Leek market

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13

DAIRIES still selling very well, with cows to £2100 twice and heifers to £2000. Next week is a bumper entry for the Pedigree sale and the Shorthorn Society Show & Sale. A sale not to be missed, and catalogues are available online.

A good entry of butchers lambs with a full shed selling on a solid trade, especially for the best quality with a top of 238p/kg with the overall average at 195p/kg. Cull ewes seeing plenty of custom with the best at £125

Plenty of demand for barren cattle, with a top of 139p/kg for a Simmental cow, and 130p/kg for black & whites. Clean sold to 183p/kg for steers.

Pigs sold on an excellent trade, especially quality bacon pigs, selling to 142p/kg and numerous pens above 130p/kg.

Calves continue to sell exceptionally well, with natives looking the best sold on the day. Top price of £380 for a Blue bull calf and heifers to £280.

BARREN COWS (51);

Selling time – 10:00am

Auctioneer – Graham Watkins (07976 370894)

A solid trade again for barren cattle and prices remaining stable. Stronger, meated types sold the best up to 139p/kg for a 785kg Simmental, with another 795kg Simmental cow at 136p/kg. Limousins sold up to 137p/kg for a 645kg cow from Chris Barnsley, Morridge.

Black and white’s sold up to 130p/kg for a 800kg Holstein from A Povey & Sons, Doveridge.

Overall average of 104.66p/kg or £701.41. Top headage price of £1097.40 for the 885kg Holstein from the Holdcroft family, with Simmentals to £1091.15 and £1081.20.

Just one bull forward being a 1015kg Pedigree Limousin sold at 130p/kg (£1319.50) from G Stubbs, Wetton.

CLEAN CATTLE (16);

Selling time – 10:45am approx.

Auctioneer – Graham Watkins (07976 370894)

Another decent entry sold on a solid trade for the stock on offer with a top price of 183p/kg for a 585kg Blonde steer from J S Hine, Biddulph, with other steers to 179p/kg for a 520kg Hereford from Mrs P Partington, Burton and J S Hine selling a 530kg Hereford at 178p/kg.

Heifers topped at 168p/kg for a 680kg Beef Shorthorn, with a 495kg Red Poll heifer realising 160p/kg for Wayne Smith, Basford.

Young bulls topped at 166p/kg for a 690kg Hereford and a 630kg Hereford bull at 164p/kg.

Top headage price of £1145.40 and £1033.20 for bulls; heifers to £1142.40 and steers to £1070.55.

DAIRIES (33);

Selling time – 11:30am

Auctioneers – Meg Elliott (07967 007049) & Mark Elliott (07973 673092)

A rip roaring trade on Tuesday saw two reach £2100 with numerous between £1700 - £2000.

Topping the day with his two cows was Andrew Bunting of Bakewell. His second and third calver both reached £2100.

A second calver from Richard Sidebottom of Mottram St Andrew reached £2000 with another second calver from Malcom Jones of Oswestry at £1960.

Heifers topped at £2000 from Messrs Easom of Oakerthorpe with another from Edward and Dianne Bennett at £1910.

A mammoth entry for next weeks pedigree sale which includes the Shorthorn Society Show and Sale sees total entries to date just short of 200 Head. Full details are listed below.

PIGS (136);

Selling time – 9:15am. Auctioneer – Graham Watkins (07976 370894)

A stronger trade again this Tuesday for pigs, and averages up on the week. A small entry of lighter pigs sold to 83p/kg and 82p/ kg for 65kg pigs from A Scott, Marthall.

Cutting pigs sold up to 126p/kg for 81kg pigs from J & B Fentem, with others at 108p/kg for 84kg pigs and 107p/kg for 82kg pigs from the same home.

Bacon pigs sold on a solid trade up to 142p/kg for 95kg pigs from PF & PD Parsons, Whitchurch who also sold bacon pigs at 140p/kg & 138p/kg. 140p/kg was realised for 91kg pigs and 138p/kg for 101kg pigs from MC & EA Beattie, Allostock and 138p/kg and 136p/kg for bacon pigs off Bernard Minshull.

Heavier pigs sold to 122p/kg for 106kg pigs from the Parsons family, with 114kg pigs at 114p/kg for J G Belfield, Sheen and 112p/kg for 105kg pigs from Bernard Minshull.

A good demand for cull sows today, with a top of 81p/kg for a 198kg gilt, and 77p/ kg for a 300kg sow, both from A Scott, Marthall, with two 255kg and 270kg sows from Bernard Minshull at 74p/kg and 71p/ kg respectively. A 318kg cull boar sold well at 46p/kg for W Fearn, Ashwood Dale.

An in-pig sow sold at £75 for J Ball, Betchon who also sold a pen of 11 weaners at £37/head.

SHEEP SECTION;

Selling time 11:00am. Auctioneer – Robert Watkins (07929 946652)

BUTCHERS LAMBS (922);

Back to better numbers today which were well bid for throughout. Generally a lack of meat, but some exceptional lambs within the entry.

Best shaped lambs very well bid for and

many more could have been sold. Best types to 238p/kg and best big lambs to £132.20/head.

Plenty of lambs looking and felling weathered and were more difficult to place, trading generally at 180-190p/kg.

CULL SHEEP (273);

A few less but still good numbers. Best on offer seeing competitive bidding, topping at £125 for smart Texels. Plenty of lean ewes forward and they seem to get a little harder to sell each week.

CALVES (120);

Selling time – 10:00am

Auctioneer – Oliver Hiles (07801 530899); Similar numbers to last week but once again an outstanding trade for the offering with natives looking particularly dear. 46 Continental Bulls av £268

Exactly the same average as last week although we had more about. 14 best bulls topped £300 and a top of £380 for the bulls from Robinson Partners, Rudyard. Mediums £240 - £290 with just a handful of plainer bulls under £200.

31 Blues av £280 to £380 - Robinson Partners

8 Sims av £276 to £370 - Miss H Goodwin 5 Lims av £181 to £320 - NG, JMH & H Mellor

2 Blo av £261 to £288 - EJ & VC Gilman 21 Continental Heifers av £194.09

A lot better average than last week but a few better sorts abouts but we could have sold many many more. Smart ‘cow making’ Limousins topped at £280 for Norman Mellor, Earl Sterndale. 7 best over £220; mediums £160 - £200 with only a couple of smalls under £150.

16 Blues av £194 to £258 - WG & J Clark 2 Lims av £255 to £280 - NG, JMH & H Mellor

3 Sim/blo to £180 - EJ & VC Gilman 44 Natives

An unbelievable trade. 26 bulls averaged £161 to a high of £275 for an Angus from Steve Ryder. Heifers TRADE OF THE DAY with 11 of 18 over £160 to a high of £208 and £205 for Messrs Slack, Whaley Bridge. 9 Back & White Bulls av £42

Just a few today with smarter sorts to £90 for Messrs Twemlow, Swinscoe. Smaller calves £27 - £40.

11 Reared Calves

Blue steers to £355 and heifers to £295 all 4-5 mths from R L Vernon & Partners, Beamhurst.