Ashford Market Report – Tuesday 25th March 2025

Sheep Sales Reports

Finished Hoggets –2,132 Sold

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903

Top price per kilo – 425p kg – Husk Farms Ltd, Nonnington.
Top price per head – £200.00 – N A Balcomb & Son, Lydd.

Over 2,100 hoggets penned this week, with over 1,400 of these falling into the “heavy” category which, obviously, makes these harder to sell than the more in demand handy weights purely due to the number on offer nationally. The ethnic trade for this weekend’s feast period is also very strong for the lighter hoggets, but unfortunately the heavy hoggs just do not fit the bill for this purpose. The lighter offerings sold on an exceptional trade with ten or more pens selling in excess of 400p kg and topping at 425p kg for some superb shaped Beltex crosses from Husk Farms Ltd. The quality end of the heavy sheep are still selling on a very good trade, just not quite at the levels we saw last season, which were unsustainable for any long period of time. Top in the price per head category were £200 head from N A Balcomb & Son for some strong heavy continental hoggets but others in the £180-190 bracket from Husk Farms Ltd and W Mandry, Hook, Hants at £176.

33 – £130.00 (394p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
34 – £140.00 (412p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
35 – £95.00 (271p kg) – N & D Attwood
36 – £140.00 (389p kg) – R L Pack
37 – £154.00 (416p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
38 – £110.00 (289p kg) – J Worsfold
39 – £132.50 (340p kg) – Dan Mackelden Ltd
40 – £170.00 (425p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
41 – £174.00 (424p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
42 – £169.00 (402p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
43 – £172.00 (400p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
44 – £150.00 (341p kg) – Master H Lucas
45 – £174.00 (387p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
46 – £159.50 (347p kg) – R F & E A Simmons
47 – £178.00 (379p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
48 – £169.00 (352p kg) – Harriet Heathcote
49 – £168.00 (343p kg) – R L Pack
50 – £168.00 (336p kg) – S Hewett
51 – £184.00 (361p kg) – Husk Farms Ltd
52 – £162.00 (312p kg) – A B Jones & Partners
53 – £162.00 (306p kg) – G A Mitchell & Son
54 – £170.00 (315p kg) – S King
55 – £176.00 (320p kg) – N A Balcomb & Son
56 – £171.00 (305p kg) – W Mandry Ltd
57 – £164.00 (288p kg) – G A Mitchell & Son
58 – £180.00 (310p kg) – N A Balcomb & Son
59 – £171.00 (290p kg) – C Saunders
61 – £170.00 (279p kg) – A J W Smith & Son
63 – £176.00 (279p kg) – W Mandry Ltd
64 – £130.00 (203p kg) – D Thompson
66 – £166.00 (252p kg) – N A Balcomb & Son
74 – £140.00 (189p kg) – S W Mount & Sons Ltd
80 – £200.00 (250p kg) – N A Balcomb & Son
87 – £200.00 (230.p kg) – N A Balcomb & Son

Averages (p/kg) 

Standard 32.1 to 39 kgs – 104 – Top 416, Average 356.0
Medium 39.1 to 45.5 kgs – 654 – Top 425, Average 327.6
Heavy 45.6 to 52 kgs – 1030 – Top 379, Average 315.9
Other 52.1+ kgs – 342 – Top 387, Average 289.3

Store Hoggets – 471 sold

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903

A few more penned here than expected for the time of the year. These, once again, sold well with a number of buyers still keen to buy some lambs to take advantage of the growing grass and better weather. Top call on the day was P Reeve with store hoggets at £130 head. The overall average was returned at £106 head. Lots of pens were sold over £125 head from C Moss & Sons, P G & N L Brightling and High Barn Farm. More stores could be sold with little effect on the price, but I doubt the larger numbers will come out again this season as we move towards April.

Cull Sheep – 639 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

Top price ewe: £240.00 – Husk Farms Ltd, Nonnington. – Ave. £152.82

An absolutely flying trade for everything with more numbers forward than last week and averages up once again. Majority of the best and biggest £150 – £180 and to a top price of £240 from Husk Farms Ltd for cracking Texel ewes, with many more ewes over £200 per head this week. Purebred Texel rams from R & N Warnock to £270 per head.  Medium sorts £120 – £140 on most occasions with leaner grazing types £70 – £100 throughout with only very few sold below these figures. Keep these ewes coming with more ewes wanted every week to satisfy buyers demands.

