All the local market prices
8:38am Thursday 17th July 2008
HEREFORD Market Auctioneers report the following prices at their sale in Hereford on Wednesday.
Spring Lambs (1,231): A reduced entry due to the weather and trade but lambs were slightly better than Tuesday, with the main problem being a slower export trade as money supply Europe-wide tightens up. Best trade on heavy lambs 44-50kg, average 129 - 137p/kg to £63. keep lambs to 40kg + to see best returns. Overall average 125.1p/kg, top price/head £69 for lambs grading 49.5kg.
Store Sheep (417): Lambs insufficient for the demand, selling to £43 for Texel crosses and £36.50 for Suffolk crosses. Breeding ewes (377) saw a run of 100 Suffok cross three year olds from £74 - £78. Mule ewes four and five year olds from £39 - £51, with 20 Scotch mule three-year-old ewes at £64.
Ewes with lambs - the single lot of seven wool ewes with their eight lambs sold at £103. With four stock rams on offer Beltex cross Texel yearlings sold at £262.50, with three year old Suffolks at £63. All lots sold.
Cull Ewes (1,144): A good quantity of ewes but a large portion being poorer ewes which lowered the average with best ewes up to £62. Overall average £34.94, Suffolks to £62, continentals £60, North Country Mules £52, Welsh mules £48, speckles £30, Welsh £28, cull rams £45, cull wethers £40.
Store Cattle, Beef-type cows and calves: Steers to £900 for home bred Blonde and Limousin crosses on two occasions, with better conformation sorts from 150 - 176p/kg. Older steers generally sold from £572 - £835, with yearlings from £440 - £642.
Heifers topped at £842 for an entry from D J Watkins, Holmer weighing 570kg (148p/kg).
Prizewinners in the show were: Steers - 1-2 Mrs I E Davies, Kilcott 460kg £705, 426kg £690, 3 Mr C J A Howells, Craswall 435kg £662. Heifers: 1 Mr M Salter, Peterchurch 459kg £558, 2 E H Price, Longtown 348kg £508.
The beef-type cow and calf section (45) was enhanced by the outstanding draft of Belgian Blue cross heifers with their excellent Spring born Limousin cross calves, sired by Dinmore Unzipped from Tom pearson of Hampton Bishop. Quality was reflected in the prices, ranging from £1200 - £1670, to average £1401 per unit.
Several other good cows and calves sold to £1,530 for a 1999 Belgian Blue cross cow with her twin limousin cross steer calves with several from £880 - £1270. Poorer sorts from £540 - £810 for older cows or smaller heifers with plainer calves.
Some pre-1996 cows with calves £400 - £510 and in-calf at £330. A total clearance effected. A 1997 limousin bull sold at £820, a charollais cross bull calf sold at £175.
OTM Stock (6): To £738 for a Limousin cross cow at 770kg, Jersey cows at £220 a bull at £220. Hereford cross at £400.
LUDLOW MARKET McCartneys report a much better trade than was anticipated on an entry of 448 prime cattle in Ludlow Market on Monday.
Deadweight prices have been slashed in the last two weeks but the best heifers in particular were as dear as ever. Quality cattle were the easiest sold with steers selling up to 185.5p per kilo, heifers up to 198.5p per kilo and bulls to 168.5p per kilo. Plenty of buyers in attendance and prepared to try and do business.
Bulls: The bulls were a firm level of demand again with a high percentage this week of Friesian bulls in the entry. Some of these were plenty plain enough. Light bulls to 155p av. 108p, Medium bulls to 168.5p av. 136.5p, heavy bulls to 161.5p av. 141.1p.
Cull Cows and OTMS Cattle (89): A firm level of demand right the way through. A higher percentage of plain cows in the entry this week which reduced the overall average. Finished Sheep (3,509): A brighter lamb trade with suddenly less lambs on the market everywhere and firms having to have a few. Export quality lambs sold up to 175.0p per kilo and averaged 143.9p per kilo and home trade lambs sold up to 138.0p per kilo and averaged 132.9p per kilo.
A very good level of demand on all of the killing ewes and more are needed each week to satisfy buyer's demands. Killing ewes up to £63.50 and an overall average of £38.20, with rams up to £60.00 and averaged £47.42.
