averages:

552 shearling rams, £761.52 (+£76.52 for 43 fewer sold); 119 ram lambs, £684.70 (+£16.70 for seven fewer).

By Patsy Hunter

Blackface rams sold well at United Auctions’ massive sale of just shy of 1000 head at Stirling, last weekend with overall averages up in both the shearling and tup lamb sections.

Despite the uncertainties plaguing the industry, a better than anticipated trade saw prices peak at £10,000 for a shearling ram from the Campbells at Glenrath and £6500 for a tup lamb from Aberuchil Estate, Comrie.

“It was a very good show of sheep and a great sale with few unsold,” said George Purves, United Auctions’ chief executive and auctioneer.

“People were looking for sheep with size and scale and the message is getting through to breeders that weight comes to money.”

However, with money tight for all hill sheep farmers, it was late in the day before the best of the bidding was seen, when Sir John Campbell and son Ian’s Glenrath pen from Peebles was cashed.

In all, this 1200-ewe flock produced the top two prices at £10,000 and £7000, with the dearest, brought out by Steven Renwick, selling in a two-way split to Billy and Andrew Renwick Blackhouse, Yarrow and Jimmy and Donald MacGregor, Dyke, Milton of Campsie.

The No 2 in the pen which averaged £1800 for 15, he is by the £18,000 Midlock shearling bought in 2016 and out of a ewe by a £3200 Dyke.

Glenrath’s No 3 also brought out by Steven Renwick, made £7000 selling to Gavin Campbell and his daughter Susan Archibald, Larg, Creetwon. He is by the £85,000 Elmscleugh lamb bought in 2016 and bred from a ewe by the £34,000 Midlock.

Shearling rams from the Kays from Gass, Straiton – Andrew and sons Robert and Andrew – also sold well even later in the day, with their pen of seven producing the lead average at £2042.86.

Tops here at £6500 was a son of Tornado – a son of £160,000 Dalchirla, of which a share was bought privately from Crossflatt – out of a ewe by a £24,000 Midlock. He was knocked down to Davie Morrison, Dalwyne, Barr and John and Iain Finlay, Blackraig, Corsock.

Minutes later, Gass took £4500 for a son of a £10,000 Crossflatt lamb bred from a daughter of a £5000 Midlock, from John Murdoch, Knockdon, Straiton.

There were smiles all round too when Craig Paterson, shepherd at Aberuchil Estate, Comrie, sold their dearest to date at £6500.

They have only been selling for the past three years and received this money for a son of a £12,000 Nunnerie lamb bought last year. The dam, a Dalchirla-bred female bought as a gimmer, is by a Dalchirla-bred son of £50,000 Dalwyne that bred Dalchirla’s £160,000 lamb. Buying back some of their own genetics, he sold to Alastair and David Macarthur, Nunnerie, Elvanfoot.

Sons of last year’s £58,000 Auldhouseburn lamb of which a share was retained by breeders Hugh and Alan Blackwood, Muirkirk, also proved popular with sales at £5200 and £4800 for Auldhouseburn’s fourth and third lambs respectively.

The former, bred from a ewe by the £160,000 Dalchirla, sold in a two-way split to Dumfriesshire breeders, Richard Colley and son Richard, who manage Mitchellslacks, Thornhill, and Hugh Rorison, Clonrae, Tynron.

The £4800 lamb, out of a £6500 Auldhouseburn daughter was knocked down to John Carruthers, Silloans, Rochester and son Richard who farms at Merkland, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire.

Just behind on £4200, Archie and John MacGregor, Allanfauld, Kilsyth, sold their pen leader to the Taylors at Braes of Ardeonaig, Killin. The breeding behind this cracker includes a £5500 Elmscleugh, onto a ewe by the home-bred Bullseye.

Young Andrew and Ian Cullens who farm 2000 Blackface ewes at Dollarbank, Dollar, enjoyed their best year here too taking £3800 for a son of a £22,000 Glenrath lamb bought at Dalmally, from David Higginson, Braeleny, Callander. His dam is by a £60,000 Auldhouseburn.

