Market prices

RUTHIN Farmers' Auction reports sales of 1,709 prime lambs to 244.9ppk / £120.00; 587 cull ewes and rams to £138.00 and 11 cattle to 253ppk / £1,338.25.

Prime lambs (auctioneer - Elfor Morris):

There was a good trade, especially on medium weight lambs.

A good trade again on strong lambs.

Top priced per kilo: 244.9 by R V Jones, Pentre Farm; 241.7 by H T Davies, Cae Glas; 236.8 by J S Davies & Son, Derwen Deg.

Top priced per head: £120.00 by R V Jones, Pentre Farm; £116.00 by H T Davies, Cae Glas; £109.00 by T B & M Davies, Nant y Gau.

Light to 222.2, Average 170.9; Standard to 236.8, Average 193.9; Medium to 231.7, Average 199.6; Heavy to 244.9, Average 194.0; Overweight to 190.5, Average 170.0; Overall Average 192.5; SQQ 195.1.

Cull ewes and rams (auctioneer - Paul Roberts):

Top priced rams / ewes: £138.00 by I H Jones, Tain y Waen.

Beltex rams to to £138.00; Cross Bred Ewes to £90.00; Texel rams to £90.00; Suffolk ewes to £90.00; Charollais ewes to £80.00; Welsh rams to £60.00; Welsh ewes to £44.00; Overall ewes / rams average £46.41.

Heifers (auctioneer - Glyn Owens):

Top priced per kilo 253ppk by M L Howatson & Son, Ty Newydd; Top priced per head £1,338.25 by M L Howatson & Son, Ty Newydd; Overall Heifers Average 220.4.

St Asaph livestock market - February 9

OLD season lambs (294):

Lambs were slightly easier and they topped at £76/head from I Lloyd, Tyn Twll.

Super Super Light ave 117.21 to 132.00p/kg; Super Light ave 155.48 to 186.00p/kg; Light ave 165.67 to 202.00p/kg; Standard ave 189.23 to 197.00p/kg; Medium ave 177.49 to 180.00p/kg.

Old ewes and rams (42):

Ewes to £66.00 ave £40.22; Rams to £42.00 ave £40.22.

In-lamb ewes (28):

Welsh ewes to £65/head.

Pet lambs (8):

Pet lambs to £16/head.

Mold primestock sale - February 11

BEEF trade was slightly improved from the previous two weeks.

Cull cows continue to meet pleasing trade, helped by several feeding orders.

There was a nice entry of hoggets, with demand remaining firm.

Highlights: Top 10 Beef 213.40 (1439.38); Top 20 Beef 211.40 (1394.09).

Prime cattle (117 entries - 61 hfrs, 49 strs, 7 bulls):

Heifers (under 30m): Heavy Continental Heifers to 212 (1352.40), Av 198.93; Medium Continental Heifers to 211, Av 197.09; Light Continental Heifers to 200, Av 196; Heavy Native Heifers to 196, Av 172.60; Medium Native Heifers to 206, Av 187.29; Light Native Heifers to 200, Av 200.

Steers (under 30m): Heavy Continental Steers to 219 (1490.40), Av 202.60; Medium Continental Steers to 211, Av 198.42; Light Continental Steers to 197, Av 197; Heavy Native Steers to 194 (1290.10), Av 191.20; Medium Native Steers to 198, Av 186.67; Heavy Friesian Steers to 170 (1144), Av 157.50; Medium Friesian Steers to 190, Av 173.67.

Bulls (under 30m): Heavy Native Bulls to 155, Av 155; Medium Native Bulls to 175, Av 172.50; Light Native Bulls to 170, Av 170; Medium Friesian Bulls to 166, Av 166; Light Friesian Bulls to 171, Av 170.

Heifers (30-36m): Heavy Continental Heifers to 209 (1358.50), Av 209; Medium Continental Heifers to 205, Av 188; Heavy Native Heifers to 154, Av 154; Medium Native Heifers to 170, Av 170.

Steers (30-36m): Heavy Continental Steers to 170 (1326), Av 170; Medium Continental Steers to 198, Av 198; Light Continental Steers to 190, Av 190; Heavy Native Steers to 179 (1261.95), Av 179; Medium Native Steers to 179, Av 154.50; Heavy Friesian Steers to 155 (1108.25), Av 155.

Heifers (over 36m): Heavy Continental Heifers to 170, Av 170.

