Ayr BF rams reach £18,000
A shortage of commercial buyers saw averages slip on the year at the ‘Newton Stewart’ Blackface ram sale, now staged at Ayr, where prices peaked at £18,000 and £16,000 for lambs and shearlings, respectively.
However, there were slightly more sold, with the event topped by a ram lamb from John Murray, Crossflatt, Muirkirk.
His pen leader, the first son sold by the £125,000 Nunnerie lamb bought last year at Lanark in partnership with Elmscleugh and High Staward, is bred from a ewe by a £150,000 Auldhouseburn lamb. Buying back some of their own genetics, he sold in a twoway split to neighbouring breeders Hugh and Alan Blackwood, Auldhouseburn, and Richard Colley who manages Buccleuch Estates’ Mitchellslacks enterprise at Thornhill, Dumfries.
It might have been a challenging day for breeders with more bottom end rams, but it was an absolute cracker for Richard and Eilidh Nixon, who attend to the Parry family’s Marbrack flock from Carsphairn, when they achieved a personal best of £16,000 for a shearling ram. Their pen leader, is a son of a Dalchirla shearling ram by a £36,000 Midlock, originally bought at Dalmally for £2200 by Dean Aiken, which was re-sold as a threeshear for £1400 when the flock was being reduced. Ian Campbell, Glenrath, Peebles, and Malcolm Coubrough, Hartside Farms, Lamington, were the final bidders on this big tup out of a ewe by a 5000gns Finglen bought at Ballymena.
The Ramsay family’s Milnmark shearling consignment from Dalry, is always one of the most consistent and this year was no exception with a top price of £9000 and an average of £2321 for 14. Their No 2, topped the pen when selling to Hexham-based breeders Andrew and Jamie Murray, Sewingshields and Stell Green. For their money, they get a son of the £26,000 Williamhope shearling shared with Fingland in 2020, out of a ewe by a homebred son of a £16,000 Dyke.
Milnmark shearling sons of the £22,000 Lurg, bought in partnership with Elmscleugh, at Dalmally the same year, also proved popular, with sales at £5000 and £4200.
The dearest, out of a £5000 Allanfauld-sired ewe, was knocked down to Derek Repath, The Yett, Kelso, with the £4200 shearling and pen leader, bred from a £3000 Milnmark daughter, selling to Steven Kerr, Kilwaughter, Northern Ireland.
Norman Hurcomb, Barnvannoch, New Luce, bought the Ramsay’s fourth, by a £2000 Allanfauld.
On the debit side, Milnmark went to £5500 for the pen leader from the Mitchell family’s Little Larg enterprise from New Luce. This was a son of the £11,000 Milnmark shearling purchased here in 2020 with Carscreugh and Kirkmabreck, out of a ewe by a £3000 Elmscleugh.
The same sire was behind Little Larg’s next two shearlings which made £4200 and £4800, to the Bond family’s Glen, Gatehouse enterprise and Stewart McIntosh, Borthwickshields, Hawick, respectively. The former is bred from a ewe by a £13,000 Midlock, with the latter out of a daughter of an £18,000 Dyke. Little Larg produced the lead flock average selling eight shearlings at £2571.
Davie Fergusson and Robin McEwan’s Drannandow consignment from Newton Stewart, was another in the money, selling their show tup for £8000 to Susan Archibald, Larg, Creetown. This was the breed leader at Wigtown and reserve champion at Stranraer and Colmonell, which boasts Jimmy and Donald MacGregor’s genetics on both sides. The sire is a £9000 Dyke, while the dam is by an £18,000 Dyke.
The No 2 Drannandow shearling brought out with assistance of shepherd Joey Robson, by a £4000 Milnmark, and bred from a ewe by a £10,000 High Croach, made £5500 to Andrew Kay, Knockeen, Barr, Girvan.
Drannandow bought several rams including the pen leader from Andrew Kay and sons, Robert and Andrew’s Gass hirsel from Straiton, at £7500. This was a son of a £6000 Dyke, out of a ewe by a £24,000 Glenrath.
Also heading home with Davie Fergusson at £4500 was a shearling from Danny Hair, Dumbreddan, New Luce. His pedigree features a £4000 Parkhall while the dam is by a £2500 Nunnerie.
The No 2 from Drumbreddan, made £5000 selling to Barnvannoch. Top breeding is also behind this big ram, with the sire being a £10,000 Allanfauld, onto a ewe by a £5500 High Croach.
Jimmy and Donald MacGregor’s Dyke flock from Milton of Campsie, was another to produce the goods with a £7000 shearling sale to Andy Paton, Craig, Straiton. He is by a £17,000 Midlock lamb purchased in 2019 at Lanark, with the dam being a daughter of a £14,000 Dyke.
It was another good day for Jimmy Wallace and his daughter Kirsten, too, when they sold shearlings from their Fingland hirsel, Dalry, for £6500 and £5000. The former, by a £4500 Fingland sold to Knockdon last year, is bred from a ewe by a £7000 Cuil, and was purchased by neighbouring breeder, Robert McTurk, Barlaes, Dalry.
The £5000 entry is by the same £26,000 Williamhope that sired the £9000 Milnmark shearling, out of a daughter of the £10,000 Madrissa. He was knocked down to Milnmark.
While more lambs were sold than last year, the trade was selective, with Rob and Karen Hannah, son Robert and daughter Kayleigh, selling the second top priced lot at £7000 from their 30-ewe flock at High Balyett, Stranraer. Selling to Drannandow and Colin McClymont, Cuil, Palnure, was a son of a Drumbreddan tup used on loan, that was by a £7000 Drumbreddan. The dam, a show ewe that was reserve at the spring show at Newton Stewart, is a daughter of a £2200 Dyke.
Kirstyn and Eoin Blackwood, Dalblair, Muirkirk, also had a good day amongst the lambs with sales at £6000 and £5000.
The pen leader, by the £13,000 shared Glenrath lamb bought in 2020 that last year bred sons to £32,000 and £30,000 for the flock, is out of a ewe by a £28,000 Auldhouseburn and sold to Keith Brooke, Carscreugh, Glenluce at £5000.
The second lamb, by a £13,000 Elmscleugh out of a ewe by the same Auldhouseburn sire, sold to Alan McClymont, Kirkstead, Yarrow.
OTHERLEADING prices
Shearling rams – £3500 – Little Larg, by a home-bred son of a £3200 Midlock, to A Baillie, Challochglass, Newton Stewart. £3200 – Drannandow, by a £4000 Milnmark, to Barnvannoch; Glen Gatehouse, by a £17,000 Fingland, to W and E Bennie, Merkins, Gartocharn; Garchew, by a £2000 Kirkmabreck, to D Wilson, Kirkmabreck, Creetown.
Ram lambs – £3000 – Balrazzie, by a £14,000 Dalblair, to R Wood, West Bracklinn, Callander. £2500 – Crossflatt, by a £125,000 Nunnerie, to Elmscleugh. £2200 – Orchilmore by Crossflatt Blaze, to D Morrison, Dalwyne, Barr. £2000 – Culdoach, by a £5000 High Staward, to Dalwyne; Allanfauld, by 30,000gns McCurdy to Messrs Paterson, Aultmuirhouse, Coylton.