Weekly Sales News – 3rd April 2018

Sheep sales reports

Top price per head – £139 – T Husk; Top price per kilo – 290p – RL Goodman & Sons

Report on trade What a trade, general consensus is that today was the dearest we have seen hoggets sold in living memory. Overall the average price per head offered was £112 against a figure of £77 for the corresponding week in 2017. Numbers nationally have been low following the Easter weekend and the large abattoirs are desperate to get hold of sheep to re-stock after what was reported to be a busy Easter period. Hoggets keep getting dearer as we go further into the season and as the numbers start to ease, making it difficult to know what the future will hold but making it very important for vendors to contact us in advance of sending sheep so we can accurately forecast weekly numbers.

The roll of honours this week is long with most well finished hoggets selling in excess of £100 to a top of £139 from T Husk and a run from M R Woodruffe of 52 which averaged £135. Top price per kilo was as high as we have seen it for many years with top spot taken by R L Goodman and Sons at 290p. Romney hoggets were certainly some of the best sold with a super run of sheep from D E Walker, Hailsham making to £110.

A small entry of new season lambs were on offer this week but a super trade for all selling to a top price of 336p (39kg) from D J Cole & Sons closely followed by J Farrant at 324p (36kg).

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 smaller entry this week but once again a flying trade throughout to a top price of £138 for Texels from E Stretton. Meated ewes are a fantastic price with large numbers of these sheep on offer selling in excess of £100. Ewes appear to be in strong demand nationally which is a knock on effect of the tremendous trade we are seeing for the hoggets.

Top prices this week included continental ewes to £138 from E Stretton, Suffolk crosses to £128 from M R Woodruffe and Mules to £108 from R L Goodman & Sons

Report on trade: As the finished hoggets get dearer the stores follow with exceptional prices throughout and a pen of strong Texel crosses topping the market at £109 and an overall average of £80.50. All decent stores £85 plus and only very small sorts below £70. Again anyone with stores to sell would be well advised to sell on this trade to give buyers time to finish before the end of the season.

Report on trade: A larger entry and more customers too producing a fair trade for stock offered without any fierce bidding and huge prices. Young lambs and triplets made £7 to £15 with stronger well reared sorts £15 to £27 for a Texel cross ewe lamb from Link Bros. Averages: Top £27 and aver’ £13.12.

Entries will increase for the next few weeks and they will be sold at 10.30am in the calf shed.

Report on trade: This was again a similar trade to recent weeks with the best of the handyweights making 210p per kg plus and more commercial sorts ranging in the 180p to 195p bracket. Smart Blonde crosses topped both sections with a steer selling at £1223 (217p) and heifer to £1147 (215p) from G L Boulden & Sons, closely followed by a Limousin heifer at £1057 (210p) from W Alexander (Shoreham) and a British Blue cross heifer at £1191 (208p) from D W Ferguson Ltd.

Cattle with weight grossed in excess of £1300 notably an Aberdeen Angus cross steer at £1400 (191p) from A R Dunlop and a Limousin cross steer at £1354 (196p) from W Alexander (Shoreham). Several Sussex cattle were on offer attracting the attention of local butchers with the best up to £1171 (191p) from Gillshaw Farms Ltd and continental x Friesian steers to £1154 (184p) from A J Down.

Friesian steers were a similar trade up to £1063 (158p) from R Price & Son.

Report on trade: A short entry post Easter but no let up in the trade which continues at its extraordinary rate. Cows are in very short supply and will remain so for some time with the latest of the spring turn out another factor that will affect prices of clean and cow beef in the first half of this year at least.

Few beef cows were penned but best heavyweights still made 140-170p and very few made under 100p. Best Limousin crosses made 167p and grossed £1297 from C W Jones, British Blue crosses 148p £1254 J D Foster, Aberdeen Angus 145p £1205 Vexour Pedigree Cattle and 133p D W Ferguson Ltd.

