with dates on breeding stock and cull stock that might turn out to be in lamb or in calf.

All animals should be fit to travel. All in milk cows should to be milked out prior to movement to market. Do not present lame sheep or those, for any reason, which are not fit to be transported.

Thanks for your attention to these matters.

South East Point to Point Meetings (www.pointingse.com)

The fixture list for the season has been circulated with this report recently. Further copies are available here in the market

Saturday 29^th April – Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray; Parham, West Sussex. RH20 2ER – 2pm

Saturday 13^th May – Surrey Union; Peper Harrow, Surrey. GU8 6LA – 2pm

Thursday 18^th May – Fontwell Park; United Hunts – 3pm.

Hay, Straw and fodder

For Sale – 60 Round wrapped bales of 2016 season madehayledge, stored undercover . East Kent. 07775 794556

For Sale – 400 4ft round bales of 2016 season made hay on a West Kent dairy farm. Ring 07769 697934.

For Sale – Large quantities of hay. Ring 07860 623196.

For Sale – Large quantity Quadrant rectangular bales of 2016 season made threshed ryegrass hay. Good quality. Romney Marsh. Ring 07885703458

For Sale – Large quantities of 2016 made and gathered organic hay, haylage and silage. Buckhurst Park, East Sussex. Ring 01892 770220 or email:

For Sale – 100 Mini Hesston 4 string bales of oat straw, 60 Mini Hesston 4 string and 200 4’ round bales of exceptional hay. Transport can be arranged get at cost. East Sussex. Ring 01580 819000 or 07768 771933

For Sale – 157 Massey Ferguson 8’ x 4’ 6 string bales of 2016 season gathered winter barley straw, stored dry. East Kent. Ring 07703 130575

For Sale – 2000 Conventional bales of 2016 season made meadow hay. East Kent. Ring 07885 305520.

For Sale – 150 Claas Quadrant 2016 season gathered winter barley straw, stored dry. Ashford area. Ring 07850 789113.

For Sale – upto 500 Conventional bales of 2016 season made hay. West Kent. Ring 07905 269113.

For Sale – 200 Round bales of 2016 season made meadow hay. Maidstone area. Ring 07813 741636

For Sale – 50 Round wrapped bales of 2016 season made haylage from organically farmed grassland. Mid Kent. Ring 01233 756468.

For Sale – 500 bales of 5` long mini Hesston bales of July 2016 meadow grass haylage with delivery available at cost. Chiddingfold, Surrey. Ring 01428 654695 or 07966 452256.

For Sale – 300 to 400 wrapped 4 string bales of 2016 season haylage and 50 7’ long 6 string bales of meadow hay. Kent / Sussex borders. Ring 07773 384271 or 07973 634519.

To advertise your stocks in this section please speak to Mark Cleverdon or Adam Leonard for details of our very reasonable charges

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Breeding Cattle for sale ex farm

2 Pedigree Limousin bulls, 18 mths from a Welsh farm

Grazing available

50 acres for sheep this summer in the Brede area. Fenced and watered. Ring 01424 882442

Notice from Trading Standards on Sheep tags

Sheep producers are reminded that all sheep now require electronic tags, either single, double or re replacements. Please refer to Defra guidelines for the necessary type of tag required depending on the sheep you are presenting for sale.

Sheepdogs for sale

15mth old registered well bred collie bitch. Just broken sides and a stop and easy to handle video available. Also 3 5mth old registered collie dog pups whose breeding includes Ross Games Roy and Kevin Evans Sawmill Jess . Microchipped, vaccinated and very keen. Please ring 01403 864361 or 07718902953. West Sussex

RABI, FCN, Kent Herdsmans and Ashford Cattle Show  news

RABI Fund raising events over the next few months include:

Kart Racing – April or May, date TBC. Buckmore Park. Ring Charles Tassell 01622 858733

Elmley Bird Sanctuary private tour and barbeque  – Sunday 14^th May. Emley, Isle of Sheppey. ME12 3RW. Ring Roger Pickard 01227 832045 for full details

Watch this space for details of more events next week and ongoing

Kent Herdsmans Club

Monday 8th May at 7.30pm – visit to Jane Wanstall’s Christmas Tree business at Christmas Tree Farm, Matfield. TN12 7JJ.

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

NJP Shepherding services Offering:

• lambing, drenching, fly-control, vaccination and bolusing.
• transport of smaller numbers for moves, market or slaughter.
• gathering services with our own dogs.
• electric fencing work.
• decades of successful shepherding knowledge and experience.

From holiday and sick cover to complete flock management.

Let us help you to get ahead of your flock.

Please contact Nigel: 07810 203324 or 01304 824004, Sarah: 07812 392194 or e-mail nigelpeddle@btinternet.com