A LEAD price of £85,000 backed up by a further 17 sales at or above the £10,000 bracket and numerous other high four-figure sales, ensured a record breaking average of £4161 – up more than £1000 – at last week’s Blackface ram lamb sale at Lanark.
It was another cracking day for the Dunlops from Elmscleugh too. Having sold the lead priced lamb at Dalmally the previous week at £100,000, the team of Willie and sons Quintin and William, again topped the trade at £85,000 with another three lambs selling at five figures.
The boys who run 2200 pure ewes at Elmscleugh, Innerwick, Dunbar, first saw their pen leader, by a home-bred son of a £12,000 Gass retained for breeding, make £85,000 to Hugh and Alan Blackwood, Auldhouseburn, Cumnock and John Campbell and Sons, Glenrath, Peebles. The dam, a home-bred ewe, is by a £16,000 Crossflatt.
Sons of the £160,000 Dalchirla tup lamb bought last year at Dalmally, proved extremely popular throughout the day, with Elmscleugh receiving £25,000 and £15,000, for two. Dearest was the No 2, bred from a ewe by a £3500 Silloans, purchased by the second last bidders on the first lamb – Burncastle Farming Co, Lauder, managed by Alan Rogerson; Billy Renwick, Blackhouse, Yarrow; Tommy Renwick, Williamhope, Clovenfords and John Finlay, Blackcraig, Corsock.
Bill Ramsay and sons, Wilson, Jim and Colin, Milnmark, Dalry and Glen, Gatehouse, managed by Robert MacTaggart, bought the £15,000 lamb, which was out of a ewe by a home-bred son of a £22,000 Nunnerie.
Home-bred genetics from Elmscleugh, also came up with the goods with the Dunlops also taking £11,000 for their fourth lamb, a son of the £11,000 Elmscleugh shearling sold the previous day, out of a ewe by an Elmscleugh son of a 60,000 Nunnerie. The buyers were Alan Smith, Crosswoodburn and Matthew Hamilton, South Cobbinshaw, both West Calder.
John Murray, Crossflatt, Cumnock, and neighbouring breeders Hugh and Alan Blackwood, Auldhouseburn, also enjoyed a flying trade for sons of the £160,000 Dalchirla, with the second top price of £52,000 achieved for the best from Crossflatt.
This was the overall champion at Muirkirk Show which also stood first in his class at Peebles. An ET lamb bred from a ewe by a £26,000 Crossflatt, this show stopper sold in a three-way split to David Morrison, Dalwyne, Barr; Jim and Eion Blackwood, Dalblair, Cumnock, with Mr Murray retaining the remaining third.
His full ET brother then made £24,000 to brothers John and Charlie Harkin, Loughash, Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
Auldhouseburn enjoyed just as good a trade, selling five lambs to average £21,000 of which four were sons of the £160,000 Dalchirla.
Top price for this father and son duo was £36,000 paid for their pen leader, bred from a ewe by a £90,000 Blackhouse. Crossflatt and Paul Coulson, High Staward, Hexham, split the cost between them.
Buying back some of his own genetics, Ian Hunter, Dalchirla, Muthill, along with Allan Wight, Midlock, Crawford, and Ewen Macmillan, Lurg, Fintry, then went to £28,000 for another bred the same way with the mothers being a full ET sister to that of the £36,000 lamb.
Not to be outdone, Auldhouseburn’s No 4 lamb, by the £50,000 Crossflatt lamb bought last year, made £20,000. Andrew Kay, Gass, Straiton, Loughash and Blackcraig, were the last men in on this lamb bred from a ewe by a £65,000 Auldhouseburn.
The team from Midlock – Allan, son Allan and his son Ben, along with shepherds Brian Gilchrist and Iain Clark – as always enjoyed a great trade, with two lambs making £30,000 each.
The first and No 2 lamb, by a £7000 Midlock lamb of which a share was retained in 2014 and out of a ewe by a £28,000 Loughash, headed home with Sheila Kay and son Jack, Hartside, Lammermuir, Lauder and Mary McCall-Smith, Connachan, Crieff.
The second £30,000 bid came from a joint deal between Alastair and David MacArthur, Nunnerie, Elvanfoot, and Duncan MacGregor, Burnhead, Queenzieburn, Glasgow. This was paid for a Midlock lamb by Gold Blend – a home-bred son of a £40,000 Dalchirla retained for breeding last year – out of a ewe by a £26,000 Auldhouseburn.
Despite an early calling, Davie Morrison, Dalwyne, Barr, obtained £22,000 for his pen leader, a son of the £12,000 Crossflatt bought last year, out of a ewe by a £60,000 Midlock.
Elmscleugh and Jimmy and Donald MacGregor, Dyke, Milton of Campsie, shared the cost of this big lamb.
More than financing that transaction, Dyke received £18,000 for their No 2 lamb, from Gavin Campbell and daughter, Susan, Larg, Creetown; Jim Mitchell, Little Larg, New Luce and Drannandow Farms, Newton Stewart.
Another by Starbuck – a home-bred son of the £24,000 Elmscleugh which stood champion at the Highland in June – this entry is bred from a ewe by an £18,000 Happrew.
There were more celebrations to come when High Staward received their best ever sale too, selling a ram lamb for £14,000 to Loughash and Brian Devine, both Northern Ireland. Mr Coulson, who was selling here for the second time received this for a lamb that was placed at Abington Show – a son of last year’s £50,000 Crossflatt, bred from an Auldhouseburn-bred female by the £90,000 Dalchirla lamb.