Weekly Sales News – 25th June 2019

New seasons lambs: Top price per kilo – 253p – Mr & Mrs D Chapman: Top price per head – £122.50 – Dan Mackleden Ltd

Report on trade: A good entry of over 2000 lambs penned, and a super trade to boot. Probably one of the best quality of entries that we have seen in recent years with a huge number of white face, continental lambs on offer which were prime for the export market. Once again this week “Girl Power” was in abundance and it  must be pointed out that all the top spots in the roll of honours were filled by our female customers this week with Mrs L Chapman, Ms C Cox, C A Worley Farming Ltd and Ms H V Link taking the top spots. These continental sorts traded up to 253p and were all sold in excess of 235p.  Heavier lambs were in very short supply this week, as is the case nationally but the choice that was on offer sold very well to a top price of £122.50 for some very heavy lambs from Dan Mackleden Ltd with C & J Georgetti selling to £109.50.

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 better ewe trade throughout the entry with the best going over £90 but many selling in excess of £80 this week. Still the more desirable for the wholesale market are the leaner types with many of the bigger ewes coming quite thick at this time of year. Top spot was taken for some strong continental ewes from Ms H V Link at £97.

Top prices include continental ewes to £97 from Ms H V Link, Suffolk crosses to £92 from P & E Andreozzi. Mules to £78 from R L Goodman and Sons.

Ashford Market Lairage arrangements

Please note our official time for delivery of stock on Monday’s is 3pm to 6pm. Please advise the auctioneers office or any of the livestock team if you require this facility.

Report on trade: Difficult trade with prices reflecting an over supplied market and on a par with last week. A Limousin cross steer topped the market at £995 (192p) from M A Piper & Son Farms and Limousin cross heifers up to £961 (189p) from G L Boulden & Sons, £1181 (188p) from D W Page & Son and £1042 (187p) from W S Furnival (Brookland).

OTM up to £1253 (171p) for a Charolais cross steer from E T Ledger & Son Ltd.

Report on trade: Good numbers forward for the time of year. Trade a little stronger overall. Very little flesh on offer but with grass in super abundance no shortage of grazing customers though with the gloom that exists in the beef industry at present everybody could do with a boost of confidence!

Just a handful of fleshed beef cows 120-130p with grazing cows determined by shape and age though readily over 130p if the right types.

Limousin 139p, 131p, 130p, 129p, 126p (2), etc (Non FA) J F Windibank; Limousin cross 126p A J Bray; Sussex 121p D J Miles.

A real mixture of dairy culls this week with too few of the best heavyweight meat cows and more lean lightweights from the dairy.

Holstein Friesian 113p, 112p £979, £951 N J & G M Lambert; 112p £1005 Huddlestone Farmers; 110p £877 W S Furnival; 104p (2) £781 J E Scutt & Sons; 104p J W Boyd & Sons; Ayrshire 94p A N Waters.

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

Report on trade: A small entry with few quality sorts on offer. General trade was selective with decent prices for the better dairy bred stores but difficult trade for the second/third quality sorts on offer.

The best of the trade included 14 mths Aberdeen Angus x Friesian steers £780 and Sussex x Friesian heifers £730 from F W Hamlyn & Son and 16 mths British Blue x Friesian heifers £650 from J G Jenkin & Sons.

We have potential customers keen for store cattle – please contact us, if you have cattle to sell, to advise on suitable dates.

Report on trade: A typical summer trade for grazing stock following recent rains – 2 worked Limousin bulls made £1,600 and £1,400 and Sussex cows and calves making to £1,000. Older crossbred cows with good shaped calves made to £910.

Ashford Market Lairage arrangements

Please note our official time for delivery of stock on Monday’s is 3pm to 6pm. Please advise the auctioneers office or any of the livestock team if you require this facility.

Report on trade: Numbers similar to the previous fortnight, however a more mixed entry in terms of size and shape of calves forward selling to a high of £305.

