Leek market
Tuesday, January 15
A BUSY week at Leek with the monthly Pedigree Dairy sale taking place with a top price of £2020 for a heifer from Mark and Lynne Hodgkinson.
Another good show of hogget’s this week with a solid trade throughout, especially for the quality sorts. Top price of 236p/kg or £108.16/head with an SQQ average of 193.73p/kg.
A full shed of pigs this week with new vendors in attendance and a firm trade. Bacon pigs sold to 130p/kg with weaners to £48/head.
Barrens continue to sell well, inline with the national trends, with no best meated sorts forward. A top price achieved of 114p/ kg or £902/head. Clean cattle sold to 171p/ kg or £952/head.
An improved trade in the calf section with Simmental bull calves to £455 and £440.
BARREN COWS (54);
Selling time – 10:00am
Auctioneer – Graham Watkins (07976 370894)
A decent show of barren cattle forward today, with decent trade throughout.
Top price of 114p/kg for a 680kg Friesian from A & J Boam, Leek with others to 110p/kg for a 820kg Brown Swiss from Bradda Farm, Biddulph Moor and 107p/ kg for a 810kg Holstein from WG & J Clark, Bradnop.
Other top prices;
106p 695kg Friesian - TD & SE Hine, Meerbrook
104p 640kg Simmental - S Kidd Farmers, Longnor
104p 800kg Holstein - G E Brookes & Partners, Loxley
101p 850kg Holstein - A & JE Goldstraw, Waterhouses
100p 695kg Holstein - D & G Tudor, Kingsley Moor
100p 605kg Holstein - J R Johnson & Sons, Ipstones
Overall average of 89.72p/kg or £604.18 per head.
Top headage price of £902 for the Brown Swiss with others to £866.70 and £858.50.
Overage steers sold to 163p/kg for a 670kg Hereford steer from K J White & Co, Swinscoe with others at 152p/kg twice for 655kg and 700kg Hereford steers to gross up to £1117.80 and £1092.10.
A 1035kg Angus bull from J M Robinson, Swythamley sold to 108p/kg to gross £1117.80.
CLEAN CATTLE;
Selling time – 10:45am approx.
Auctioneer – Graham Watkins (07976 370894)
A small entry sold to 171p/kg for a 535kg Blonde steer from J S Hine, Biddulph Park with a 505kg Blonde steer from the same vendor at 168p/kg.
A 500kg Saler heifer sold to 163p/kg and also for a 535kg Angus heifer from Rushton Spencer.
A 595kg Hereford bull sold at 160p/kg for H & E Bailey & Partners.
Top headage price of £952 for bulls, steers to £914.85 and heifers to £872.50.
DAIRIES (80);
Selling time – 11:00am
Auctioneers – Meg Elliott (07967 007049) & Mark Elliott (07973 673092)
A strong entry of 80 Dairies forward at Leek on Tuesday saw the better end sell well with third quality sorts a little harder to move.
Regular vendors Mark and Lynne Hodgkinson of Earl Sterndale had a fabulous group forward and topped the
day at £2020 for a Delta Fidelity daughter whose dam boasted 3 x over 10,000kg. She attracted keen interest from many parties and was eventually clinched by Eric Parkes of Melton Mowbray.
They had a second heifers to £2000, a 31kg Leif daughter who went to Messrs Drabble of Litton. They also took a second from the same home at £1950.
Included within the Hodgkinson’s entry was a non pedigree Montbeliarde cross which caught the eye of many. Giving 32kg the hammer eventually dropped at £1870 to Messrs Minshull.
Andrew and Joanna Bunting of Bakewell showed a tremendous cow and heifer. The cow, a Ballycairn Mascol Mars daughter was fresh with her second and giving 42kg. She reached £1700 to Geoff Millington of Wincle. The heifer from the same home by Ladys-manor Rd Grafeeti made £1980 to Messrs Parkes.
The Holdcroft family showed a great packet of heifers with the Gilman family taking two at £1900 and £1860.
Overall trade continues to hold with plenty of demand around the ring for milky sorts. Please get in touch me if you have any to sell. (Meg 07967 007049).
1st Quality Heifers to £2020 av £1872
2nd Quality Heifers to £1650 av £1495
1st Quality Heifers to £1700 av £1700
2nd Quality Cows to £1640 av £1487
PIGS (197);
Selling time – 9:15am
Auctioneer – Graham Watkins (07976 370894)
A brilliant entry of pigs today, the most seen in a long while with trade well in line with national trends.
Pork pigs sold to 115p/kg for a pair of 58kg pigs from new vendor D J Pope, Watlington.
Cutting pigs sold to 116p/kg three times for a 77kg pig from AJ & ME Minshall, for 85kg pigs from PF & PD Parsons, Maelor and 76.6kg pigs from J & B Fentem & Sons. Others at 112p/kg for 83kg pigs from S Bailey, Biddulph.
Bacon pigs sold to 130p/kg for a 93kg pig from PF & PD Parsons who also sold a pair of 92kg pigs at 126p/kg. John Minshall sold baconers to 120p/kg with the Fentem family selling a pair of 101kg pigs at 118p/kg.
Heavy pigs sold to 88p/kg for a pair of 125kg pigs from L & S Lane, Risley with a 125kg pig from J Wheawall, Leigh at 82p/ kg.
Cull sows sold well to top at 69/kg for a 244kg sow from Stuart Massey, Marton with others from MC & EA Beattie, Allostock at 63p/kg for a 256kg sow, 62p/kg twice for 318kg and 312kg sows and 60p/kg for a 217kg sow from Stuart Massey. Cull boars sold to 60p/kg for a 182kg boar from Lane End Farm Trust, Millers Dale.
Averages:pork Pigs (5) - av 113.68p/kg or £66.39/ head
Cutting Pigs (21) - av 106.27p/kg or £86.83/head
Bacon Pigs (81) - av 101.33p/kg or £94.11/head
Heavy Pigs (5) - av 84.41p/kg or £107.63/ head
Cull Sows (9) - av 59.14p/kg or £158.86/ head
A large entry of 74 pigs on offer with a top of £48 per head for two pens and £44/head for one pen, all from D J Pope, Watlington. S Kidd Farmers, Longnor sold stores to £35/head with others at £22/head for a pen of twelve 17kg weaners from S Proctor, Longnor.
SHEEP SECTION;
Selling time 11:00am
Auctioneer – Robert Watkins (07929 946652)
BUTCHERS LAMBS (689);
Disappointing not to have a few more about, particularly as trade improved as the sale progressed as buyers tried to fill orders.
Best lambs attracted very fir interest as always and a top price of 236p/kg was achieved. The top 10% of the entry achieved an average of 226p/kg. SQQ average of 194p/kg representing a mixed sample.
Light lambs saw particularly strong bidding throughout and many more could have been sold. 50kg plus saw a more limited demand than we have been used to but still a good number grossing £90 and above. Top headage price of £108.16.
Sample prices;