Reports by Patsy Hunter and Kathryn Dick

Photographs by Rob Haining and Emma Cheape

Despite the continued downturn in the beef trade, prices held up well for the first round of United Auctions’ Bull Sales at Stirling, which saw all entries sold on the one day.

The event which was narrowed down to two days, with most of the judging on the Sunday, and all four breeds sold on the Monday, saw the Aberdeen-Angus breed lead the way, securing the highest average at £5820 for 82 – the highest number sold of all sales, and the lead price at 25,000gns.

However, despite these top sales, the Aberdeen-Angus was the only breed to witness their average slip on the year, by £67 per head.

In contrast, the remaining three breeds improved on the year, with Beef Shorthorns selling to a top of 20,000gns on two occasions to level at £4780, up £104 for 53 sold.

The last of the breed sales, Limousin, recorded a top price of 13,500gns and averages up £130 on the year, while the small but selective sale of Lincoln Reds were led by a 7500gns high.

Clearance rates were on a par with previous years too with the Limousin breed enjoyed the best demand, with 81% of the numbers forward finding new homes followed by the Beef Shorthorn on 61% and Aberdeen-Angus on 60%.

A smaller entry of females across all breeds and no dispersal or reduction sales saw prices peak at 4600gns for a Beef Shorthorn, with the breed selling eight at £2690.

Aberdeen-Angus females sold to 3100gns to average £2307 for 15.