Cull cows (65 entries - 31 dairy, 34 beef): Young Continental cows to 170 (1173); Young Native cows to 167 (1035.40); Aged Continental cows to 149,149, 147, 146, 144 etc, £1117.50, 1072.80, 1065.75, 1008 etc; Top 10 Beef Cows Av 147.20 (1036.94); Top 20 Beef cows Av 134.15 (946.33); Overall beef cow av 119.70; B & W cow to 118, 116, 115, 114, 114, 113 etc, 932.30, 906.30, 881.60, 879.20, 868.25; Top 10 Dairy cows Av 111.90 (824.34); Overall Dairy cow Av 95.70.

Hoggets (339 entries): Standard to 200, Av 194.80; Medium to 207, Av 194.80; Heavy to 189, Av 179.40; Sqq 194.80.

Ewes (41 entries): Ewes to 60, Av 38.76.

Llanrwst market - February 12

HOGGETS were easier, with less medium weight lambs around.

Hoggets (824): S/lights (32) to 150p, av 134p; Lights (197) to 200p, av 160p; Standards (405) to 195p, av 178p; Mediums (150) to 213p, av 183p; Heavy (40) to 190p, av 176p.

Ewes / rams (106): Welsh to £35; Xbred to £75; Rams to £74.

Beef (8): BB hfrs to 198p; Chx hfrs to 170p; Sim hfrs to 185p; Limx strs to 195p.

OTM cows (2): Sim to 90p; AA to 75p.

Highest priced:

Hoggets (per head and per kilo) by A Lloyd, Derwen Deg, Trefriw, Llanrwst.

Ewes by D Davies, Plas Llan, Eglwysbach.

Beef (ppk and per head) by C W Davies, Coed Y Bryn, Llansannan.

Bala market - February 7

SHEEP:

Old season lambs: Light (62) ave 173.3p/kg; Standard (40) ave 185.5p/kg; Medium (27) ave 181.6p/kg; Heavy (4) ave 167.0p/kg; SQQ 179.0.

Ruthin store and breeding stock sale - February 7

RUTHIN Farmers' Auction reports sales of 184 store cattle to £1,210; 11 calves to £420; one OTM cattle to £911.20; 162 ewe and lamb couples (391 head) to £202; 624 in-lamb ewes to £300 and 919 store lambs to £77.

Calves (auctioneer: Dafydd Parry):

The entry of calves saw a brisker trade and happy vendors.

Limousin bull calves to £420 by A W Evans, Grugor Ucha; Brit Blue heifers to £330; Brit Blue bulls to £325.

Store cattle (auctioneer: Emyr Lloyd):

Heifers: 21m Limousin to £1,200.00 by F Davies & Son, Bank Farm; 19m Limousin to £1,105.00; 12m Limousin to £1,020.00; 21m Charolais to £1,085.00; 20m Brit Blue to £1,005.00; 22m Brit Blue to to £985.00.

Steers: 19m Charolais to £1,210.00 by M Davies, Clwt Grugor; 16m Charolais to £1,185.00; 23m Limousin to £1,195.00; 22m Simmental x to £1,190.00; 21m Hereford to £1,115.00.

OTM: Brit Blue cows to £911.20.

Sheep section:

Store lambs: There was a strong entry of almost 1,000 store lambs, with a good multi-breed selection available.

Trade also remained strong, with forward lambs selling to £76.

Texel ram lambs to £90.00; Charollais ram lambs to £77.00; Charollais ewe lambs to £76.00; Suffolk ram lambs to £73.00; Mule rams lambs to £73.00; Cross Bred ram lambs to £70.00; Texel ewe lambs to £69.00; Suffolk ewe lambs to £53.00; Welsh ewe lambs to £45.50; Welsh ram lambs to £37.00; Overall average £52.32.

Ewe and lamb couples:

An excellent entry of ewe and lamb couples remained a firm trade.

Strong lambs again attracted a premium.

Texel £138 (singles), £188 (twins); Mule £202 (twins); Welsh £108 (singles); Cheviot £120 (twins); Cross Bred £160 (twins).

In-lamb ewes:

The eagerly anticipated pre-notified entries of 624 in-lamb ewes attracted a very strong crowd of potential purchasers.

This resulted in a very good trade and a 100 per cent clearance.

The Pure charollais ewes sold to £300.

Texel to £188; Mule to £142; Beltex to £135; Welsh to £62.

Dolgellau market - February 1

FARMERS marts reports entries of 284 cast ewes, rams and store hoggets.

