Prime sales in the August 11 issue

Dumfries
PRIME cattle sold to 235p per kg for a Limousin cross heifer from J Jardine, Yett, at C and D Auction Marts’ sale of primestock, last week. 
Trade was sharper for OTM cattle as numbers were tight. Dairy-bred cows led the trade at 130p for a Montbeliarde from Upper Portrack and £943 for a Holstein from Netherwood as the 22 dairy cows averaged 92p. 
Levelling at 115p, the 26 beef-bred cows sold to 127p for an Aberdeen-Angus from Ballinnie and £862.50 for a Limousin off Cushag. 
Trade for prime lambs (330) was steady as best-fleshed sorts sold in excess of 185p while leaner lambs met a lesser demand. The sale averaged 175.8p and sold to 197p from Upper Rigg as well as £84 for Texels from Eastside. 
Cast ewes met a sharper trade on the week and sold to £144.50 for Texels from Druidhall. 

Huntly
LAMBS cashed in at comparable rates on the week for well-fleshed sorts while leaner types were easier at United Auctions’ sale of 298, last week. 
Blue Texels weighing 40kg from North Retannach, Rothiemay, led the price per kg at 193p while 56kg Suffolks from Roebank, Grange, topped the gross trade at £94. 
Heavy cast ewes cashed in at increased values as the 957-strong offering reached £135 for Suffolks from Davmor. 
OTM cattle reached £1210 or 175p per kg for a Limousin from Braehead, Drummuir. 

Newton Stewart
DUE to Wigtown Show being staged on market day, Craig Wilson, sold 560 prime and cast sheep last Thursday, where 431 prime lambs levelled at 173p per kg. 
They sold to 190p for 40kg Texels from G Rae, Glenluce, as well as £92 for heavy Texels from J McFarlane, Daldowie. 
Cast sheep reached £95.50 for Texel cross ewes from J McCornick, Drumjargon, as 49 heavy ewes averaged £77.20 with 74 light ewes at £38.80.

Thainstone
A LIMOUSIN heifer weighing 550kg from Mains of Dumbreck, Udny, headed up Aberdeen and Northern Marts’ sale of 20 prime cattle when she made 238p per kg. 
With 13 heifers averaging 213p (+1.4p on the week), they also sold to £1369.60 for a 640kg Charolais from Mid Harlaw, Inverurie. 
Seven bullocks averaged 202.9p (-7.1p) and were topped by Limousins – at 220p for a 565kg stot from Whiteside, Tullynessle, and £1404 for another at 720kg from Nether Mains, Torphins. 
A Limousin from Mains of Dumbreck also headed up the cast cow trade at £1290, a price matched by a Simmental from Wicker Inn, Banchory, while another Limousin from Parkfield, Oldmeldrum, led the price per kg at 174.6p. The 97 beef-bred cows averaged 132.1p (-2p). 
Levelling at 107.9p, the 10 cast bulls peaked at 117.6p for a Limousin from Millfield, Turriff, and £1145 for an Aberdeen-Angus from Ingliston, Inverurie. 
The 447 new season lambs averaged 174.2p (-0.2p) with the 341 SQQ lambs selling more favourably at 176.2p (+2.9p). They were topped by Texels weighing 49kg from Milltown of Birness, Ellon, at 202p and £99. 

Stirling (Cal)
CATTLE from DS and RC Taylor, Easter Ochtermuthill, topped Caledonian Marts’ sale of 81 prime cattle when a heifer sold for 258p per kg and a bullock realised 252p. 
A bullock from MI Wainwright, Todhall, headed up the gross trade at £1663.80 while M Jack, Carriston, led the heifer gross trade at £1613.64.
Young bulls sold to 210p and £1482.60 for a Charolais from JM More, Beild. 
Also forward were 61 cast cattle, where beef cows averaged 126p and were topped by Limousins at 172p from J MacGregor, Dyke, and £1430 from WI and AW Callion, Bolfornought. 
Dairy cows hit 107p and £1040 from J Pollock and Sons, Bonnyhill, to average 99p. 
On Tuesday, the firm sold 869 prime lambs which rose 8.8p on the week to average 185.5p, with all classes selling sharper, particularly those weighing 42kg plus. Doune Farms led at £103 for a 51kg Beltex with another from DS and RC Taylor, Easter Ochtermuthill, hitting 210.8p. 
Heavy ewes were in demand to average £76.91, selling to £118 for Texel cross Mules from M Jack Carriston, with export ewes at £37.86.

St Boswells
LAMBS were dearer with all types sought after at Harrison and Hetherington’s sale of 1305, on Monday, which included a show and sale of Texel-sired lambs sponsored by the Scottish Texel Sheep Breeders’ Club and judged by Robert Wilson. 
Mr Wilson found his champion pen from Craigsford Mains which were out of Suffolk-bred ewes and went on to sell for £102 per head. The reserve from Crookston were bred from Mule ewes and realised £107 apiece. 
The sale averaged 187p per kg (+9p on the week) and sold to 209p for Beltex from Rhodes Holding and £111 for Texels from Huntington. 
Averaging £65, the 449 cast ewes reached £110 for Texels from Hermiston as heavy ewes levelled at £89. Lighter sorts averaged £49 and sold to £73 for North Country Cheviots from Haltree. 
Of the 55 clean cattle, heifers were topped at 253p from Penston with bullocks to 229p from Upper Nisbet while Bee Edge topped the gross trade at £1486.80. Averages were mixed as 10 bullocks levelled at 218.33p (+1.19p) with 45 heifers at 223.36p (-15p). 
Averaging 134p (+1p), the 30 cast cows sold to 173p from East Horton as well as £1557.44 from Wester Middleton. 

