Weekly Sales News – 9th January 2018

Top price per head – £95.50 – H J Hecks & Son: Top price per kg – 221p – Hayley Dent

Report on trade: A similar sized entry of sheep were offered this week with the averages returning at levels in line to last week. More numbers have been on offer nationally which has kept the trade consistent but in comparison to the same week 12 months ago, this weeks averages were up by 14p per kg and £7.50 per head.

Once again this week, weight was the key to maximum returns with the top spot taken by H J Hecks & Son at £95.50 for some 53kg Suffolk crosses. Export grade hoggets were once again in demand and there were a few more of these in the entry this week which topped at 221p from Hayley Dent with G P King in second place at 208p. Overnight lairaged sheep that were presented clean and empty were sold to a noticeable premium this week and it is advised that as we go on through the hogget season that vendors avail of these services on a Monday afternoon.

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: A big entry of ewes were on offer this week with just under 1000 penned which is one of the biggest entries we have offered in January for some years. The best ewes broke the £100 barrier for the first time in a few weeks with the top price achieved by Ms H V Link at £125 for Texel crosses. The best ewes were strongly competed for from start to finish with several pens selling in excess of £85.

Leaner sorts have reduced in numbers with noticeably more meated sorts on offer. This is most likely to be the scanned empty ewes being sold out of many flocks today and will continue over the next few weeks.

Top prices this week included Texel crosses to £125 from Ms H V Link, Suffolk crosses to £87 from A A Palmer & Sons, Mules from the same vendor to £68 and Romneys to £76.50 from Ms H V Link.

Report on trade: There is a strong trade for store hoggets with best sorts selling readily at £65 plus and only very small long keeping sorts below £55. We saw plenty of customers in attendance competing well for all on offer and more could be sold every week at favourable prices.

Please keep us informed with entries so we can notify potential customers.

Cattle sales reports

Finished Cattle – 47 Sold

Auctioneer: Elwyn Davies 07710 803901

Report on trade: There was very little change in the beef section with the better sorts making 200p per kg plus and more commercial and dairy bred sorts penned which generally made 180 – 190p per kg.

A Blonde cross steer grossed well at £1328 (208p) and a handy weight Limousin cross heifer topped at £1184 (214p) both from W Alexander (Shoreham). The majority of the entry were dairy bred with a run of mainly British Blue crosses from K E Budd grossing £1050 to £1150 with the steers topping at £1157 (183p) and heifers up to £1142 (183p) and an Aberdeen Angus  cross steer to £1149 (183p). We saw similar prices for A J Down’s regular consignment with a Limousin x Friesian steer making £975 (190p) and a pure Friesian steer to £871 (170p).

A small selection of native bred cattle saw a Sussex cross steer topping at £1241 (193p) from W Alexander (Shoreham) and a handyweight Aberdeen Angus cross heifer at £1068 (193p) from D W Page & Son.

OTM clean cattle made up to £1084 (171p) for a British Blue x Friesian heifer from A J Thompson & Sons.

Report on trade: This was another very good trade for a large entry of cull cows. Not the intensity of last week, nor the overall quality, but Christmas and New Year disruptions are now over and we are back into a normal trading pattern. Despite the large entry competition was keen for all grades with the assured heavyweight meat cows taking the best of the trade. Lightly fleshed slaughter cows were a little less but youngsters and good feeders continue to meet a strong demand. Prospects remain very positive for the coming months and non assured producers are probably better to be selling lean cows to assured feeders rather than feeding cows themselves to sell un-assured later!

Best fleshed beef cows made 125-140p per kg though a few overfull types limited their prospects. A few good feeders made 120-150p depending on age and breed and generally all lean beef cows were taken to feed and few being the oldest and ugliest made below 100p.

Examples of prices achieved included Simmental crosses (Non FA) 150p, 141p, 131p, 130p and £1158, £1077, £1076, £1062 from Old England Farms and 125p (Exempt) £984 W G Watkins & Sons; Limousin 142p, 137p £1012 L E Humphreys & Sons, Limousin crosses 135p, 127p, £1069, £1025 W G Watkins & Sons and 132p, 130p, 129p, £1118 Birt Bros; Hereford crosses 128p A J Thompson & Sons; Aberdeen Angus crosses 124p £969 W J Hurley and 124p £950 (exempt) Llewellyn Farms; British Blue crosses 124p H & J Noakes and Charolais crosses 124p( Non FA) Piper Farms.

Best fleshed dairy culls continue to be a very strong trade but with a few more now out on the market nationally as the milk price eases and straw becomes more of an issue the leaner processing cows are a little less money. Carcase weight is all important – the bigger the better!