A mixed bag of continentals today with big and well framed calves most in demand, smaller types harder to place. Bulls topped at £305 for a Limousin from W S Furnival Ltd. Best bulls were generally £250 plus, with only a handful of these types forward. A good proportion of the entry where smaller and harder work to place than previous weeks mostly in the £140 – £200 mark. Continental heifers were more in demand than in previous weeks with a top price of £230 for British Blue from W G & T A Manford. Most trading in the £140 – £200 region.

Only a small handful of native bred calves forward for sale today. Bulls to £200 from A & W J Hitchcock, Heifers to £190 from John Gormley and generally selling at £170 – £190.

Dairy sired calves more plentiful and in demand too. Prices topped at £110 from J E Scutt & Sons with several of the best types selling at £90 and above. Second quality calves were £30 to £50 with bobbies generally in the £20-£30 region.

A much reduced entry of stirks sold to £350 for British Blue heifers, an Aberdeen Angus steer made £280 and an Aberdeen Angus heifer made £260 all from C Kearl. A single suckled young Sussex stirk from D Morgan sold for £295.

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: A much smaller entry of pigs this week saw an improvement in the finished trade, a slightly less buoyant cull demand and customers present looking for store and feeding pigs. The abattoir sector are reporting a tightening in supply which combined with the expected summer demand has caused this improvement in trade.

Finished pigs sold to a top of 136p per kg for proper gilts from Mrs P Banks (which were bought to breed) and then 134p for good pigs from C Guest and 126p for lighter pigs from D J Cole. 12 pigs in the entry grossed over £100.

Cull pigs again look well sold to 85p and grossing £218 and a big boar 42p and £132.

Very few store pigs with strong feeders making to £50 from D J Cole and young Oxford, Sandy blacks £22. More good white weaners are booked for the next sale (9^th July).

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.

Ashford Market Lairage arrangements

Please note our official time for delivery of stock on Monday’s is 3pm to 6pm. Please advise the auctioneers office or any of the livestock team if you require this facility.

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

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

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

Mark Cleverdon (Rams, Breeding Cattle and Pigs) 07741 845230

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

Tom Hamplett (Calves) 07966 104532

Summer events / meetings in the area of interest to farmers

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.

Cream Tea and Garden tour – Thursday 8^th August at Hole Park, Rolvenden TN17 4JA at 2.30pm. Tickets £15 from Charles Tassell 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

The next meeting will be on Monday 1st July at 7.30pm with a visit to E H Holdstock & Son, Elbridge Farm, Elbridge Hill, Sturdy, Canterbury CT3 4AT.

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

Southern Shears UK

Sunday 14th July at Copford Sawmill, Dern Lane, Heathfield, East Sussex. TN21 0PN

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. For all details and entries please contact Mary Masters on 01273 517824.

The Southern Rover Owners Club will also be at Southern Shears come along and see what our members get up to.
If you have a 4 x 4 give it a go on our scenic drive or passenger one of our members in theirs.

We will also have our junior trials vehicle on site for the kids to have a go.

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

Our next Auction Sales include……

Commercial Vehicles

Thursday 4^th and 18^th July 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.

Chilli Farm Machinery sale

Saturday 28^th September 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.

Forthcoming store and breeding sheep sales

Friday 26^th July

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 9^th August

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 23^rd August

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 30^th August

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 6^th September

This sale will include the annual show and sale of crossbred ewe lambs together with South East Texel Groups breeding females and rams plus commercial rams

Friday 13^th September

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 20^th September

This sale will include the annual show and sale of Central Beltex breeding females and rams plus commercial rams

Friday 27^th September

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

Friday 4^th October

Store lambs, breeding sheep and catalogued ram sale

Friday 11^th October

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 18^th October

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 1^st November

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 22^nd November

Store lambs and breeding sheep

Friday 13^th December

Store lambs and breeding sheep

All sales commence at 11am with ram sales at 10am