There is to be a meeting of North Uist of Benbecula Livestock Mart (NUBLM) to discuss the future of the facility following Dingwall and Highland Marts’ decision to step back from running sales.

Speaking to The Scottish Farmer, Neil MacPherson, chair of NUBLM, said: “We are meeting this week to look at all the options for the mart, following Dingwall’s decision. Unfortunately, the number of livestock sold has been going down in recent years. This is a combination of fewer animals kept on the island and people choosing to send livestock off the islands to other auction companies.

“We do not want the mart to close. What will happen in the future, we will see; we are holding a meeting to discuss and explore how to go forward. Another auction company might be interested, or the mart could become a collection facility for sending stock onwards. We will look at all the options.”

The mart started in the 1980s, and at its peak, sales could see up to 5000 head of sheep go under the hammer at their September sale. During these years, there were three sheep and three cattle sales per year.

But more recently, the number of sales has been cut to one for lambs, one for lambs and ewes, and a single cattle sale. The last sale day saw just over 2500 lambs sold. The peak number of cattle sold at a sale was around 500 head in the 1990s, but in more recent times, fewer than 200 went through the ring.

Transporting animals off the island costs around £3 per head for sheep and £25-£30 for cattle. The board of directors at Dingwall and Highland Marts (DHM) issued a statement which stated: “We thank all our customers for their business over many years.

“Many factors, including but not limited to declining livestock numbers, staffing, increasing running costs, and stock being consigned to mainland markets, have all contributed to the board of directors making the difficult decision that running sales at Lochmaddy is no longer viable for DHM, and therefore, we are withdrawing our auctioneering services from this centre.

“We convey our thanks to Donald Norman MacDonald, Clachan Farm’s former chairman, and the committee of NUBLM for their hard work in organising sales. We, and the staff of DHM, would also like to pay special thanks to Neil and Morag Macpherson, Liniclate, who have been stalwarts of this centre for many years, and no sales would have been held in North Uist without their help and support.

“To our loyal customers, we hope we can be of assistance to you in the future at our other centres and will do our utmost to offer our support going forward.”