LUDLOW STORES McCartneys report A good entry of 388 cattle for a summer sale selling to another very strong level of demand and a total clearance. All of the steers of whatever type, quality and size averaged 155p per kilo, all of the heifers (to include quite a lot of native bred heifers) 135p per kilo and all of the bulls to include dairy sorts and Friesians 136p per kilo. There was a continued strong trade on all of the cows and calves and heifers and calves with cows and calves up to £950. In calf heifers to £925 and in calf cows to £745. Charolais steers to £828 (top 185p av. 151p) with heifers to £708 (top 174p av. 141p); Simmental steers to £655 (top 212p av. 185p) with heifers to £525 (top 168p av. 145p); Limousin steers to £650 (top 185p av. 165p) with heifers to £695 (top 177p av. 140p); Blonde d’Aquitaine steers to £675 (top 212p av. 148p) with heifers to £525 (top 168p av. 156.6p); Welsh Black steers to £305 (135p) with heifers to £470 (top 159p av. 133p); Aberdeen Angus steers to £385 (135p) with heifers to £516 (top 138p av. 128p); Hereford steers to £640 (136p) with heifers to £518 (top 133p av. 128p); Shorthorn steers to £410 (117p); Longhorn steers to £420 (145p); Friesian steers to £360 (99p); Friesian heifers to £434 (top 107p av. 88p); South Devon steers to £688 (top 138p av. 136p); Saler heifers to £590 (top 135p av. 127p); Belgian Blue heifers to £570 (top 160p av. 141p).
Charolais bulls to £395 (158p); Simmental bulls to £525 (113p); Limousin bulls to £674 (top 193p av. 152p); Welsh Black bulls to £565 (top 147p av. 137p); Aberdeen Angus bulls to £480 (top 158p av. 145p); Friesian bulls to £265 (top 88p av. 88p); Hereford bulls to £575 (147p) Store sheep (250): A firm level of demand on the very first store lambs of the New Year. Small store lambs to £35. Hoggs and lambs were a firm trade selling to £118 and averaging £117.
Calves and Weanlings (25): Another very strong level of demand on all of the calves and weanlings and more are needed each week to satisfy buyer's demands. Bull calves sold up to £260 to average £186 right the way through with heifers calves up to £235 to average £141 right the way through.
Kington Market McCartneys report a smaller entry of 1,500 sheep at Kington Market on Thursday.
A good entry of 1,300 quality lambs selling to a good trade, which had increased over the previous days due to less numbers of lambs being marketed. The Export buyers seem to be the dominant buyers in the market with home trade buyers trailing behind at present.
All lambs were in good demand by the seven buyers. Well-bred and meated lambs between 37 and 42kg would be at market premiums and lambs in all weight ranges would be in good demand. All lambs forward averaged 126ppk with a top of 135ppk. Lambs sold to a top of £63 per head.
There was a smaller entry of 180 cull ewes selling to a very good trade. Well- meated and strong ewes were selling to market premiums. The sheep sold to a top of £58.80 and to average £46.70 per ewe, which included a proportion of thinner mule ewes and hill ewes. We have buyers far in excess of 500 ewes per week and many more cull ewes are required to meet buyers’ demands.
Hay on Wye Market Brightwells report not enough lambs to satisfy demand at Hay this Thursday with buyers much more enthusiastic then earlier in the week.
Best lambs all from 1.25p to 1.30 pence topping at 130.4p (40½ kg £32.80) from Eckley of Fford Fawr followed by Milward, Gogia, 128.2p (39kg £50) and KJ Goodwin, Lwr Crossways with 128.1p (44 ½ kg £57) which was also top price per head. Cull ewes to £49.50 others at £40. Cull rams to £58.
STANDING STRAW Nick Champion of Tenbury Wells held the 23rd collective auction sale of 884 acres of standing straw at The Bridge Hotel, Tenbury Wells.
Despite a larger availability of straw in general locally and prices in some parts lower than expected, trade was firm throughout with a top price of £45 per acre for winter oat straw, although wheat was most in demand selling to £42 per acre and again location was the determining factor.
General prices as follows: 670 acres of winter wheat sold from £20 to £42 to average £32 - (97% sold); 147 acres of winter oats sold from £36 to £45 to average £40.49 - (29% sold); 25 acres of spring barley sold from £20 to £28 to average £23.12 - (100% sold); 42 acres of winter oilseed rape sold at £12 - (100% sold) STRAW SALES Thompsons report that following last week's annual round of standing straw sales on Herefordshire Farms, they are pleased to report some 1,530 acres of standing straw met a fair demand despite the adverse weather conditions and rising fuel prices, though buyers were selective where Lots were not easily accessible.
A total of 65 acres of winter barley at Dymock sold to £33.33/acre with 163 acres of wheat at Dymock selling to £31.84/acre. West of Hereford a further 1,300 acres of wheat straw sold to £48.2/acre and an overall average of £34.43/acre. Compared to last year when many parts of the country were flooded and many cereal areas under water, prices this season have seen winter barley average down from £38.75 to £31.84/acre and winter wheat increased from £32.58 to £34.43/acre. The excellent quality of winter wheat straw crops definitely assisted the trade this year.