Prices: Yearling Wethers to £45.40; Welsh Cast Ewes to £44.40; Scottish Black Face Cast Ewes to £38.40; Welsh Rams to £50; Texel Rams to £63; Charolais Rams to £70.40; Crossbred Cast Ewes to £50; Crossbred Store Hoggetts to £65.40; Welsh Ewe Hoggs to £38.40; Welsh Hoggs to £43.

St Asaph livestock market - February 7

OLD season lambs (2,120):

A more mixed entry forward today with the best hoggs in excellent demand.

Trade was good throughout, although the SQQ was pulled lower by the general quality on offer.

Top price Light 220p/kg shown by H W Hughes, Foel Fawr and £66/head shown by the same vendor; Top price Standard 253p/kg shown by D Evans, Penywaen and £97/head shown by G Hughes, Plas Coch; Top price Medium 270p/kg shown by T G Jones, Twnan Ucha and £111/head shown by T H Davies, Pendared; Top price Heavy 221p/kg shown by O T & H C Williams, Hendre Blaenau and £104/head shown by the same vendors; Top price Overweight 204p/kg shown by G Rowlands, Tyn Fedw and £111/head shown by E W Roberts, Ty Cerrig; SQQ 200.62.

Light ave 176.76 to 220.00 to £66.00/hd; Standard ave 197.37 to 253.00 to £97.00/hd; Medium ave 206.92 to 270.00 to £110.00/hd; Heavy ave 185.83 to 221.00 to £104.00/hd; Overweight ave 170.69 to 204.00 to £111.00/hd.

Cull ewes and rams (712):

Another good entry of ewes, but again a lot of plain ewes were forward.

Best Continental Ewes to £96/head; Welsh Ewes to £47/head and Tups to £122/head.

Ewes to £96.00 ave £53.27; Rams to £122.00 ave £74.38.

Auction of Welsh naked acres at St Asaph - February 7

THE second auction of Welsh naked acres for the 2019 Basic Payment Scheme year at St Asaph livestock market saw increased competition from Basic Payment Scheme claimants from across North and Mid Wales.

A total of 248.98 acres of permanent grassland classification Welsh naked acres peaked at £68.25 per acre, with only a very small quantity selling under £65.00 per acre.

The numerous individual sales from the day amounted to £16,403.37, giving a superb average of £65.88 per acre.

This was £1.47 per acre up on the average of the first auction held on January 24.

Welsh Basic Payment Scheme entitlements - February 7

WELSH Basic Payment Scheme entitlements with a maximum anticipated payment of £237.17 per unit / hectare (£95.98 per acre) and a minimum anticipated payment of £121.61 per unit / hectare (£49.21 per acre) later this year averaged £67.65 per unit / hectare (£27.38 per acre) for a lot of 20.76 Welsh Basic Payment Scheme entitlements (not subject to VAT), with exactly 100 Welsh Basic Payment Scheme entitlements (subject to VAT) averaging £54.05 per unit / hectare (£21.87 per acre).

Given the maximum and minimum anticipated payments later this year, the purchasers are without any doubt making an excellent investment for their farming business!

The next auction will be held at St Asaph livestock market on Thursday, February 21 (12pm).

Mold stock sale - February 8

THERE was an increased entry of cattle, with no let-up in demand or trade for cattle of all breeds and ages.

An increased entry of dairy met a packed ringside of buyers and plenty of demand for all types.

In addition, a special entry of in-lamb ewes drew a large crowd of customers.

Store cattle (184 entries): CHAR str (20m) 1140; BSH str (21m) 1100; BB str (22m) to 1075; Lim str (22m) to 1070; HF str (25m) to 1060; AA str (22m) to 1050; SIM str (23m) to 1030; BF str (22m) to 960; BB hfr (23m) to 935; LIM hfr (22m) 930; BA hfr (20m) 910; AA hfr (20m) to 900; CHAR hfr (19m) to 890; SIM hfr (19m) to 870.

Stirks (41 entries): LIM str (7m) to 810; BB str (11m) 730; LIM bull (10m) to 720; SAL str (9m) to 500; FLECV bull (9m) to 470; AA bull (9m) to 450; HF str (11m) to 440; LIM hfr (5m) to 565; CHAR hfr (6m) to 555.

Dairy (17 entries):

Heifers: BF X hfr to 1800; HF X hfrs to 1750 x 3, 1720, 1700, 1660.

Cows: HF 3nd calver to 1550; Ayr 4th calver to 1250, others to 1150, 1100; Ayr 5th calver to 940.

