ANOTHER cracking line-up of pedigree and commercial livestock has been entered for Aberdeen and Northern Mart's Aberdeen Christmas Classic’ which has some £16,000 of prize money up for grabs, on Monday and Tuesday, November 28 and 29, at Thainstone Agricultural Centre.

The two-day winter livestock event kicks into gear with a show of prime cast cows on Monday morning, and is followed by a show and sale of pedigree female sheep at 5pm that night. Again, this sheep event has attracted entries from many of the country’s leading livestock producers and includes 96 Texel, 57 Suffolk, 36 Beltex, six Polled Dorset, and six Charollais ewes, gimmers, ewe lambs.

Monday evening will also see the judging of Young Farmers sheep section at 6:00pm and the Rising Stars calf show.

There will be another bumper line-up of livestock forward on the Tuesday, with the pedigree bull show and sale featuring 20 Charolais, seven Limousin, three Simmental, and one Aberdeen Angus bull entries.

The day will also see a reduction sale of the pedigree Aberdeen Angus females from Cairnton, Lumphanan which has 25 adult females and one stock bull; dispersal sale of the Auchry pedigree Charolais herd which has six Charolais cows with spring-born calves at foot and five Charolais in-calf cows. Both sales take place 2:00pm on the day, with the pedigree bull sale commencing at 3pm.

The main highlight for many however, is the traditional Christmas show of prime cattle and sheep which this year is looking at entries of 70 and 150 head, respectively.

JUDGES

Pedigree female sheep

Texel – Archie Hamilton, 194 Smyllum Road, Lanark

Suffolk – David and Faith Miskelly, Corrybrae, Kildrummy, Alford

Beltex – Zoey Rennie, 4 South Street, Newmill, Keith

Open prime sheep – John Woodburn, 28 Hass Grove, Lockerbie

Young Farmers prime sheep – Gary Raeburn, Forbes Raeburn and Sons, Butchers, Huntly

Haltered beef cattle and butchers classes – Jim Smith, Wester Campfield, Glassed and Louise Forsyth, WTS Forsyth and Sons Butchers, Peebles

Young Farmers haltered beef cattle – Gary Raeburn, Forbes Raeburn and Sons Butchers, Huntly

Young Farmers unhaltered beef cattle – Gary Raeburn

Open unhaltered beef cattle – Graham Sim, procurement manager, ABP Food Group, Perth

Rising Stars – Scott Watson, Old Repeater Station, Muirdrum, Carnoustie