THOSE ALL-IMPORTANT PRICES
LUDLOW, MARCH 24
STORE CATTLE: 421 cattle forward for the second sale in March. Once again, a ring full of buyers for all types. OTM Cattle topped at 177p/kg or £800 and averaged 122p/kg or £641. Bulls topped at 283p/kg or £1,085 with an average of 226.5p/kg or £839. Steers topped at 303p/kg or £1265 and averaged 208p/kg or £922. Top-price heifers made 278p/kg or £1,180 to average 194p/kg or £772.
TALGARTH, MARCH 24
HOGGETS AND LAMBS: A vastly improved trade averaging 187p/kg, topping at 200p/kg for a pen of 45kg lambs from DP Eckley, Dderw, and a pen of 40kg lambs from Eckley Farms, Fforddfawr. Any amount of pens 190p/kg plus, with a run from AG Baker, Dunswater, making 197p/kg, 196p/kg and 193p/kg for hoggetts weighing between 43.5kg and 46kg. Another run from MAT Skyrme sold well, topping at 195p/kg with following pens at 195p/kg, 194p/kg and 193p/kg for 44kg to 45kg lambs. Good meated lambs were in excellent demand and more could have easily been sold, with firms wanting numbers. The lighter weights were also exceptional, topping at 194p/kg for a pen of 33kg lambs from DP Price, Maesygarn. CULL EWES: Another flyer averaging £73/hd up to £110/hd. A good level trade, plenty of demand but no real cracking continental ewes forward which can be sold at a premium at Talgarth. Rams also an excellent trade, topping at £97.50/hd and averaging £77.63/hd. Leaner ewes are outselling big fat ewes.
NEWCASTLE EMLYN, MARCH 21
STORES: A larger entry of weaned calves and store cattle forward, with a few less barrens. Barrens saw a fast trade for the quality presented and many more
could have been sold to an advantage. Beef breeds peaked at 128.0p/kg and levelled at 118.0p/kg, while dairies topped at 102.0p/kg and came to a mean of 90.0p/kg. Weaned and store cattle saw a better quality of entries presented this time and sold to a fast run from start to finish, with several buyers leaving empty-handed.
MONMOUTHSHIRE, MARCH 29
FINISHED HOGGETS: A much larger entry of 1,707 tegs generally easier than earlier in the week but best sorts maintaining strong demand, selling well over 190 pence, including a top price of 200p/kg (£90-45kg) from OJ & KE Harris, followed by 198p/kg (£82.80-44.7kg) from NJ & CV Turner; 197p/kg (£81.80-41.5kg) from L& H Gnieswosz & Sons; 196p/ kg (£80.20-41kg) from SB Morgan; 195p/kg (£86-44kg) from TW & BE Jones. Heavies less money, with a top price per kilo of 188p/kg (£87-46.3kg) from BW Jones & Son, and top price per head of £92 (59kg) from IG Jones. Standard weights to 191p/kg (£69-36.2kg) and lights to 189p/kg (£59.50-31.5kg), both from RM & ME Edwards. Leaner sorts more difficult to move. CULL SHEEP: A larger entry of 566 to a flyer of a trade on all types. Suffolk X ewes to £116 from LH Attewell, £105 from RE Gilder and also PC Jenkins. Texel ewes to £108.50 from R& L Anthony. 14 pens over £95. Mules to a super £92 from JV & RJ Williams. Cheviots sold to £74, best of the Welsh to £58 from BB Farms, top end generally £48 plus, very plain £20-£30. Not many strong tups on offer, Charollais sold to £98 from HW, FA & BH Parry, Welsh to £73 from WJ & GA Williams. Toothers to £75 from IG Jones. STORE SHEEP: A small seasonal entry of store tegs
sold to £60 from DA & WA Stone; £58 from R& J Morris, smaller tegs £30-£40. Ram tegs to £60 from A Shenkerov. Couples sold to £81 for broken mouth Speckled ewes with 1.6 lambs from IE Cook. Some strong orphan lambs on offer, which sold between £12 & £14 for the best. REARING CALVES: Today’s sale saw an entry of 95 forward, which takes the tally for March to 476! New customers attending the sale once again, attracted to this popular weekly sale, keep these calves coming – we can manage 100-plus each week. Seventeen Beef bulls were easily sold, with a pair of Limousins from WL & A Windsor, Whitland, achieving £408, £402 and finding a new home in North Devon, other Continentals £370 for Lim X from JB, M & MA Williams, Pontrilas, and a young BBX at £270 from AR Edwards & Son, Newport. Native bulls were predominantly younger sorts which sold to £190 for AAX from A& R Giles, Glasbury On Wye, with others regularly £145-£180. Thirteen heifer calves were again keenly bid for, with most destined for Suckler replacements. JB, M & MA Williams, Pontrilas, sold Lim X to £300 with others at £290 & £280; WL & A Windsor, Whitland, sold at £280 and AR Edwards & Son, Newport, achieved £250 & £240. An abundance of Dairy bulls (65) were a straight trade throughout the day and averaged £50.34 for everything sold. Best sorts to £130 from AR Edwards & Son, Newport, with others at £108 from Price & Co Farming Ltd, Hengoed. Younger sorts to £80 from A& R Giles, Jerseys to £10 from GL Morgan, Abergavenny. BREEDING CATTLE: Just five forward today, a BBX Cow (79m) & her heifer calf (17d) from J Lawrence & Sons sold at £1,180. A Pedigree Welsh Black Cow (149m) with twin bull calves (7m) from WT & M
Jenkins sold for £800. STIRKS/YOUNG STORES: 65 forward to a lively trade. Steers sold to a top of £930 for smart 10-month-old Limousins from AJ Hale, Caerleon. The same vendor also topped the heifers at £915. GL Rees, Penderyn, sold 10-month Limousin steers to £920. FEEDING BULLS: Seven bulls forward, topping at £890 for a Blonde (8m) from WN Waters & Sons, with another similar bull from the same home at £800. STORE CATTLE: A better quality show of 241 store cattle forward, selling to a fast trade with all well-bred sorts eagerly sought. Short keep sorts and outliers very easy to sell to a large crowd of potential buyers. Feeding steers to £1,245 (593kg-19m) for smart Limousin crosses from JCD & KA Richardson & Son, Itton. MT & DR Watkins, Llantilio Pertholey, sold Charolais crosses to £1,230 (610kg-22m). Good grazing types £1,100-plus. Well-bred yearlings sold to £1,200 (510kg-9m) from EG Morgan, Sennybridge, with similar sorts at £1,155 (490kg-11m). Plenty of well drawn bunches of yearling steers 240-260/kg. Feeding heifers including a small number of exceptional types which sold to £1,255 (570kg-25m) for Limousin crosses from AR Prichard, St Nicholas. Charolais crosses to £1,200 (640kg-21m) from MT & DR Watkins, Llantilio Pertholey. Charolais crosses from HA Williams & Son, Oldcastle, sold to £1,125 (540kg-20m) and 244p/kg for smart Limousin crosses from BW & MM Thomson & Partners, Llanharan. Well-bred types 230-240p/kg. CULL CATTLE: 24 culls to another very strong trade, although the entry was generally lacking strength this week. Top prices including Friesians to £1,075 from L& H Gniewosz & Sons. British Blues to £1,050 from DA Evans & Partners, the same vendors making £940 for a Marchiana. Limousin heifers to £1,060 & £1,020, both from T& D Thomas & Sons and Mrs A Walker. Limousin bulls to £920 from Miss MJ Gallagher.