Leek market

The cold weather is starting to settle in and still plenty of trade about. Lamb trade was much sharper, with more needed each week to keep up with Tuesday orders.

Top price of 196p/kg three times and a pleasing SQQ average of 170.8p/kg. Strong ewes continue to sell well to top at £110.

A few less barren and clean cattle about this week with a slight drop in the average down to more plainer cattle about. Top price of 159p/kg for a 585kg Angus with clean cattle for 205p/kg for a 515kg steer.

A good show of pigs this week, with a better trade for the quality on offer. Top price of 139p/kg for bacon pigs and stores to £38 per head.

Quality calves are in demand with the second and third qualities harder to place. Top price of £362 for a Limousin bull calf. Quality dairy cattle were in demand with a top of £1810, and all selling well on the day.

BARREN COWS (46)

Fewer about but trade a little down. Top price of 159p/kg for a 585kg Angus from Rushton Spencer. Other leading prices of 119p/kg for a 645kg Sussex from CEA JM Dale, Leek and also for a 605kg Belted Galloway from Rowland Partners, Kirk Ireton. A 570kg Swedish Red from R & E Bennett, of Whiston, realised 117p/kg with a 810kg Holstein at the same price from A J Peach, Warslow.

Other top prices:

116p 600kg Belted Galloway Rowland Partners; 115.5p 770kg Holstein - R J Clowes &Sons;

114p 740kg Sussex - CEA JM Dale; 114p 885kg Simmental - S Smith, Meerbrook; 113.5p 680kg Friesian - J W Brandrick &Son; 113p 695kg Holstein - W G & J Clark Overall average of 94.68p/kg or £603.15 per head. Top headage price of £1008.90 for Simmentals with Holsteins to £947.70 and Angus’ to £930.15.

CLEAN CATTLE (21)

A decent entry of clean cattle and a good trade, comparing very well to other outlets. Mark Butler, Bagnall showed two very neat Limousins with his 515kg steer realising 205p/kg and his 505kg Limousin heifer realising 202p/kg.

Other steers topped at 190p/kg for a 520kg Limousin from SP & EE Richardson, Ipstones and 190p/kg for a 620kg British Blue steer from CS, JJ & WE Bower, Hollingworth with a 665kg British Blue from the same vendor realising 181p/kg. Two Simmentals from the Richardson family, both at 630kg, both sold at 178p/kg with a Blue from D Johnson, Shraley Brook selling at 505kg steer at 174p/kg.

Heifers from Mrs P Mitchell, Brown Lees, sold to 170p/kg for a 685kg Bazadaise and a 540kg Angus from Rushton Spencer realising 169p/kg with another 555kg Angus at 168p/kg.

A 665kg Simmental bull sold well at 189p/kg. Top headage prices of £1256.85 for the Simmental bull with steers to £1203.65, £1178, £1156 with heifers to a top of £1164.50 and £1070.65.

DAIRIES

Quality was a bit lacking in the shed today however everything forward sold well. Topping the day was Ray Turner if Rownall at £1810 for a 27kg heifer by Aquila Patron Lucente.

A run of 12 grazing system crossbred Jerseys from Messrs Fletcher peaked at £1250.

First Quality Heifers to £1810 av £1810

Second Quality Heifers to £1320 av £1310

PIGS (89)

A better trade this week with pork pigs to a top of 116p/kg for 74kg pigs from J & B Fentem & Sons. Cutting pigs topped at 125p/ kg for 84.3kg pigs from J & B Fentem & Sons, with others at 120p/kg for 83kg and 83.3kg pigs from the same vendor. A pair of 82kg pigs from H Kelsall & Son, Dean Row sold to 116p/kg.

Bacon pigs sold to 139p/kg for 90kg pigs from S Bailey, with others to 130p/kg for 87kg pigs from J &B Fentem, who also sold others to 122p/kg and 118p/kg. Heavier pigs sold to 116p/kg for a 110kg pig from J &B Fentem with three 104kg pigs at 112p/kg for Chris Hine.

