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'Ladies' Day at Kerry Hill Sale
McCartneys report a sparkling trade at the 111th Annual Sale of Kerry Hill Rams, Ram Lambs, Ewes and Ewe Lambs.
The sale had attracted considerable interest and a packed auction ring saw the price of ewe lambs more than double on the averaged of 2010 and yearling ewes up £136 per head on last year. A 91% clearance across the board was achieved with sheep heading to virtually all corners of England, Wales and Scotland.
Joint top price of the day went to Messrs R A & A M Howell of Swansea with a ‘Greenway’ Yearling Ram which realised 1100 guineas selling to J A D & P M Owens of Leominster. This 1st Prize Yearling was also Reserve Champion. A ‘Plaish’ Yearling from F W Jones & Son, Church Stretton also made 1100 guineas.
In the Ram Lambs top honours were awarded to E O Williams of Brecon. Their ‘Wenallt’ lamb was overall Champion exhibit and sold for 600 guineas to R G Williams from Trefor, Caernarfon.
However it was certainly “ladies day” at Ludlow with Yearling Ewes selling to a top of 700 guineas and averaging £283.70 per head (+ £136 on 2010) and Ewe Lambs selling to 680 guineas and averaging £239 (up £128 on 2010).
Champion Female was a Yearling Ewe from Neil Radnor of Bucknell which sold for 700 guineas and was snapped up by Cuddington Manor Farms of Northwich. Reserve Female was the 1st Prize Ewe Lamb from the Wenallt flock of E O Williams of Brecon which sold for 680 guineas and headed up the A5 to Messrs R G Williams of Caernarfon.
AVERAGES
53 Shearling Ewes £283.70, 55 Ewe Lambs £239.02, 27 Yearling Rams £444.11, 15 Ram Lambs £230.30 (McCartneys).
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What a Week at Worcester Market
Worcester market reports a packed week with seven sales on top of our regular sales of prime and store stock.
The week started with an excellent sale of Suffolk Punch horses from Mike Clarke and Daughter, which reached a top price of 2900 guineas for a Filly.
Monday and Tuesday brought the English Premier National Show and Sale of Texels. Females topped at 1500 guineas for a shearling ewe from S Currie and males peaked at 3500 guineas for a ram lamb from R Wilson.
Friday brought the Beltex and Blue Texel annual show and sales to Worcester. Beltex females topped to 580 guineas and ram Lambs to 810 guineas.
Blue Texels also met with a level trade and near perfect clearance. Females peaked at 840 guineas and males to 1700 guineas.
South Downs on Saturday saw a top price of 510 guineas for a shearling ram lamb from the All Saints flock, followed by the third annual show and sale at Worcester of Llanwenog sheep which saw a top price of 132 guineas for a shearling ewe from Messrs BG & SL Williams.
Keep an eye on our Pedigree Sales page for upcoming Pedigree Sales.
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Record Smashed at Brecon Market
The August sale of store cattle saw 593 cattle forward which would be significantly up on last year and a flying trade was enjoyed especially on cull cows. A new record of £2250 was achieved for a British Blue cow from Mr. T. Dylan Rees of Llwynhirion who sold 5 cows to average £1750. The overall average for all cull cows was £1002 (159p/kg) which included over 20 Friesian cows.
Store steers topped at £1490 (258p/kg) to average £920 (196p/kg). Heifers reached £1360 for a 615Kg heifer from P.L.Howells, Tycam to average £882 (190p/kg).
The next catalogue sale is 30th September – entries close Thursday 22nd September.
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Weather Turns Up The Heat On Livestock Producers
Great British Farming thrives even with weather like this! With the pressure on to produce best quality for the market, this hot weather adds yet more worry for the hard-working Farmer.
The high numbers of smallest, leaner store lambs forward at Worcester on Saturday showed just how desperate the weather situation has become as the fields literally burn off before our eyes.
Yet despite this, the quality of many lambs forward is a credit to those who work all hours producing them, and the trade remains firm.
The talk of rain this week from forecasters must surely bring hope to the region, and can’t come soon enough.
When it finally does arrive, let’s just hope it knows when to stop!
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On the Beeb
McCartneys have received some fantastic coverage from the BBC in the past few weeks, firstly for a new BBC 2 series titled Towns and secondly from the ever popular Countryfile.
McCartneys Ludlow Market was very proud to be featured on the new BBC 2 series titled Towns. The program presented by Nicolas Crane focuses on some of the most popular Towns in our Country, the people, culture and how they survive. It was fantastic to see McCartneys Ludlow Market and our Auctioneers in action as well as being a pleasure to see some of our clients on the show also.
John Uffold Chairman of McCartneys and auctioneer at Ludlow commented,
‘The programme clearly indicated the importance of Ludlow livestock market to the surrounding agricultural community and economy as a whole. A fact often overlooked by central and local government. It was gratifying that so publicised programme brought this home and clearly demonstrated the value of the livestock auction system to the country as a whole.’
It was also fantastic to see the support for the Honeybourne Sale which was featured on Countryfile recently. McCartneys are proud to have stepped in to help save the traditional sale and it was great to see Adam Henson and the team there. Tom Greenow from McCartneys Worcester Market auctioneered at the sale and was featured giving Adam some tips. It was a great day with good prices and we hope the coverage will help the sale to progress and continue the tradition.