Top prices included:

Texels to £240 – Husk Farms Ltd, Texel cross to £238 – Husk Farms Ltd, Suffolk cross to £230 – Husk Farms Ltd, Crossbreds to £215 – P Ashlee, Charollais to £212 – N A Balcomb & Son, Romneys to £174 – D A Thompson & Son, Mules to £174 – Barleybrook Farm.

Ewes and Lambs 39 sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

Our first show of couples of the season from V Clayton with continental cross ewes and Dutch Spotted lambs to £248, £96 per life. Please do inform me of any breeding sheep you have to sell going forward.

Sock Lambs – 8 sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

Our first show of sock lambs which topped at £31 with majority £10 – £20 per head. Please inform us of any sock lambs you have to sell with the sale time 10am every week.

Cattle Sales Reports

Finished Cattle –  47 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357

Decent numbers again for the time of year with plenty of flesh on offer, and some heavier cattle very well received. Trade continuing at record levels with Easter just over 3 weeks away and wholesalers and butchers not wishing to be short of supplies.
Best smart Continentals up over 400p and gross returns topping £2500 on several occasions.
Top Limousin x heifers from William Alexander at 416p, 407p, £2161, £1951 with a pair from Paul Burden at 410p, 406p, £2210, £2170. Steer honours to R F & E A Simmons with Limousin at 396p, £2373. Gross steer returns hit £2592, 363p for Charolais from D Mackelden Ltd, their heifers to £2537. A fine trio of heavy Simmental heifers from S J Theobald & Sons, Brentwood to £2460, 379p.
Fleshed dairy bred cattle on offer with Alan Down`s Hereford x Friesian to 364p, £2108; Friesians to 354p, £2068. Angus x Friesian heifers to 350p, £2080 W S Furnival.
Plenty of smart fleshed Native heifers on offer led by D W Ferguson Ltd with Angus to 405p, £2083, Hereford and Sussex to 370p, £1848 and £1774 respectively. Other Sussex heifers 368p, £2002 K & P M Sinden, 367p, £2016 D Mackelden with Hereford heifers to 360p, £1815 J O Veltom & Ptnrs, Hants. Sussex steers sold to 388p, £2461 WS Furnival.
Young Bulls (2) Smart homebred Blondes from GL Boulden & Sons well sold to 369p, 360p, £2373, £2358.

Top Steers

R F & E A Simmons – Limousin – 396p (£2373)
W Alexander (Shoreham) Ltd – Limousin cross – 391p (£2421)
W S Furnival Ltd – Sussex – 388p (£2460)
G L Boulden & Sons – Blonde cross – 385p (£2576)
R F & E A Simmons-Limousin – 370p (£2291)

Top Heifers

W Alexander (Shoreham) Ltd – Limousin cross – 416p (£2161)
P N & C Burden – Limousin cross – 410p (£2170)
W Alexander (Shoreham) Ltd – Limousin cross – 407p (£1951)
P N & C Burden – Limousin cross – 406p (£2210)
D W Ferguson Ltd – Aberdeen Angus cross – 405p (£2083)

Average prices

Steers 200 to 550 kg – 1 – Top 349p – Ave. 349p
Steers 551 to 650 kg – 10 – Top 396p – Ave. 365p
Steers 651kg + – 2 – Top 385p – Ave. 373p
Heifers 300 to 500 kg – 7 – Top 407p – Ave. 365p
Heifers 501 to 590 kg – 18 – Top 416p – Ave. 375p
Heifers 591 kg + – 7 – Top 379p – Ave. 363p

OTM Cattle and Cull Cows – 54 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357

