Ashford Market Report – Tuesday 24th September 2024

Sheep Sales Reports

New Season Lambs – 690

Auctioneer: John Rossiter 07557 392903

Top price per kilo – 349p – R M Vidler
Top price per head – £183.00 – R M Vidler

Desperately short of numbers throughout the country but the trade is, consequently, holding strong for the finished lambs on offer. Some super lambs from R M Vidler today selling to £183 head and 349p kg. With the finished trade holding so firm at  levels that we have never seen at this time of year it shows that there are rewards to be taken for finishing at this time of year. We could easily sell double the number of lambs with no negative impact on the trade.

36 – £120.00 (333p kg) – Wanstall Farms
37 – £126.00 (341p kg) – R M Vidler
39 – £129.00 (331p kg) – T Lyle & Partners
40 – £133.00 (333p kg) – Wanstall Farms
41 – £143.00 (349p kg) – R M Vidler
42 – £137.50 (327p kg) – Jamie Watt
43 – £136.00 (316p kg) – D Thompson
44 – £146.00 (332p kg) – R L Pack
45 – £145.00 (322p kg) – R L Pack
46 – £156.00 9339p kg) – Jamie Watt
47 – £157.00 (334p kg) – R M Vidler
48 – £160.00 (333p kg) – P N & C Burden
49 – £164.00 (335p kg) – E Stretton
50 – £161.00 (322p kg) – R M Vidler
53 – £160.00 (302p kg) – W G Watkins & Sons
55 – £183.00 (333p kg) – R M Vidler

Averages (p/kg)

Light 25.6 to 32 kgs – 63 – Top 246, Average 194.1
Standard 32.1 to 39 kgs – 64 – Top 341, Average 254.6
Medium 39.1 to 45.5 kgs – 296 – Top 349, Average 305.0
Heavy 45.6 to 52 kgs – 220 – Top 339, Average 320.9
Over 52.1 kgs – 47 – Top 333, Average 283.9

Cull Sheep – 321 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07712 246474

Top price ewe: £148.00 – T Lyle & Partners – Ave £79.93

A few less in the pens but a super trade with the best fleshed ewes remaining very short. These best ewes are regularly £110 – £130 and to a top price of £148 from T Lyle & Partners for smart Texel ewes. Medium sorts £80 – £100 on most occasions with leaner grazing types plentiful and £50 – £70 throughout with only very few sold below these figures.
Please do inform me of any larger consignments of ewes you intend on selling in the coming weeks while trade remains strong.

Top prices included:

Texels to £148 – T Lyle & Partners, Suffolk cross to £138 – Barleybrook Farm, Beltex to £116 – A Denning, Romneys to £116 – G W Fuller & Son, Mules to £100 – T Hope.

Cattle Sales Reports

Finished Cattle –  50 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357

A good show of well finished cattle of all grades and weights continues to find a trade that is driven on by a massive imbalance of supply with demand. Buying support swelled by extra local butcher attendance, and a few store buyers hoping to find a few leaner types to take on a while.
Prices fully maintained in both steer and heifer sections with undoubtedly more weight on offer with a quarter of the entry 650-725kg.
Beef bred cattle flew with another excellent run from A J Thompson & Sons seeing heifers to 312p, £1612 with their steers grossing to £2034 (8 av £1922). R F & E A Simmons topped the steer positions at 305p, £1746.
A few more dairy bred cattle today with Alan Down`s Hereford x Friesian to 284p, £1741 Limousin x Friesian to £1806; George Sim`s Blue x Friesian heifers to 276p, £1712; and Hereford x Friesians from R C & J L Pickering to 272p, £1575.
Natives further bolstered by butcher support. Angus x steers to 288p (2) £1883 from A C Hulme & Sons, their heifers to 296p, £1625. Strong Angus x heifers to 285p, £1721 from W S Furnival who saw Sussex heifers to 281p, £1431 and Beef Shorthorn heifers to 279p, £1643.

Top Steers

R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 305p (£1614)
W S Furnival Ltd – Limousin cross – 296p (£1921)
R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 294p (£1746)
R F & E A Simmons – Limousin cross – 290p (£1563)
A J Thompson & Sons – Limousin cross – 289p (£1962)

Top Heifers

A J Thompson & Sons – Limousin cross – 312p (£1620)
A J Thompson & Sons – Limousin cross – 304p (£1593)
A C Hulme & Sons – Aberdeen Angus – 296p (£1625)
A J Thompson & Sons – Limousin cross – 296p (£1610)
A J Thompson & Sons – Limousin cross – 287p (£1590)

Average Prices

Steers 200 to 550kg – 4 – Top 305p – Ave. 272p
Steers 551 to 650 kg – 17 – Top 296p – Ave. 278p
Steers 651 + – 11 – Top 289p – Ave. 282p
Heifers 300 to 500 kg – 1 – Top 276p – Ave. 276p
Heifers 501 to 590 kg – 14 – Top 312p – Ave. 285p
Heifers 591 + – 3 – Top 285p – Ave. 268p

OTM Cattle and Cull Cows – 29 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357

