New NCC record at £28,000
A North Country Cheviot ram from Robert and Becca Rennie, Attonburn, sold for a record breaking £28,000 at the breed sale at Lairg, on Monday.
Living up to his name was the two-shear ram, Attonburn Bonnie Lad, by Sorbietrees Viscount, a tup bought for £2200 at Lockerbie in partnership with Alan Hutcheon, of the Hartside Hill flock for Linhope Farming Partnership, Powburn. Bonnie Lad is bred from a home-bred ewe and sold in a two-way split between Norman and David Douglas of the Whitehope flock from Catslackburn, Yarrow and William Dunlop and Sons, Commonside, Hawick.
The Rennies had a great day with another four two-shear rams making big money to produce a phenomenal sale average of £9350 for six.
Next best for them was an £8000 sale for Attonburn Blizzard, a son of the Hethpool-sired, Attonburn Xodus, which which was knocked down to Andrew Elliot buying for his Balnakeil flock at Durness, Sutherland.
Coul Estate, Newtonmore, managed by Allan MacDiarmid, then forked out £7000 for Attonburn Bull Rider, a son of the £7000 Woodside Wahoo bought here in 2019.
The last four-figure priced Attonburn ram at £6500, was purchased by Badanloch Estate, Kinbrace, managed by Hughie MacKenzie. This was Attonburn Braveheart, a son of the £1300 Lockerbie purchase, Heatherhope Vicious Stu that bred sons to £10,000 on two previous occasions.
On the credit side, Badanloch Estate sold a threeshear for £12,000 to Coul Estate. He is the last son to be sold by the £5000 Armadale Seagull, which was bought here in 2017.
His pen mate from Badanloch made £9000 to Murdo and Heather MacDonald, Achentoul Cottage, Kinbrace. He is by Suisgill Sumo, a ram purchased here in 2019.
Linhope Farming Partnership sold their best, Hartside Hill Bronco, for £8500 to Martyn Cook, buying for his Dorrery flock at Scotscalder, Caithness. A half brother to the sale leader, he is a son of Sorbietrees Viscount.
Next in the trade stakes at £7000 was the two-shear ram, Sorbietrees Bruno, from Drew Oliver’s Hillend-based flock. A son of North House Reliant which was purchased for £4500 in 2015, he is out of a Whitchester-sired ewe and was knocked down to Messrs Curwen, Marshaw Farm, Lancaster.
Jan MacKenzie’s North Loch Naver flock from Caithness sold to £6000 for a two-shear purchased by George and Sabrina Ross, Heatherlea Croft, near Ardgay. He is by the £7000 Langdale ‘Lets Be Having You’ ram that was bought here in 2020 and bred from a home-bred ewe.
It was also a great day for Norman and David Douglas’ Whitehope flock, Yarrow, when they took £5500 from Attonburn for a two-shear ram. He is by Suisgill Vanguard £14,000 – purchased in 2018 – and out of a home-bred ewe.
The same home also took £4000 for the similarly aged Whitehope Batman, a son of the £14,000 Badanloch Vava Voom, purchased by Eskdalemuir Forestry Ltd, Langholm, Dumfriesshire.
Achentoul Farms, Kinbrace, sold two half brothers at £5200 and £5000 to Welsh breeder, Jamie Jerman in Powys. Both are sired by the £4200 Badanloch Mr Brightside, bought here in 2019, and out of home-bred ewes.
Another similarly aged ram from the same home, this time by an Inkstack ram, made £4800, selling to Attonburn.
Top price for Joyce Campbell’s Armadale flock from Sutherland, was £5000 paid by Badanloch, for a two-shear ram by the £7000 Badanloch Battleship ram which last year bred sons to £10,000
The long trip north from Northumberland to Lairg, also proved positive for Dallas and Ruth Allen, who sold a son of Badanloch Tip Top Tup, from their Humbleheugh-based operation for £4800. The buyer was Andrew Elliot, Balnakeil.
The two-shear Dalrachie Balvenie from Alan and Sarah Jane Forbes’ Ballindallochbased unit attracted a £4200 bid when selling to Messrs Thomson, Ronaldsay, Orkney. He is backed by home-bred genetics on both sides with his sire being Dalrachie Ali.
Auctioneers: United Auctions.