Examples of prices achieved included young Fleckvieh crosses 149p Westnedge & Knight; young Norwegian Red and British Friesians 147p and 141p E P Knight; well fleshed British Friesian cows 133p, 131p, 130p(2), 129p, 128p, 127p, etc and to £1036 PHR Farms; Holstein Friesians 123p £1023 J Warnock & Son; 123p £1011 J Leggat & Son and 121p W S Furnival.

More bulls on offer this week and a good trade. A quality fleshed Blonde made 127p and £1303 with lean Sussex, Simmental and Holsteins 96p, 93p (2), 88p.

Report on trade: Despite a small entry there were plenty of customers in attendance with 12 successful individual buyers and other bidders competing for all on offer. The best of the young stock sold in excess of £600 and up to £665 for 6-7 mths Charolais cross heifers from M Goodsell while 8 mths Blonde cross steers and heifers looked well sold at £665 and £615 respectively from Wanstall Farms.

Strong stores to finish short term attracted prices in excess of £1000 with 27 mths Aberdeen Angus cross steers up to £1090 from E J Gribble and £1020 from J S Rye while 27 mths Friesian steers sold up to £685 from E J Gribble.

Up to 180 cattle are entered for next Tuesday – see earlier in this report for full details. There are plenty of customers are potentially looking for cattle every week with competitive and favourable prices available for all classes of stock.

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Report on trade: A small herd reduction of pedigree Sussex cows from R Jones made upto £835 for the youngest cow.

3 Pedigree Charolais incalf cows are entered for next Tuesday – see earlier in this report for full details

Hay, Straw and fodder

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

For Sale – 3 14 week old Collie puppiesin the Rye area. Ring 07808 656772

For Sale –a very well bred Beef Shorthorn bull, 20 mths old which is fully health checked and on a TB Low farm. Ring Mark Cleverdon for details

Wanted – up to 30 Sussex or Aberdeen Angus x Friesian heifers or young cows in calf to a Limousin bull. Ring Mark Cleverdon for details

Wanted – lambing assistant required for 700 ewes from mid March for 3 weeks at Hardres Court Farm, Nr. Canterbury. Ring 07976 433593

Wanted- shepherd to care for a flock of 800 Suffolk x Mules lambing in mid-April. Full time, part time or just lambing season availability considered. Must have a sheep dog and significant shepherding experience. Accommodation and vehicle available, work to start in the New Year. All enquiries to: owenpiper@hotmail.co.uk

Grazing available in Hampshire for 300 Romney or Romney cross ewe lambs until mid September 2018. Ring 07785 793450

RABI, FCN and Kent Herdsmans Club News

RABI

Farmhouse Breakfast season

Thursday 18^th January – Poacher & Partridge, Tudeley. TN11 0PH

Friday 19^th January – The Alma, Bayfield Painters, Forstal, Faversham, Kent ME13 0DU

Wednesday 24^th January – Medway Yacht Club, Lower Upnor, Rochester. ME2 4XB

Wednesday 24^th January at 8am – Greenfields, Sturry, Canterbury, Kent CT2 0NG

Friday 2^nd February – Macknade Fine Foods, Selling Road, Faversham ME13 8XF

Wednesday 7^th February – The Dirty Habit, Upper Street, Hollingbourne, Kent, ME17 IUW

Thursday 8^th February – Elham Valley Vineyard, Elham Valley Road, Barham, Kent CT4 6LN

Wednesday 14^th February – The Stockpot, Ashford Market, Ashford. TN24 0HB

Thursday 15^th February – Dog & Duck, Pluks Gutter, Canterbury, Canterbury, Kent CT3 1JB

Wednesday 21^st February 2018 – Farmhouse Breakfast – Chiddingstone Castle, Hill Hoath Road, Chiddingstone, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7AD

Further fundraising events

Sunday 21^st January at 3.15pm – Plough Sunday Service Rochester Cathedral

Monday 26^th February 2018 – Plumpton Race Day, Plumpton Race Course, Plumpton Lane, Plumpton BN7 3AL

Friday 23^rd March – Clay pigeon shoot at West Kent Shooting School, Brenchley. TN12 7DG

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

Sunday 14^th January at 12 noon – a visit to Chandler & Dunn Ltd to view their cattle and some of the fruit storage at the farm, Lower Goldstone, Ash, Canterbury CT3 2 DY.

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

South East Farmer and Farm Machinery magazines

The January edition of this popular regional farming magazine is now available here in the market. Hobbs Parker are regular contributors to the editorial content.

Ashford Cattle Show 2017

Prize giving evening will be Monday 22^nd January at 7pm here in the Amos Hall at the market.

Romney Sheepbreeders News

The recent edition of the breeders Society newsletter, produced by new breed secretary Julie Lukehurst, is available here in the market. For all society information Julie can be contacted on 07538 938425

Vehicle parking on busy market days – Congestion in the bottom / livestock parking area

Please help us to help you. The upper car park on the top side of the market buildings is available for all cars and Land Rovers with trailers