Perhaps, not surprisingly, a small entry as vendors and purchasers interpret the changes in the Blue Tongue boundaries and the accessibility of abattoirs with APHA Blue Tongue access. As it transpired no reason to worry at all with a high proportion of good feeding cows and overage heifers, and the fleshed cows on offer taken up with relish and excellent levels.
Some outstanding young feeders met an incredible trade with the best pushing up towards 280p, whilst good commercial fleshed beef cows either side of 200p.
Simmental x 279p, £1490 M & C Farms; Limousin x 258p, £1352 M & C Farms; British Blue x 206p, 196p, £1505, £1120 M & C Farms; Angus x 197p, £1218 M & C Farms; Sussex 193p, 185p, £1415, £1200 M & C Farms; Trad Hereford 167p, £1032 (Non FA) N Ridge.
Quality feeders throughout the cull section with buyers desperate to secure stock.
Sussex 3yo+ heifers 235p, 232p, 227p, 226p, £1200, £1172, £1123, £1049.
Stock Bulls (3) Still a very good trade. Please have a VAN number.
Limousin 176p, £1676; Sussex 146p, £1564.

Beef Cows – 15 Sold – Top 279, Average 187.3
Dairy Cows – 5 Sold – Top 184, Average 153.4

Store & Breeding Cattle -199 Sold

Auctioneer: James Cook-O’Connell 07712 246474

An absolute cracking trade from start to finish with many customers forward to buy all grades of cattle. To kick off the day we had breeding cattle with Angus bulls from V Marsh to £1700. A herd dispersal of Angus cross cows with Angus calves from H Goldsworthy to £1530 and majority £1200 – £1400.
A great run of Angus cross and Limousin cross 11-12m from Gallagher Farm saw the best steers to £1390 and £1380. James Latham had quality Blue x 19 m forward with the best of these to £1250, and reared Angus crosses 16-18m from the same home to £1130. H & J Noakes had their  Angus steers 17m to £1370, and Sussex steers 18 mths from Earl de la Warr to £1220. M & C Farms had a quality run with cracking Simmental cross steers 18 mths to £1460,  the heifers from the same home to £1190. Langrish Farmers also had a large run starting off with Sussex steers to £1310 then moving onto the Blue cross heifers to £1290 and Simmental cross heifers 17 mths to £1140.
Please do not hesitate to get in contact if you have either breeding or store cattle to sell while the trade remains strong.

Principal Prices include:

Continental
Simmental cross steers 18 mths – £1460 – M & C Farms
Limousin cross steers 12 mths – £1390 – Gallagher Farms
Limousin cross steers 25 mths – £1290 – Goodsell Farm Partnership
British Blue cross steers 19 mths – £1250 – J Latham
British Blue cross heifers 25 mths – £1290 – Langrish Farmers
Simmental cross heifers 18 mths – £1190 – M & C Farms
Simmental cross heifers 17 mths – £1160 – Langrish Farmers
Charolais cross heifers 23 mths – £1130 – Goodsell Farm Partnership

Native
Aberdeen Angus steers 12 mths – £1380 – Gallagher Farms
Sussex steers 29 mths – £1370 – Sussex Herd Co.
Aberdeen Angus cross steers 18 mths – £1370 – H & J Noakes
Sussex cross steers 18 mths – £1310 – Langrish Farmers
South Devon heifers 24 mths – £1310 – D J Miles
Aberdeen Angus cross heifers 17 mths – £915 – J Latham
Sussex heifers 17 mths – £980 – H C D Moorhead
Sussex heifers 26 mths – £1020 – Earl de la Warr

Calves – 51 Sold

Auctioneer: Peter Kingwill 07795 200357

Another good entry of over 50 calves but, perhaps, not quite up to the overall quality of a fortnight ago, with certainly more younger calves on offer.
All our regular vendors and buyers within the Zone so no disruption at all from Blue Tongue regulations.
The entry, as seems the current trend, largely Blues & Blacks, and certainly the majority younger middle grades. Plenty of farmer customers for calves with a good run of Blues from Appleton Farms selling bulls to £270 and £265, heifers to £245 and £225. A smart Blue heifer from Hickson Bros £255. Similar trends amongst the Angus calves. PJ Forknall sold bulls to £202 twice but middle grades more generally around £150-180.  A few stronger Angus heifers to £168, £165 and £150 from Kingcott Dairy.
Trade of the day for Simmental heifers with a long term eye on their breeding potential. 3-4 week old calves sold to £240, £235 and £202 from R & J Ledger. Tidy Friesian and Dairy Shorthorn bulls sold to £75 and £72 from Parrett & Son, and Goddard & Son respectively.
Another good day in the Calf ring. Thank You.

Bull Calves
British Blue cross – 12 – Ave £177.75– Top £270.00 – Appleton Farms Ltd
Aberdeen Angus – 12 – Ave £176.00 – Top £202.00 – P J Forknall
Hereford cross – 1 – Ave £152.00 – Top £152.00 – Goddard & Son
British Friesian – 1 – Ave £75.00 – Top £75.00 – Parrett & Son
Dairy Shorthorn cross – 1 – Ave £72.00 – Top £72.00 – Goddard & Son

Heifer Calves
British Blue cross – 8 – Ave £191.63 – Top £255.00 – Hickson Bros
Simmental cross – 3 – Ave £225.67 – Top £240.00 – R & J Ledger
Aberdeen Angus cross – 11 – Ave £114.64 – Top £168.00 – Kingcott Dairy

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Tuesday Livestock – 1st October September 2024

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