For the first time in some years, gross takings for the Kelso Ram Sales – the last under secretary and treasurer, Ron Wilson – exceeded the £3m mark, buoyed by prime lamb values £8 to £10 per head up on the year and better demand for breeding sheep.
Despite the continued uncertainty relating to Brexit and future exports of sheep meat to the continent, producers defied the odds buying more tups and at a higher value than last year.
Overall, some 4452 rams were cashed to average £710 per head, which is a rise of £24 per head on the year and for 167 more sold.
However, while overall sale averages were up, there was some air of caution as producers were very much focussed on buying tups with size, shape and good skins, and more importantly, sheep that would produce progeny with the potential to attract a premium in the market place. 
Not surprisingly, it was the sheep that could improve overall flock production and performance which showed the biggest increase on the year, while those at tail end of all breeds and crosses saw a lot more sell in the £300-£400 bracket. 
With breeding sheep values up on the year, the Bluefaced Leicester breed again produced the lead average at £988 – up £44 on the year for 534 head, backed up by two five-figure sales.
However, it was the Texel breed that scooped the lead price overall when a shearling ram from Karen Wight’s Midlock flock, from Crawford, sold for £23,000 in a three-way split to John Elliot, Roxburgh Mains; Jonathan Watson, Bowsden Moor, and Mike and Melanie Alford, Foxhill Farm.
The Texel breed also dominated many of the top sales, with this year’s entry seeing a colossal 1002 registered shearlings and ram lambs level at £866.10, which is a rise of £12 on the year for 31 more.
Furthermore, Steven Renwick’s Craig Douglas pen of Texels shearlings achieved the best flock average of the day when eight cashed in to average £2927.53.
Bluefaced Leicesters produced the next two top sales at £12,000 and £10,000, with the former from Allan and Ben Wight, Midlock, Crawford, who also produced last year’s £12,000 sale leader, while the latter was consigned by James and Linda Dick and son Colin, Hamildean, who were enjoying their best ever trade at Kelso.
And, with prime lamb values up on the year – up until the last couple of weeks – the other big player in the market, the Suffolk breed, saw a strong demand for shearling rams with averages rising in both the registered and unregistered sections.
Leading this section at £4000 was a high index ram from Alan and Lorna Jackson’s Rugley flock, from Alnwick, while the unregistered lines were topped by a tup from Alistair Warden’s Skelfhill flock for the second year in succession, which made £3400.
First time consignor, Gary Beacom, Lakeview, Northern Ireland, also took the sales by storm, selling the lead priced Suffolk lamb at £4800, which was also the top priced lamb of all breeds, with his pen of 20 cashing in at £850 per head.
Last year’s top lamb breeder, Allan Campbell, Strawfrank, Carstairs, also had another great year, selling the top Texel lamb at £4400 and five of the top nine highest overall lamb prices. His pen of 17 averaged £1700.
Most breeds enjoyed a good sale, with the exception of the North Country Cheviots. This breed saw averages dip more than £110 on the year to cash in at £313 – a level not seen in the past 10 years.