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Top Breeder Joins McCartneys
Mark Lewis from Nash Farm, Milson, Cleobury Mortimer joins McCartneys as one of the Field Officer Team which serve McCartneys network of 5 Livestock Markets. Mark joins McCartneys from a strong agricultural background with a vast knowledge in livestock procurement (Sheep, Store Cattle, Prime Cattle and Fat Stock in general) both in live auctions and for the wholesale meat trade.
With experienced breeding knowledge, Mark is a breeder of Pedigree Limousin Cattle and takes regular trips to France to find new bloodlines and genetics to produce quality livestock, as seen in his Junior Stock Bull (Eldorado) Reserve Overall Intermediate Champion at the recent Limousin Show held in Carlisle.
Mark is well known through Suffolk Sheep circles also for breeding pedigree Suffolk Sheep, again concentrating on the production of quality rams for commercial farmers.
After farming in Northumberland for many years Mark has returned to his roots by moving back to farm in the area that he grew up in.
On joining McCartneys Mark commented ‘ I am very pleased to be joining McCartneys as they are one of the major players in the region as regards livestock sales and the position has presented me with a great opportunity to utilize my skills and experience, hopefully to further the name of McCartneys both commercially and for pedigree stock’
John Uffold Chairman of McCartneys and auctioneer at Ludlow concludes ‘Mark Lewis has all the right experience and knowledge to be able to help our farming clients in a hands on way to produce and market livestock to the benefit of not only themselves but also to meet the needs of the buyers who attend our sales regularly’
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Honeybourne Sale, Success and Heartwarming Support for Traditional Sale
The Annual Sale of Store Lambs held at Honeybourne in Worcestershire having been a regular sale since the late 1900’s again attracted an overall entry of over 6000 lambs off the Cotswolds and surrounding districts and was well supported from buyers travelling from all parts of the country.
Nothing short of a “flying” trade was the general comment of the day, particularly with a lot of lambs having been “hit” by the prolonged drought period in that area since the spring.
With very welcomed support from Adam Henson from 'Adams Farm' Countryfile, the Honeybourne Sale will also receive national coverage from the BBC on the 21st of August proving there is still support for this traditional sale and long may it continue.
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LIVESTOCK SCORES EVEN THROUGH THE WORLD IN CRISIS
Whilst reports from the world media are putting America, Spain and Italy in financial turmoil the good old British farmers/countrymen keep battling on producing what really matters in life - THE BASICS. “When nothing else is left we still have to eat and drink”.
The un-sung heroes tending their herd and flocks not on a 9 – 5 basis but 24 hours a day are, at long last, reaping the rewards of their labours. Our sales this week have again seen demand and strong competition in the market place.
Primestock sales continue to gain momentum and over 6,000 store lambs at Honeybourne – the annual sale in Worcestershire since 1870 produced an average of £65 per head. Jacob sheep were also in the reckoning at Worcester selling to 760gns (x2) and Zwartbles sheep top 900gns. You keep producing them “boys” we can sell them!
Plenty of interesting commercial and pedigree cattle and sheep sales coming up this autumn together with Suffolk Punch Horses (rarer than the Panda) on 27th August - WATCH THIS SPACE.
'The Simple Country Boy'
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McCartneys welcome Tom Greenow to the Worcester Market team.
Worcester Market welcomes a new member to it’s team. Tom Greenow joins us from a strong agricultural background, born to a large Herefordshire farming family in 1990 Tom spent much of his time helping on his Father’s mixed livestock farm in Dinedor. He attended Hereford Cathedral School, before going on to The Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester to complete a BSc (Hons) in Rural Land Management. He has conducted machinery auctions throughout Herefordshire since 2008 and was regularly to be seen in markets across the county. He has a passion for seeing good quality livestock produced and believes the role of the Market is essential for the future of farming.
McCartneys are very pleased to have Tom on board and he is swiftly becoming a valid member of our team, assisting with auctions, specialist sales and attending shows to give advice and welcome clients.
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Big Numbers Attend Royal Welsh
This year’s Royal Welsh Show was a great success, McCartneys stand looked fantastic and we welcomed many of our clients, old and new for a chat and a cup of tea. Over 227’000 visitors came to the show over the four days despite the weatherman again threatening us with bad weather, a little wind and rain never seems to put us off so as always the McCartneys team of professionals were on hand with a little light refreshment and a smile.
This year McCartneys also sponsored the International Pavilion and our parasols on the Balcony stood out for all to see while providing much needed cover for near 700 guests from 40 different countries.
It was fantastic to speak to our clients at the show, some of which were only visiting and some who were entering into the shows many competitions. we hope you all enjoyed your time at the show as much as we did !
-w120h80q80c0.jpg "Overall Champion was won by E O Williams of Brecon with their ‘Wenallt’ lamb.")
-w120h80q80c0.jpg "Rob Evans presents Mark Lewis with his Junior Stock Bull Eldorado, Reserve Overall Intermediate Champion at the recent Limousin Show held in Carlisle")
