TOP prices of £14,000 once and £11,000 twice may have passed last year’s leading entries at the sale of Lairg-type North Country Cheviot rams at the breed’s birthplace, on Tuesday, where a strong entry of breeders’ sheep sold well but with commercial producers very much sticking to a budget, the ram average fell by £123 on the year for near enough the same number sold.

This, however, is nearly on a par with 2016 levels and many breeders left the sale happy with their ram returns given the sticky trade seen this year and uncertainty in the industry impacting the purse strings.

It was a good day for David Henderson, who has shepherd 900 ewes at Suisgill Estate for more than 12 years, when the flock achieved its best price to date of £14,000. Making that money was a two-shear which is among the first crop to sell by Borgie Tank, a £7500 Lairg purchase whose females have been retained. Having proved his worth at home, this ram sold to Norman and David Douglas, who will take him to work on their Whitehope flock near Kelso.

Another two-shear by the same Borgie sire, which was used together with the previous as shearlings, then sold to Hugh MacKenzie, buying for the Badanloch flock, for £4500.

The big prices kept coming for David when he received a further £3000 from the Torrish Estate, managed by David’s father, Dennis Henderson, for a two-shear by the same sire as last year’s leader at £13,000, the £7000 Bailenacroabh Model.

The big money prices ran in the family as Dennis Henderson and Torrish Estate produced the first of the £11,000 sales when sold to Suisgill. Also achieving a best price for the flock, as the Torrish record previously sat at £9000 paid for a ram back in 2016, was a three-shear which was more than making back the money of his sire, an inexpensive Clebrig sire bought four years ago.

Sticking with the 900-strong Torrish breeding flock, which Dennis has ‘herded for 43 years, and Robert MacDonald, at Castle Grant Home Farm, paid £4200 for another three-shear. This one is by another bargain price tup, this time from Rhifail and also bought four years previously.

The same Rhifail sire was behind the Torrish three-shear sold to David Baillie, Calla, for £3800.

The second £11,000 ram came from another Lairg stalwart, Hugh MacKenzie, who manages the 1050 ewes at Badanloch. Making top dollar for this entry of three-shears was a son of North Loch Naver Nomad, a tup loaned from Hugh’s wife, Jan, which also bred a £7000 ram last year.

Forking out the cash for this lad that was used on Jan’s Langdale flock, were the Allen family – Billy and Kate, son Dallas and daughter Ruth – for their Stouphill flock near Alnwick.

Another by the same North Loch Naver Nomad sire, which was this time used on the North Loch Naver flock, sold to Joyce Campbell and Ian Macleay for their Armadale flock on the north coast near Bettyhill.

Two more Badanloch rams hit £4500 and £4200, with the dearer of these selling to Suisgill. He is by the Dingwall-bought Keppoch Giant, a £900 purchase which has already proved a breeder by producing a £4000 ram last year.

The North Loch Naver Nomad tup was behind the £4200 sale which heads to work at Achentoul. He was also used at home and produced ewe lambs to £135 last year and £128 this year.

Just shy of the five-figure barrier when sold to Badanloch for £9500, was the dearest to sell at Lairg to date from the Douglas boys’ Whitehope flock ‘herded by Matt Carryer.

The sire of this two-shear that was used on the 1000-ewe Whitehope flock as a shearling is Attonburn Rebus, a £1200 Lairg purchase.

Just a few lots earlier and the Sorbietrees flock managed by Drew Oliver received a top bid of £6000 from Hugh and Sandy Wilson, Newbank, for a two-shear.

He is among the first crop to sell by the £2200 Whitchesters Ranger, a ram that goes back to a Badanloch tup and has proved to be a good breeder of both males and females.

A three-shear full of home breeding from Philiphaugh Estates, which is managed by Alan Cowes and shepherded by Alan Wilson, sold to Alan Hutcheon, buying for Linhope Farming Partners’ Hartside Hill flock, for £5200.

Bred from an Armadale ewe, he is by Philiphaugh Robert the Bruce which sold to Armadale for £2000 as a two-shear.

Earlier, Hartside Hill welcomed a top bid of £4800 from David Baillie, Calla, for a two-shear by Glendale Snowman, a ram loaned from Ted Fox that also produced the £3200 Hartside Hill Vinnie sold at Lockerbie the previous week.

Making £3200 for Kirsty MacLennan’s relocated Heathmount flock was the dearest to date by Inverbrora Full ov Beans, a two-shear which sold to JM Blackhall from East Brachmont, Banchory.

Kirsty was in the money in the female ring too as she sold the top two pens of gimmers for £178 and £175.

The pen of 27 at £178 was knocked down to Neil Barclay for his Harestone flock at Banchory, while the 25-strong pen at £175 sold to Iain Michie, Ballechin Farms, Ballinluig.

The first ram to break the £3000 barrier to sell at that price to S Hallam, Grange Head Farm, Whitby, was Armadale Dirty Deeds, which is among the last of the Armadale tups by Balkeith Smart Lad which was sold on to Philiphaugh and bred Joyce’s £4500 tup last year.

Armadale achieved the second highest ewe price when a pen of 107 sold to Dunbeath Estate for £140, but heading up the ewe trade at £142 was a pen of 25 from Achentoul which was snapped up by the Baillies and heads to Sebay, Orkney.

OTHERLEADING prices:

£2800 – Brackside Whiskey Blend, shearling by Suisgill Showstopper, to Dunbeath Farms.

£2600 – Baligill, three-shear by Langdale The Fox, to Howghill; Suisgill, two-shear by Achentoul, to Gillesbie Farms, Boreland.

£2500 – 167 Erribol, three-shear by a Borgie loan, to Hope and Melness.

£2400 – Suisgill, by Baienacroabh Model, to Nicholson Farms, Clebrig.

Averages: 267 rams, £1068.54 (-£123.46 for three fewer sold); 1775 gimmers, £81.12 (-£23.16 for 136 more); 6188 ewes, £63.56 (-£2.12 for 383 fewer).

LEADINGFLOCK averages:

Flock (No sold) Top (£) Avg (£)

Badanloch (10 11,000 3688.89

Suisgill (10) 14,000 3230

Torrish (10) 11 000 2560

Whitehope (8) 9000 1971.43

Philliphaugh (6) 5200 1333.33

Armadale (14) 3000 1303.57

Hartside Hill (12) 4800 1292.86

Brackside (10) 2800 980

Stouphill (9) 1200 972.22

Heathmount (10) 3200 970