Farming and pets Leek market

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22

A BUSIER than expected Tuesday following a very wet & windy weekend with 249 Cattle & 876 Sheep.

Barrens sold on a very strong trade with the best to 168p/kg to average overall 140p/kg which is the best we have seen for a very very long time so please keep numbers coming. Clean cattle sold up to 246p/kg.

Dairies sold on a solid trade with a good ring of buyers selling up to £2140 for heifers and cows to £2120.

Hoggetts sold to a good enquiry with the best topping at 339p/kg and SQQ average of 272.17p/kg. Plenty of lambs 300p and better. Cull ewes are in a very strong demand with the best to £182 and averaging £109.35 so keep numbers coming!

A bumper show of calves this week which is good to see, meeting a large crowd of buyers, trade topped at £425 for a Limousin bull calf and heifers to £380 for a suckler bred Limousin.

Trade for pigs was an improvement on last week, but still not back to where they should be. Top price of 104p/kg for bacon pigs.

BARREN COWS (22);

Selling time – 10:00am Auctioneer – Graham Watkins (07976 370894)

A small entry sold on a very strong trade with an overall average of 140p/kg or £987.35 per head!! Top price of 168p/kg for a 785kg Aberdeen Angus cow from RE & KM Clowes, Kingsley with a 755kg Dairy Shorthorn realising 157p/kg for RF & JP Critchlow, Hartington, 156p/kg for a 630kg Montbeliarde from EB & BM Sutton, Moreton.

Top headage prices of

£1318.80 for the 785kg Angus from RE & KM Clowes, with Holsteins to £1247.40, £1191.40 and £1141 and Shorthorns to £1185.35.

CLEAN CATTLE;

Selling time – 10:45am approx. Auctioneer – Graham Watkins (07976 370894)

A small entry sold on a solid trade topping at 246p/kg for a 530kg Charolais heifer from D & JM Williams, Basford, with a 500kg British Blue selling for 230p/kg from R P Hall, Buxton who also sold a 500kg Angus for 228p/kg.

Friesian steers sold up to 187p/kg for a 655kg steer from DR & A Shuker, Bosley who also sold a 635kg Friesian steer for 186p/kg and a 645kg Brown Swiss for 186p/kg.

Top headage price of £1303.80 & 1219.30 for heifers with steers to £1228.84.

DAIRIES;

Selling time – 11:30am Auctioneers – Meg Elliott (07967 007049) & Mark Elliott (07973 673092)

Another very buoyant trade in the dairy shed saw all qualities and stages of lactation sell exceptionally well.

Topping the day at £2140 was a very pretty heifer from Richard Lomas of Calow. Hot in pursuit was a second calver from John Allan at £2120. Andrew Mills of Ratcliffe on Wreake saw his heifer reach £2100.

Numerous other heifers were in that £1700 - £2000 bracket.

Next week we have a special entry of 17 British Friesians, Shorthorns & Jersey x Cow & heifers from Messrs Wilkinson of Byley. Milk quality 4.82%F 3.61%F, cc114, cubicles and abreast.

PIGS (107);

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

Less forward this week and an improvement in trade to last week. Pork pigs sold up to 95p/ kg for 70kg pigs from J & B Fentem, who sold others at 88p/ kg twice and 87p/kg.

Cutting pigs sold up to 94p/kg for 76kg pigs from J & B Fentem, with a pen of 76kg pigs at 89p/ kg for P J Barker.

Bacon pigs topped the day at 104p/kg for 89kg gilts from Massie Farms who also sold 89kg gilts for 102p/kg, 99p/kg and 97p/kg. PF & PD Parsons sold 98kg and 95kg pigs for 96p/ kg and 95p/kg with the Fentems selling bacon pigs for 93p/kg, 90p/kg and 88p/kg.

Heavy pigs sold up to 99p/ kg for 105kg gilts from Massie Farms, 86p/kg for 111kg pigs from JA & B Minshull, Buxton, 73p/kg for a 106kg pig from the Parsons and 72p/kg for 117kg pigs from Mr Minshull.

Cull sows topped at 42p/ kg for a 288kg sow from Ray Rowlinson, with a 190kg sow realsied 40p/kg for Laura Smith, Basford. 37p/kg and 33p/kg for sows from P & N Allen with others between 31p to 33p/kg.

SHEEP SECTION;

Selling time 11:00am

Auctioneer – Robert Watkins (07929 946652)

BUTCHERS HOGGETS (605);

A few less this week as Hogget number tighten and talk of a slight drop in trade nationally, however, a strong trade was seen again this week. Top price of 339p/kg with plenty of prime weight lambs 310p and above. Heavy lambs topped at 290p/kg or £150.65.

SQQ average of 272.17p/kg or overall 258.25p/kg.

CULL SHEEP (271);

Another smashing trade for ewes and buyers out in force looking for numbers! Top price of £182 and £177 for continentals from J & GJ Fryer, Horton with numerous other pens £150 and above! Mules anything between £105 - £130 and hill types less than £90.

Overall average of £109.35!!

CALVES (194);

Selling time – 10:00am Auctioneer - Oliver Hiles (07801 530899)

A bumper show of calves today as we move towards the Spring flush that included 3 consignments of returning vendors after TB shutdowns. 55 Continental Bulls

Fantastic numbers in the continentals and some good well made and framed calves in the offering. Two superb Limousins from the Whittaker family, Bosley sold at £425 and £400. 14 best topped £310, mediums £230 £290 with younger calves either side of £200.

46 Continental Heifers

Good choice for the buyers but they had to work hard to get the numbers they required. A super Limousin out of a suckler sold at £380 for John Naylor with strong Blues to £340 and superb fresh Blondes to £312. 12 best over £220, mediums £170 - £200 with smaller, plainer or youngers calves less money.

22 Blues av £209 to £340 Blythe Bridge Hall Farm

13 Sims av £156 to £235 - DG & JA Ball

7 Lims av £169 to £380 - J W Naylor & Sons

2 Blondes av £226 to £312 - B E Wain

49 Natives

All good to sell today although not the quality of previous weeks.

8 Hereford Bulls av £127 to £190 - B E Wain

21 AA Bulls av £134 to £220 - D E Holmes & Son

8 Hereford Heifers av £71 to £160 - FJ Gould & Son

12 AA Heifers av £74 to £150