A decent entry from far and wide met another extraordinary trade for everything on offer. Demand for mince is unstoppable in all quarters and the confidence that this transfers into the feeding/grazing sectors is mighty powerful with the good young cows now readily over 330p, selling to 354p, £1502 for young Beef Shorthorn cows from J Muscat, Sevenoaks and 332p £2171 for Simmental x cows from A Smith & Son, Horsham. Meat cows readily 260-290p.
Beef Shorthorn 354p, £1502, J Muscat; Simmental x 332p, 294p, £2171, £1776 A Smith & Son, 291p, 277p, £2092, £1839 M J Ashworth, Lydd; South Devon x 294p, £1526 P N & C Burden, Maidstone; British Blue x 291p, £1859 C V & R P Neale, Uckfield; Sussex 288p, £1639, A Smith & Son, 252p, £1874 F J White & Son, Canterbury, 249p, 241p, £1527, £1429 Faulkner Farm Ptnrs, Uckfield; Angus x 285p, £1626 Lucketts Farm, Canterbury, 280p, £1859 J S & M I Tilley, Redhill; Hereford x 276p, £2245 J S & M I Tilley; Limousin x 274p, £1901 R F & E A Simmons, Hythe; Charolais x 260p, £1622 P Woodley, Uckfield.
More flesh now coming on the dairy culls with a superb trade with Black & Whites to £2174 from J W Boyd & Sons, Ashford and £2034 from J O Veltom & Ptnrs, Emsworth, Hants. Good cows now up over 260p kg and keen interest in leaner, younger types for feeding. Nicely fleshed Jerseys from Hickson Bros a marvellous trade with heifers to 270p, £1280, cows to 236p, £1048.
Holstein Friesian 264p, 256p, £2174, £1916 J W Boyd & Sons; 263p, £2034 J O Veltom & Ptnrs; 263p, 244p, £1759, £1753 P J Forknall; 250p, 238p, £1959, £1759 D Murdoch & Sons; Jerseys 270p, 236p, 229p, £1280, £1048, £983 Hickson Bros.
Stock Bull (1) British White 196p £1496 S Goody, Leatherhead.
Overage (12) An excellent show of overage with plenty of flesh on offer sold to a very strong trade.
British Blue x 3+ steers 361p, £2343, Limousin x 3+ steers 355p, 345p, £2325, £2251, Charolais x 3+ heifers 344p, 341p, £2336, £2332 J Berryman, Godstone; Sussex OTM heifers 337p, 335p, 329p, £2267, £2208, £2103 Faulkners Farm Ptnrs; Angus x Fr 3+ steer 286p, £2227 Lucketts Farm.

Beef Cows – 30 Sold – Top 354, Average 256.9
Dairy Cows – 11 Sold – Top 270, Average 250.8

 

Store & Breeding Cattle – 86 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

Only a small entry this week as we await April and some spring weather. Trade, however, remains at exceptional levels with all tiers of the industry recognising just how short cattle are in the country, and it is not going to get any better anytime soon!
Good interest in late spring calving Sussex cows at £1560 and £1440 from Faulkner Farm Ptnrs, Isfield. Young Parthenais feeding bulls to £1080 from H Herbert & Sons, Stanstead.
Terrific demand for the younger cattle for this year’s grazing and more wanted to satisfy a demand that recognises the shortage in the country and Europe.
Sussex steers 12 mths £1150 Faulkner Farm Ptnrs; Lim x Sussex steer 9 mths £1100 Lucy Young; White Park x steers 10 mths £1000, heifers £850 Ashenfield Farm; Angus x Friesian heifers 9 mths £855 D Goodwin & Sons; Hereford x steers 12 mths £925, Beef Shorthorn x steers 9 mths £980 Elliott Farming; British Blue x steers 11 mths £850 G Husk.
Older cattle just getting stronger with finished returns giving great confidence to producers.
Angus x Friesian and Blue x Friesian steers 17 mths to £1280 and £1160 C Thirkell, Hawkhurst; Hereford steers 15 mths £1480, £1260 J O Veltom & Ptnrs, Hants; Simmental x steer 19 mths £1790 Siggs Farm, Burwash.
The trade for yarding/feeding cattle is a sight to behold and the open market is the only place to maximise returns with plenty over £2000, and to a new RECORD PRICE of £2420 for Stabiliser x steers from S F G Wall, Bulphan who sold others to £2010, and Limousin steers 21 mths to £2000. Well-bred Angus x heifers from J S & M I Tilley, Redhill to £2030; British Blue x steers 14 mths £1970 S J Taylor.
Overall a very strong trade.

Cattle Passports
We remind producers that on no occasion should the details on a cattle passport be changed other than by returning it to BCMS.
If details are incorrect return and advise BCMS or advise the auctioneers on market day without writing on the passport.

Store & Finished Pigs – 40 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07780133678

A good entry again with perhaps less quality in the pens than usual but a good trade for what was on offer. Top call 126kg from R J Padfield to 210p pk and £266 per head followed J & M Carr to 180p pk and £178.20 per head. Majority of the other finished pigs 150 – 180p pk. In order to get the best results, breed better quality types and get them 85-100 kg. Just a few native stores to £28 per head.
Please do inform me of any pigs you have to sell on Tuesday 8^th April.

Forthcoming Auctions

Tuesday Livestock – 1st April 2025

Regular Weekly Market with a sale of Store and Breeding Cattle

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