The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Blackies take top dollar
North-type Blackfaces commanded the majority of top prices at the Blackface Sheep Breeders’ Association sale at Stirling.
With a cautious mood throughout the market on the morning of the sale, trade actually exceeded sellers’ expectations, and in the North-type ring, averages rose significantly on the year, albeit for 29 fewer sheep sold, with three ram lambs hitting five-figure prices.
Striking the top spot at £18,000 was a ram lamb from the Baillie family’s Calla flock at Carnwath, near Lanark.
A son of the champion lamb from Ballymena last year, which the Baillies bought from Paul McEvoy for 8000gns, this one is out of a home-bred ewe by a Glendamph sire – one of 200 North ewes, which run in the 1000-strong flock. He was knocked down to Stephen Duncan, for the Achdregnie flock at Glenlivet, Ballindalloch.
In the shearling ring Stephen Duncan and his father, Stephen, who run 700 ewes and 50 cows at Achdregnie, had a memorable day and sold two rams at five figures, up to £11,000.
Making that money was a son of a tup bought for 4400gns from Tom Adams, out of a ewe by a £950 Martin Conwaybred tup. He was knocked down, in a three-way split, to Co Donegal buyers Messrs Breslin, Cronkeerin, Ardara; Messrs Cannon, Crove, Carrick, and Messrs Mackey, Rosemount, Belville, Dunkineely.
A full brother to that one sold at £7,000, to the Shearers at Hillhead of Morinsh, Glenlivet, and Messrs Mackintosh, Tombreackachie, also Glenlivet.
Another from Achdregnie sold at £10,500 to buyers Matthew Hamilton, Woolfords, and the Breslins, at Ardara, Co Donegal. He is by a home-bred son of a £5,000 tup they sold last year, out of a ewe by a £1,600 Glenhead sire.
Best for Sandy and Steven Smith’s Haughton flock from Glenkindie, Alford, was a £6,500 bid for their reserve champion, a shearling son of an 8,500gns Mark Smyth-bred tup. Out of a ewe by a £3,200 Hillhead of Morinsh sire, he sold to the Calla flock.
Tom and Mairi Paterson had a steady trade for shearlings from their Crieff Dunruchan flock. Leading the pen, at £4,500, was a son of a home-bred Craigneich tup sold at Stirling last year for £7,000. He sold to Brendan Robinson, Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
Meanwhile, at the South-type sale, more shearlings were sold on the year, with prices peaking at £7,000 twice.
First to make that money was a shearling ram from Billy and Andrew Renwick, Blackhouse, Yarrow, a son of the £24,000 Allanfauld Hulk. Out of a ewe by a home-bred son of a £24,000 Midlock, he sold to Tom and Mairi Paterson, Dunruchan and Craigneich, Crieff.
Matching the £7,000 price tag was the best from Willie and Billy Graham, Craigdarroch, Sanquhar. This shearling son of a £3,600 Burnhead, out of a ewe by £17,000 Midlock, sold to Malcolm Coubrough, Whelphill, Biggar.
Not far behind, Tommy Renwick sold to a top of £6,000 from his Williamhope consignment, based at Covenford, Galashiels. Another by the £24,000 Allanfauld, out of a ewe by a £13,000 Blackhouse, this one sold to Peter Junor, Ballaggan, Dores, Inverness.
The Dunlop family’s Elmscleugh shearlings from Dunbar met a steady trade, selling to £3,800 for one by a son of a £24,000 Dalchirla, out of a ewe by a £16,000 Crossflatt. He went to the Woods’ Kingledores flock at Biggar.
Best for Alan Smith’s Crosswoodburn pen from West Calder was £3,500, for one by a £1,800 Blackhouse sire, out of a ewe by a home-bred son of a £2,200 Crosswoodburn, which went to A MacDonald, Ess and Dalbuiack, Carr Bridge, Inverness.
Una Hodge sold a shearling at £3,200 from her Kirkland flock at Kirkconnel, Sanquhar. A son of a £10,000 Allanfauld, he was knocked down to Glenrinnes Farms, Dufftown, Banffshire.
In the lamb ring, one from Paul Coulson’s High Staward flock, at Hexham, secured the joint top price of £5,500. Sired by the £50,000 Crossflatt, out of a ewe by a £7,000 Crossflatt, he sold to Tom Bagan, Waterlands, Fenwick.
At the same money, the Dunlops sold one of their Elmscleugh lambs – by a £10,000 Auldhouseburn, out of a daughter of a £10,000 Elmscleugh – to Archie and John MacGregor, Allanfauld, Kilsyth.
Another from Elmscleugh made £3,500 – a son of a £2100 Loughash, out of a £5000 Hartside-sired dam – selling to Messrs Mills, Northern Ireland.
At £4,000, Hugh and Alan Blackwood, sold the pen number one from their Auldhouseburn consignment, to Sam Wallace, Shilnavogie, Co Antrim. He is by the £85,000 Elmscleugh, out of a daughter of a £25,000 Auldhouseburn.
John Murray’s Crossflatt lambs from Muirkirk sold to £3,600 for a son of the £52,000 Crossflatt, which sold to Ian and David MacArthur, Arnicle, and Richard Nixon, Marbrack, Carsphairn.
Top for the Lephinchapel pen from Donald McVicar, Strathlachlan, Strachur, was £3,200 for a lamb by the £10,000 Arnicle, out of a ewe by a £6,500 Nunnerie, which sold to the MacArthurs’ Nunnerie flock at Elvanfoot, Biggar.
Averages: North-type – 145 shearling rams, £920 (+£169 for 25 fewer sold); 44 ram lambs, £941 (+£227 for four fewer sold). South type – 595 shearling rams, £685 (-£63 for 17 more sold); 126 ram lambs, £668 (-£201 for 24 fewer sold).