Drumnahive Beltex star amongst the lambs
THE Smith family from Drumnahive, Kildrummy, had a field day at the Classic, winning their first supreme overall prime lamb championship with a pair of Beltex entries that went on to top the trade at £500 per head.
Susan and daughters Emma (17) and Laura (15) and son Neil (13), who run 50 commercial ewes and 20 pure Beltex, took the top honours with a pair of lambs by a tup bought privately from Gary Morrison, Bush of Muldearie – a ram that last year bred the champion butchers lambs here and the supreme entries on the hoof at the Aberdeen Spring Show, in March.
“It has been a great show of lambs – all credit to the producers,” said the judge, Bill Mackinnon, procurement manager at Scotbeef. “The champions were a well matched pair being well balanced throughout and extremely well presented,” he said.
April-born and scaling 46kg per head, they later sold for the top price to JB Penman Butchers, Crail, Anstruther.
Brothers William (25) and David (23) Moir, Newmill, Home Farm Cairness, Fraserburgh, enjoyed their best event to date too, winning the reserve overall honours as well as the butchers champions and the Young Farmers with three different pairings and all the same way bred.
The brothers who have been exhibiting here for six years and last year produced the overall champion winners, this time had to settle with the bridesmaids’ award with a pair of threequarter-bred home-bred, Beltex crosses. They are by a Culsh ram bought at Carlisle in 2020, scaled 55kg and later sold for £420 per head to Ian and Gavin McIntosh of IJ McIntosh Butchers, Fraserburgh.
Their butchers’ champions, two 48kg Beltex crosses by the same sire made £300 per head to Scotbeef, Inverurie with the Young Farmers’ winners, 49kg Beltex from David Moir, making £250 to the same buyer.
Mid-April-born Beltex lambs from Ronnie Wilkie and his grand-son Gordon Forbes, Tillyboy, Echt, bagged the reserve butchers title. They are by a Muirton ram bought at Carlisle for 700gns, passed the weigh bridge at 44.5kg and made £240 again to Scotbeef.
James Lowe, South Tarwathie, Strichen, lifted the blue and white sash in the Young Farmers’ section with a 45kg Beltex cross duo which later made £280 to IJ McIntosh Butchers.
Overall, 74 pairs of lambs sold to average 365p per kg or £168.41
LEADING awards
Pairs of lambs – Continental – Lightweight – 1, G Morrison, Balloch Road, Keith (Belt) 42kg, unsold; 2, R Wilkie, Tillyboy, Echt ( Cont) 39.5kg, £115; 3, J Bywater, Corbanchory, Strathdon (Rouge) 41.5kg, £98. Mediumweight – 1 and champion, Messrs Smith, Drumahive, Kildrummy (Belt) 46kg, £500; 2, B Duffton, Bogie Street, Huntly (Dutch Spotted) 46kg, £165; 3, D Moir, Newmill Home Farm, Cairness (Cont) 45kg, £145. Heavyweight – 1 and reserve champion, D Moir (Belt) 55kg, £420; 2, R Wilkie (Cont) 47.5kg, £155; 3, Craigiebank Farms, Forgie, Keith (Rouge) 46.5kg, £130
Two Half-bred/Mule – 1, R Wilkie (Mule) 49kg, £120.
Down cross – 1, T Linklater, Stonelea, Stenness, 42kg, £160; 2, R Wilkie, 46kg, £150; 3, R Wilkie, 54kg, £150.
Blackface – 1, R Wilkie, 40kg, £100.
Charollais – 1, R Wilkie, 49kg, £170.
Butchers lambs – Lightweight – 1 and reserve butchers’ R Wilkie (Belt) 44.5kg, £240; 2, G Morrison (Belt) 42.5kg, £150. Heavyweight – 1 and butchers’ champion, D Moir (Belt) 48kg, £300; 2, Messrs Smith, Drumnahive (Belt) 45.5kg, £165.
Any breed or cross – Lightweight – 1, J Lowe, South Tarwathie, Strichen (45kg), unsold; 2, J Lowe (Belt) 40kg, £140; 3, Emma and Laura Smith, Drumnahive (Belt) 43.5kg, £145. Heavyweight – 1, D Moir (Belt) 49kg, £250; 2, T Linklater, Stonelea, Stenness (Belt) 49kg, £180; 3, L Gallier, The Steading, Daviot, Inverurie (Tex) 47kg, £130.
Native – 1, R Wilkie 49kg, £125.
Continental – Lightweight – 1, C Abernethy, Belvedere, Middleton of Potterton, Aberdeen (Cont) 44kg, unsold; 2, G Morrison (Belt) 44kg, £130; 3, C Abernethy (Cont) 48kg, unsold. Heavyweight – 1, D Moir (Cont) 55kg, £145; 2, R Wilkie 51.5kg, £135; 3, Jacqueline Davidson, Southfield, New Deer (Tex) 59kg, £130.