More flesh is appearing on cull cows as producers recognise the value of feeding low yielders and culls for finish at the end of lactation. British Friesians made 158p £1229, 143p (2) £1154, £1009 and 136p, 135p from R & J Ledger; Holstein Friesians 140p £1172 P J Forknall; Guernsey 138p £1217 W G & T A Manford and Jerseys 114p £617 Hickson Bros.

Stock bulls hold a very good trade, particularly with flesh and shape. A Limousin 130p and Sussex 106p.

Report on trade: Despite a small entry after the holiday weekend this sale was well attended with all regular buyers present. The trade for a mixed entry of store cattle was brisk and competitive throughout.

The best of the continental crosses on offer generally sold in excess of £850 with 14 mths Simmental x Friesian steers up to £985 from Wood Farm Ptnrs. Heifers suitable for breeding attracted premiums up to £955 from Vexour Pedigree Cattle. A relatively high percentage of native bred cattle were on offer and well received with 13 mths Aberdeen Angus steers topping the market at £1130 from N Shearman and yearling Hereford steers looked well sold at £895 from B C Ginger.

Large entries are now expected for the next 6 to 8 weeks ­- 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.

Principal prices include:                                                                                                                  

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

British Wool Board announcement re Wool sheets

Tuesdays 14^th and 21^st April – Wool sheets will be available here in Ashford Market for farmers and smallholders to collect.

Hay, Straw and fodder

For Sale – 210 small twine wrapped bales of un-sprayed clean meadow hay from old lay made in July 2017. Ashford area. Collect only. Ring 01233 627087

For Sale – 47 round bales of 2017 season made haylage – analysed. Buyer to collect. 01303 840112

For Sale – up to 300 Class 4string rectangular bales of wrapped hayledge made for a 2^nd year seeds lay. Delivery can be arranged – mid Kent. Ring 07711167467

For Sale – Large quantity of 2017 ensiled forage maize – analysis available. East Kent. Ring 07739 490975

For Sale – 90 5’ round bales of 2017 season gathered spring barley straw and 100 similar sized bales of wheat straw, all stored inside – Kent / Sussex borders. Ring 07835 521800

For Sale – Organic Hay, Haylage & Silage, Big Square and rounds. All good quality – Available East Sussex/Kent border. Contact Buckhurst Estate: Sharon 01892 770220 or Warren 07836 378044

This register will now run until early May for further details please ring our auctioneers office on 01233 502222 or Mark Cleverdon 07748 202688

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

Wanted – visiting shepherd to the area is looking for a Border Collie to stand at stud to a working bitch. Phone 07860 469597

For Sale – 4 well bred British Blue bulls – East Kent. Ring Simon on 07885 968077

For Sale – 30mths old well bred and grown Simmental bull – East Sussex.

Wanted – work for an experienced relief lamber available for immediate start.  This is a farmers daughter able to help with feeding, bedding, walking out as well as lambing loking for a position  within 10mile radius of Folkestone. Ring 07838 215446.

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

Sunday 15^th April – Mid Surrey Farmers Drag; Godstone, Surrey. RH9 8DB, Surrey – 2.15pm

Saturday 21^st April – Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent; Penshurst, Kent. TN8 7DD – 2pm

Saturday 28^th April – Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray; Parham, West Sussex. RH20 2ER – 2pm

Saturday 12^th May – Surrey Union; Peper Harrow, Surrey. GU8 6LA – 2pm

Thursday 17^th May – Fontwell Park; United Hunts – 3pm.

RABI, FCN, Young Farmers Clubs and Kent Herdsmans Club News

RABI

Future fundraising events

Sunday 13^th May 2018 – Tour of Chapel Down Vineyard, Chapel Down Winery, Small Hythe, Tenterden, Kent TN30 7NG

Wednesday 27^th June – Champagne, Strawberries & Jazz at the Kent County Showground, Detling. ME14 3JF

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

Monday 9th April at 7pm ( note early start) – visit to South East Coach Works, 38 Preston Street, Faversham. ME13 8PE. Please use public car park nearby.

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