ROWS and rows of lambs filled pens at a Christmas show yesterday (December 1) as farmers from Herefordshire and Wales were proud to show the best on the market.
Farmers and butchers gathered at the Hereford Auctioneers market annual Christmas show and sale of prime lambs.
The livestock market, in Roman Road, saw auctioneers speak a thousand miles an hour as they sold the lambs for the best price to butchers from around the county and beyond.
Huw Beavan of Beavan's Butchers in Abergavenny, judged the lambs, looking at the similarity of their weight and structure in the different best of five classes.
The Hereford Times Cup, with the prize money of £50, was awarded to Richard Jerman, of WLJerman and Sons, at Wern farm, for his prime lambs weighing in at 46kg and sold for £200, meaning he had the champion pen.
He also won the Hereford Butchers cup with the same lambs; a category for the best five lambs exhibited by a Hereford producer, winning him a further cash prize of £50.
To top it off he also won second prize for his lambs weighing in at 40.5kg.
Due to their weight and structure, they will be shipped off for meat in specialised restaurants.
Whereas lambs of another breed, such as dorper lambs, will be used as meat for catering.
Mr Jerman was very happy with the result.
"It makes it all worthwhile," he said.
Spectators gathered in the sheep ring to see Mr Jerman and other winners receive their awards.
Christmas meant the lambs were sold for more than in other markets as there is higher demand for them in the food industry.
Other lambs sold included Epynthhills speckles, recognised for their large horns, which are typically sold to distributors in European countries to be roasted whole for Christmas.
The five classes included the best five Beltex lambs, Texel lambs, Charollais lambs, Suffolk lambs and lambs exhibited by a Young Farmers club member.
A Christmas fatstock show of cull ewes also took place.
They too were judged in best of fives or more, and the breeds were lowland cull ewes and hill type cull ewes, with the prize money of £25, £15 or £10.
All exhibitors must have sold stock at Hereford market on at least three occasions during 2021 and have a maximum limit of two pens per vendor per class.
The Hereford livestock market was once where the Old Market now stands.
Ex-councillor Charles Mason fought for the market to be where it is today and many farmers at the show were pleased, he achieved this due to its size and ability to expand.
Hereford market now works in conjunction with Talgarth Market and Builth Market, which has led to a wider community of farmers gathering at the county's livestock market than there was before, said auctioneer David Thomspon, of Sunderlands, who run all three markets.
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