LEADING awards:

Texel-sired prime lambs – Out of Suffolk – 1 and champion, Craigsford Mains, £102; 2, Huntington, £85. Out of continental – 1, Craigsford Mains, £100; 2 and 3, Symington Mains, £104 and £92. Out of Mule – 1, reserve and 2, Crookston, £107 and £98; 3, Threeburnford, £85. 

Lanark
IT was the champion young handlers’ entry from John Paterson, Oxenshaw, that topped Lawrie and Symington’s sale of prime lambs, on Monday, when his lamb sold to Yorkshire Halal for £116 or 263p per kg at a weight of 44kg. 
The reserve, as picked out by J Currie, Haswellsykes, came from John Barr, Hallhill, and sold to R Lawson for £114 at 52kg. 
The entry of 2114 prime lambs, which sold dearer with all weight ranges keenly sought after, averaged 186.3p with SQQs at 187.5p. 
Cast ewes (1678) met a fast-selling trade to top at £156 for Texels from A Cullen, Craighead. 
Prime cattle sold to 248p twice for heifers from both David Dickinson, Brockwoodlees, and Messrs Taylor, Heatheryhall. 
The 60 cast cattle saw a Limousin from Auchenhard top at £1265 with another from Muirburn at 160p. Dairy cows reached 102p and £755 for a Holstein from Greentowers. 

Ayr
THE sale average rose by 8.31p on the week when Craig Wilson sold 1474 prime lambs to average 185.3p per kg on Monday, where all types were easily sold and many more could have been sold to advantage. 
They reached 236.2p and £111 for a pen of four Beltex crosses from James Shennan and Son, Knockgerran. 
The 879 cast sheep peaked at £152.50 for a Texel ewe from J Wilson and Son, Wheatfield, with Mules to £105.50 from JM Mille and Co, Rowanhill, and Blackfaces to £68.50 from JW Kay and Son, Gass. The 458 heavy ewes levelled at £89.10 with 410 light ewes at £46.10.
Tups hit £138 for a Texel from A McMillan, Burnbank, and averaged £82.20 for 11. 
On Monday, 10 prime heifers averaged 218.4p and were topped at 240p by a Limousin from David Tulloch, Riggfoot, and £1373 for another from Messrs Wallace, High Glentriploch. Levelling at 197p, five bullocks sold to 232p for a Limmy cross from Boreland Farms. 
Beef-bred cast cows (115) averaged 118.6p and sold to £1160 for a Shorthorn cross from Messrs Smith, Mid Glen, while 74 dairy cows averaged 96.1p and peaked at £1000 from Messrs Veitch, Strandhead. 

Carlisle
A SMALL entry of 30 prime cattle was easily sold through Harrison and Hetherington, on Monday, where a Limousin cross bullock from Messrs Bell, Hoddamtown, topped the trade at £1672.59 and 232.5p per kg, with a British Blue bullock from Messrs Nicholson, The Lake, matching that 232.5p. 
Among the heifers, Limousin crosses from Messrs Lawson, Hundith House, came out tops at £1482.97 and 231.5p. 
Prime bulls (56) peaked at £1651.86 for a Limousin cross from Messrs Lawson, Stubsgill, as well as 223.5p for a British Blue from Messrs Twentyman, Osborne Farm. 
The large entry of 258 cast cows saw well-fleshed sorts in demand selling to £1786 for a British Blue from Messrs Jewitt, Gravies Farm, and 195.5p for a Limousin from Brow Farm. 
All classes of the 1950 lambs on offer sold dearer on the week with all outlets keen for sheep as the sale averaged 187.4p (SQQ 189.34p). They sold to £105.80 for a Beltex from JG Bewley, Mid Farm, and 250p for a Beltex from JA and LA Thompson, Woodhead. 
Cast sheep (350) hit £119.50 for Beltex ewes from W, J and I Dinsdale, Highfield, while horned ewes topped at £70.50 for Swaledales from JM Elliot, Skelgill House. 

Dingwall
PRIME lambs met an increased average on the week when 500 averaged 171.6p per kg (+8.9p) with 340 SQQ lambs at 173.1p (+9.8p), at Dingwall and Highland Marts, on Tuesday. 
Beltex crosses weighing 44kg from Leanach Farm, Inverness, topped the sale at 204.5p and £90, while the 100 ewes and feeding sheep averaged £37.22 having sold to £106 for Texel ewes from Wester Moy, Urray. 
Castle Douglas
MISS Abbie Tait, Cullinaw, won the young handlers’ show and sale of prime lambs at Wallets Marts, with her 38kg Beltex going on to sell to the judge, B MacTaggart, for £100 or the top price per kg of 256.4p. 
Abbie’s brother, Sam, sold his 39kg Beltex for the top gross price of £105. 
The sale cashed in to average 185.49p for 840, and, outwith the show, sold to £100 for a pen of Texels and 246.8p for Beltex, all from Gelston Castle Farms, Castle Douglas. 
Cast sheep (341) sold to a top of £108 for Texels from Copelaw, Gatehouse of Fleet.

LEADING awards:

Young handlers – Up to 10 years – 1, William Marchant, Tex, 40kg, £95; 2, Zara Williamson, Belt, 38kg, £87; 3=, Mitch Williamson, Suff, 40kg, £81, and Anna Marchant, Tex, 40kg, £95. 11 years and above – 1 and champion, Abbie Tait, Belt, 38kg, £100; 2, Sam Tait, Belt, 49kg, £105.