Back amongst the shearling rams and Una Hodge who has been selling for five years off Kirklands at Kirkconnel, Sanquhar, since moving out of the family farm at Craigdarroch, sold her best at £4200. This was a shearling son of the £6000 Allanfauld bought at Lanark in 2016, out of a ewe by a £4600 Craig. The buyer was Andy Paton, Craig, Straiton.

Una also produced one of the top averages selling 11 shearling rams at £1091.

Three shearlings came under the hammer for £4000 including a Croughly entry from John Shearer and sons Neil and Gavin who are better known for their Perth-type sheep from Hillhead of Morinsh, Glenlivet. Their pen leader, a son of a £2400 Allanfauld bought at Stirling in 2016, is out of a ewe by a £1500 Elmscleugh and sold to Peter Junor, Ballaggan, Dores, Inverness.

Later, Alan Smith, who had a great trade for shearlings from his Crosswoodburn flock from West Calder, went to the same money for the No 1 entry from neighbouring breeder Hugh Hamilton, Crosswoodhill, brought out by shepherd, John Robertson. He boasts Crosswoodburn genetics on both sides with his sire having been sold at Lanark for £3600, while his dam was by a £2400 Crosswoodburn.

On the other side of the coin, Alan Smith, who sold 10 shearlings to average £1450, sold his dearest at £3200, to Neil Anderson, who manages Professor Penny’s Harehead and Bothwell units at Cranshaws, Duns. A son of a £3000 Allanfauld, he is bred from a ewe by a home-bred son of an £1800 Blackhouse.

Matching that top price and cracking average, selling 10 shearlings to average £1400, brothers Willie and Ewen Bennie, Merkins, Gartocharn, sold their No 2 shearling to Sandy and Willie Taylor, Dall, Killin. The breeding behind this big tup includes a £6500 Auldhouseburn onto a ewe by a £9000 Nunnerie.

Shearlings and ram lambs from Willie Dunlop and sons Quintin and William, Elmscleugh, Innerwick, again sold well with ram lambs to £2800 and shearlings to £3800. The latter, a son of a £2000 Merkins, bought in 2015, out of a ewe by a home-bred son of a £12,000 Gass, was purchased by Scott and Allan Lambie, Ashcraig, Selkirk.

OTHERLEADING prices:

Ram lambs

£3000 – D Murray, Lurgan, by a £15,000 Crossflatt, to J Boswell, Burnhead, Darvel and W Kerr, Middleton, Newton Mearns.

£2800 – W Dunlop, Elmscleugh, by a £4000 Midlock, to S Adams, Rathkeel Road, Broughshane, Ballymena.

Shearling rams

£3000 – A Wight and Sons, Midlock, by a 9000gns Finglen, to Troloss Farms, Elvanfoot and R Carruthers, Merkland, Thornhill; Merkins, by a Hartside/Whelphill sire to M Coubrough, Hartside, Lamington, Biggar; Mrs M McCall Smith, Connachan, by a home-bred son of Connachan Divinci, to E Macmillan, Lurg, Fintry; Hartside/Whelphill, by an £8000 Elmscleugh, to W Wallace, Fingland, Dalry, Castle Douglas.

£2800 – Blackhouse, by a £2000 Blackhouse, to Messrs McKill Maxwell, Hayfield, Thornhill, Dumfries; Dyke, by a £14,000 Dyke, to Glenrinnes Farms, Dufftown, Banffshire.