Cull sows sold to 52p/kg for a 220kg sow from L Saxon,

Cheadle with a 235kg boar at 44p/ kg from Chris Hine.

Averages:

Pork Pigs (12) av 83.59p/kg or £59.07/head

Cutting Pigs (22) av 103.49p/kg or £84.63/head

Bacon Pigs (30) av 115.04p/kg or £106.10/head

Heavy Pigs (8) av 96.41p/kg or £105.94/head

Cull Sows & Boars (3) av 42.6p/kg or £84.22/head

Store pigs topped at £38 for a pen of 5 from DM Bowd,

Leigh who had a pair at £31 and a pen of 7 from D J

Shipton, Burton sold at £21.

SHEEP - LAMBS (515)

A reduced entry, no doubt as a result of the talk of falling trade and many vendors closed up following the massive store and breeding sheep sale Saturday, which is a shame as new regular orders have been secured for a regular supply of up to 1000 lambs each week. The result was sharper trade, particularly for the best sorts which regularly stormed past 190p/kg. The 36-39kg types also looked a sharper trade then of late. Best sorts topped at 196p three times from three different vendors and no fewer than nine seeing lambs at 190p plus.

Top headage price of £95.71 with many big lambs hitting £85 - £92/ head.

Sample prices: 196p 41kg R T Garlick, Wormhill; 195p 41.7kg D Goldstraw, Meerbrook;

195p 43.3kg Bagshaw (Caxterway) Ltd, Chelmorton; 194p 44kg D M Elliot & Son, Tideswell

193p 43.8kg Robinson Partners, Tatenhill; 192p 41kg Bagshaw (Caxterway) Ltd; 191p 43.8kg Mosley & Son, Wormhill;

190p 44.3kg S W Deaville, Uttoxeter; 196p 47.8kg ID & EA Hunter, Cresswell

196p 48.8kg D H & J Lovat, Rushton Spencer

179p 53.3kg Shirley & Boam, Longnor

CULL SHEEP (238)

Nice to see respectable numbers forward again with trade strong for the beet end but plainer sorts seem to get harder to sell each week.

Strong ewes from Reg Critchlow sold to £110/head for

Texel crosses. Best Suffolks to £88 and very best mules to £70 but many plainer sorts at £20 - £40 depending on size and some very plain and small ewes at less than

£10/head,

More meated ewes required each week!

CALVES (147)

A tidy entry of calves with all shapes and sizes on offer and buyers for all at realistic prices.

44 Continental Bulls av £222.52 Quality sorts at a premium but the second and certainly third quality harder to move. 16 best bulls topped £300 with a top of £362 for Mark Hodgkinson and family of Earl Sterndale.

10 mediums £200 - £300 with smaller bulls looking good value under £200.

20 Bulls av £195 to £355 - P I R Sales

8 Sims av £282 to £360 - J J & P N Holdcroft

12 Lims av £241 to £362 - H Hodgkinson & Sons

1 Char to £345 - D & G Tudor 35 Continental Heifers av £150.48 A very similar story to the bulls with quality looking ok but some smaller sorts hard to place. Nine best sorts over

£200 with a lovely Blue from Andy Williamson at £252.

Medium heifers generally £130 - £180 with smaller sortsunder £100.

22 Blues av £134 to £252 - RG & AS Williamson

3 Sims av £197 to £245 - J J & P N Holdcroft

9 Lims av £164 to £222 - F Yates & Son

1 Char to £240 - D & G Tudor 39 Native Hereford & Angus Angus bulls sold to £238 for CV Whilock & Sons with heifers looking best sold to £170 for the same vendor.

23 Black & White Bulls £34.67 Stronger rearer’s £70 - £108 for KW Twemlow,

Swinscoe with processing bulls generally £20-£40.

6 Reared Calves

Two tremendous Limousins topped at £460 for FE

Whittaker & Son, Bosley at only 3 months old.