Markets

United Auctions (Stirling) sold 8,747 store and breeding sheep.

Store sheep ave: Suff £59.15 (+£1.35 on week), Btex £62.63 (-£1.57), Texx £57.83 (+£1.19), Mule £56.23 (+£3.41), BF £31.14 (£2.32).

Top prices: Pitmurthly (Tex) £76, Drumbarrow (Suff) £75, Ceyzer Court (Chev) £64, Mains of Struie (Btex) £63, Colony (BF) £60.

Also forward breeding sheep at the annual second sale of regular, draft and stock ewes including their final sale of rams and ram lambs.

Blackface draft ewes: Glenlethnot £73, Shenlarich £65 and £64, Chesthill £50.50.

Blackface gimmers: Shieldhill £116, Newton of Crathie £106.

Chev mule gimmers: Carroch £125. Shearlings: Bolfracks (Tex) £700, Carroch (BFL) £620, Carroch (BFL) £600, Bolfracks (Tex) £600 (twice), Quninnyhall (BFL) £500, Newton of Crathie (Suff) £420, Southfield (Suff) £420, Newton of Crathie (BF) £400 and £350, East Bracklin £300 (twice). United Auctions (Stirling) sold 5,856 prime sheep including 3,845 lambs selling to an average of 164.5ppk, and 2,011 ewes and rams.

Spring lambs (3,845): Doune Farms (Btex) £104, Doune Farms (Tex) £96, Meadowbank (Suff) £93, Wedderlie (X) £87, Shanry (Char) £84, Easter Bucklyvie (Mule) £75, Gilston (Chev/ Mule) £74; Easterton (Btex) 214p; Whitehill (Tex) 207p; Wester Kinleith (Suff) 178p; Wester Jawcraig (Chev) 177p; Pitnacree (X) 176p; Gilston (Chev/mule) 164p; Auchenrivoch (Mule) 162p.

Ewes (2,011): Pitmurthly (Tex) £107, Pitmurthly (Suff) £89, Horseley

(X) £89, Shanry (Chev/mule) £87, Horseley (Char) £85, Whiteburn (Mule) £70; North Pitkinny (BF) £53.

Tups: Cayley Lane (Tex) £117, Hatton Knowe (Suff) £103, Cretlevane (BFL) £86. Caledonian Marts sold 2,381 prime lambs, ewes and tups.

There was a good show forward for quality and numbers, with the overall average 170.6p (+3.7p on week), with 1,740 (39kg+) averaging £77.28 (+87p).

Top price of the day went to Doune Farms at £99 for a 57kg Beltex, and to 207p also from Doune Farms & DS & RC Taylor, Easter Ochtermuthill, both for 45kg Beltex.

Leading prices for lambs: Beltex £97 and £95 West Lundie, Beltex X £93 Easter Ochtermuthill,

Texel X £92 Nochnary, Cont £89 Kinninmonth, Cont X £89 Nochnary, Suff £86 Parks of Garden, Suff X £82.50 Kinninmonth, Mule £67 Wester Whitefield, BF £59 Home Farm; Beltex 202p Kinninmonth, Cont 201p Ayton, Beltex X 200p and 198p Meikle Seggie, Texel 196p Bankhead & Doune Farms, Cont X 195p Leysbent, Texel X 196 Meikle Seggie, Suff 179p Gilmeadowland, Suff 175p Keyshill, Mule 158p Wester Whitefield, BF 161p Ayton.

Also forward 592 cast ewes and tups.

Heavy ewes (219) ave £71.67, selling to £113 for a Beltex X from H Miller & Son, Glenhead, California. Export ewes (242) ave £28.71. A plainer show of ewes forward resulted in averages being back on the week.

Other leading prices were as follow.

Texel – £104 and £100 (Twice) Finmont, £98 Wester Ochtermuthill, £93 Whiterigg and Craigo; BF – £40.50 Bailanstruth, £36 Home Farm, £35.50 Rockfoot, £35 Woodend; Chev – £78 Ayton, £64 Home Farm; Cross – £75 Whiterigg, £71 Bailanstruth, £70 Gaisland, £69 Preston, £66 Whiterigg.

Tups sold to £99 for a Texel from R Bell, Craigo, Levenview, Milnathort.