Auctioneers: United Auctions

FLOCK averages:

Flock (No sold) Top (£) Averages (£)

2018 2017

Shearling rams

Silloans (6) 800 436.67 513

Madrissa (4) 500 370.00 500

Larg (5) 450 294.00 500

Midlock Glespin (5) 700 420.00 563

Blackcraig (4) 900 450.00 663

Haystoun (5) 300 260.00 527

Shawsknowe (5) 1000 560.00 790

Croughly (6) 4000 1475.00 464

Williamhope (11)1400 616.36 1008

Corsebank (5) 1400 580.00 500

Merkins Westside (5) 1800 760.00 571

Mitchellhill (8) 1400 625.00 572

Hartside

Lammermuir (6) 1000 575.00 722

Dryhope (6) 1000 592.86 –

Mount Benger (6) 1800 685.00 425

Parkhall (6) 800 636.67 510

Troloss (8) 420 315.00 402

Ashcraig (5) 1600 880.00 833

Allanfauld (9) 1100 745.56 600

Remony (5) 600 450.00 421

Mid Crosswoodhill (4) 650 462.50 463

Crosswoodhill (5) 4000 1940.00 783

Gosland (8) 750 575.00 488

Craigdarroch

Glenwhern (8) 1200 618.75 697

Midlock (15) 3000 776.67 1046

Letar (10) 750 550.00 720

Kirkland (11) 4200 1090.91 1039

South Cobbinshaw (5) 700 460.00 650

Outer Huntly (6) 1500 620.00 620

Merkins (10) 3200 1400.00 843

Millhouse (6) 1800 650.00 706

Crosswoodburn (10) 3200 1450.00 1405

Glen Cally (7) 700 550.00 438

Blackhouse (15) 2800 1066.67 1683

Balliemeanoch (6) 750 566.67 567

Longcroft (6) 900 466.67 736

Dyke (18) 2800 969.44 521

Nether Scythie (5) 800 520.00 592

High Croach (4) 800 587.50 1088

Pole (6) 650 466.67 460

Glenfernate (5) 1600 910.00 958

Easter Happrew (4) 1400 612.50 825

Cromlix (15) 1500 673.33 675

Elmscleugh (11) 3800 1204.54 1965

Tinnis (9) 1300 827.78 543

Connachan (8) 3000 1025.00 467

Livet (14) 2200 975.00 820

Outerwards (5) 700 440.00 490

East Bracklinn (12) 1200 770.83 870

Burncastle (8) 2200 1375.00 594

Bothwell (6) 1100 866.67 600

Fechan (8) 2000 706.25 450

Craigdarroch (14) 2500 907.14 1475

Nunnerie (14) 800 457.14 773

Lynemore (5) 1600 650.00 467

Glenrath (15) 10,000 1800.00 927

Kirkstead (6) 1800 1066.67 1900

Gass (7) 6500 2042.86 1042

Chirmorrie (4) 500 337.50 467

Mitchellslacks (3) 300 266.67 400

The Yett (4) 900 662.50 955

Ring 2

Shearling rams

Knowehead of Auldallan (3) 300 283.33 –

Glen, Gatehouse (6) 280 160.00 –

Aitkengall (4) 1200 762.50 875

Gosland Cleugh (8) 600 386.25 262

Merkland (4) 500 355.00 –

Tollishill (6) 700 396.67 850

Ess (4) 480 345.00

Dunruchan (4) 1800 932.50 379

Stobbs (4) 500 340.00 –

Penchrise (10) 220 152.00 –

Craig (4) 500 347.50 433

Drumardoch (4) 300 145.00 437

Ram lambs

Sidlaw (3) 320 240.00 427

Midlock (3) 1300 633.33 830

High Staward (4) 1800 750.00 1480

Lurgan (3) 3000 880.00 –

Elmscleugh (5) 2800 1380.00 2300

Steading (3) 900 610.00 –

Crammie (4) 450 300.00 300

Aberuchil (3) 6500 2266.67 1275

Dall (10) 1500 466.00 –

Gosland (4) 1100 617.50 –

Auldhouseburn (3) 5200 3700.00 1900

Craigend (3) 800 450 300

Burnhead (3) 150 150.00 –

Jaw (4) 320 232.50 280

Braes of Ardeonaig (9) 380 267.78 –

Duntuim (4) 150 112.50 –

Allanfauld (6) 4200 1280.00 –

Crossflatt (6) 2000 916.67 1138

Knock O Ronald (4) 1000 537.50 –

The Bothy (3) 60 60.00 –