Calves (38 entries): LIM bull to 258; BB bull to 230; CHAR bull to 210; BAZ bull to 198; HER bull to 160; AA bull to 152; BF bull to 55; BB hfr to 160; Lim hfr to 155; WB hfr to 130; AA hfr to 100.

In-lamb ewes (42 entries): 6T-FM ewes (Tex X) to 122; 6T-FM ewes (Lleyn X) to 120; 6T-FM ewes (Char X) to 118.

Knighton market - February 7

SHEEP:

Old season lambs: Light (1) ave 155.0p/kg; Standard (84) ave 188.2p/kg; Medium (411) ave 196.8p/kg; Heavy (119) ave 181.4p/kg; SQQ 195.2.

Total cull ewes (369): Ave £44.00.

Rhayader market - February 12

SHEEP:

Old season lambs: Light (31) ave 160.2p/kg; Standard (65) ave 187.8p/kg; Medium (142) ave 190.8p/kg; Heavy (126) ave 177.1p/kg; SQQ 186.0.

Total cull ewes (21): Ave £53.60.

Welshpool market - February 11

CATTLE:

Heifers: Light (1) ave 127.0p/kg; Medium (3) ave 121.7p/kg; Heavy (5) ave 120.0p/kg; All heifers ave 121.3p/kg.

Cull cows: Dairy sired (3) ave 84.0p/kg; Beef sired (23) ave 115.7p/kg; All cull cows ave 112.1p/kg.

Sheep:

Old season lambs: Light (240) ave 175.5p/kg; Standard (694) ave 197.5p/kg; Medium (1,274) ave 204.6p/kg; Heavy (419) ave 189.6p/kg; SQQ 199.2.

Total cull ewes (2,536): Ave £46.60.

Gaerwen market - February 12

MESSRS Morgan Evans & Co report an entry of 400 store cattle and 40 OTMs.

There was an exceptional show of stores forward, with an increased number of cattle attracting numerous buyers present at a packed ringside in Gaerwen.

An excellent demand on all stores resulted in a fast trade, with OTMs sharper.

The top price was from Henry Evans, Cwyrtai with a British Blue Steer at £1,190, bought by Arthur Williams.

Schedule of prizes:

Highest priced pair of steers:

£1,120 by Messrs Evans, Bugeilys Fawr, Rhoshirwaun.

Highest priced four or more steers:

£1,060 by H P Evans, Cwyrtai, Ty Croes.

Highest priced pair of heifers:

£1,085 by G Jones, Tyddyn Hirion, Llanynghendl.

Highest priced four or more heifers:

£940 by Messrs Roberts, Tal y Braich Isaf, Capel Curig.

Highest priced OTM steer / heifer:

£1,079 by Messrs Roberts, Gloddfa, Brynteg.

Highest priced OTM cow:

£1,094 by G Jones, Bryn Gwynt, Anelog.

Market prices:

Highest priced steer: £1,190 by H P Evans, Cwyrtai, Ty Croes.

Highest priced heifer: £1,155 by Messrs Morris, Treborth Uchaf Farm, Treborth.

Highest priced OTM per kilo: 170ppk by M Owen, Bryn Beuno, Ceunant.

Highest priced OTM overall: £1,094 by G Jones, Bryn Gwynt, Anelog.

Steers:

Overall average £874; 12 month Charolais £1,125; 18 month Charolais £1,100; 24 month Charolais £1,185; 12 month Limousin £1,030; 18 month Limousin £1,160; 24 month Limousin £1,140; 12 month British Blue £820; 18 month British Blue £1,190; 24 month British Blue £1,080; 18 month Simmental £985; 12 month Blonde/A £900; 18 month Blonde/A £1,055; 18 month Hereford £1,070; 24 month Hereford £900; 12 month Friesian £630; 18 month Friesian £780; 24 month Friesian £890; 18 month Aberdeen £1,030; 24 month Aberdeen £930; 18 month Saler £1,080.

Heifers:

Overall average: £850;

12 month Charolais £1,000; 18 month Charolais £1,155; 24 month Charolais £1,090; 12 month Limousin £900; 18 month Limousin £1,025; 24 month Limousin £1,090; 18 month British Blue £820; 24 month British Blue £1,050; 18 month Simmental £810; 24 month Simmental £940; 12 month Blonde/A £955; 18 month Blonde/A £1,105; 12 month Hereford £690; 18 month Hereford £820; 24 month Hereford £870; 18 month Aberdeen £610; 24 month Aberdeen £740; 24 month Saler £1,065.

OTMs:

Best cows: From 122ppk to 170ppk. Others from 78ppk to 118ppk; Overall average 119ppk.