An increase in the number of prime lamb vendors from outside the Eden area and a continuing drop in the volume of suckler cattle sold are two of last year’s trends noted by Mark Richardson, regional sales manager (Kirkby Stephen) and auctioneer for Harrison and Hetherington.
Mark describes 2022 as a “successful year at Kirkby Stephen auction mart, even in the light of all the adversity in today’s climate, coupled with extreme summer droughts and spiralling import costs.”
He believes quality has mattered in all sectors, with buyers being prepared to travel and pay premiums for quality stock.
He said: “In March’s Kirkby Classic show and sale of store cattle we saw a top price of £5,200 for a nine-month-old Limousin heifer. With predominantly 8-12 month old cattle forward, the sale average of £1,246.02 was up £120 on the year.”
At the May Day show and sale, prices topped at £3,000 for an 11-month-old British Blue heifer. The 1,064 steers sold to average £1,217.66 and heifers £1,141.96.
According to Mark, drought conditions, particularly in the south and east of the UK, were a concern for the breeding sheep sales at the start of the season. However, with support from local farmers who provided assistance, most buyers travelled north as usual and prices topped at £600. The overall sale average of £119.29 was down slightly on the year, but it was a much better outcome than expected.
“With a large crowd of buyers and strong demand, our sale of Continental cross ewes and rams reached extreme levels,” he said.
As a result of the drought and high feed costs, prime lamb numbers across the country were slow to build, which resulted in a strong lamb trade in the first half of the season.
Mark said: “At the beginning of the second half of the season numbers regained last year’s levels but with trade remaining fairly static compared to this period last year. This, coupled with inflated feed costs, resulted in some producers selling lambs in the store ring and, with plenty of buyers present at all sales, consistently strong trades were achieved.
“In spite of this, in the latter part of the year we continued to grow prime sheep numbers, selling between 3,000 and 4,000 on a weekly basis from noted local breeders and increasing numbers of sellers travelling long distances. At these sales all classes of prime lambs and cash ewes are well catered for, with top quality lambs regularly achieving £150-£170 and 350-400p per kg.”
He went on to recall that one of the highlights of the year at Kirkby Stephen was the annual Swaledale Sheep Breeders’ Association three-day ram sale, which saw a fantastic overall two day average of £2,273.25 for 610 rams. The opening day sale topped at £18,000 for a ram lamb, and £5,200 for an aged ram, while the following day topped at £30,000 and £45,000 for shearling rams.
“With ever declining suckler cow numbers, the store cattle trade has continued to rise throughout the year,” said Mark.
At the annual Luke Fair sale, the steer average of £1,305 was up by £110.32 on the year. Some 104 cattle sold for £1,400-£2,015 and a top price of £2,015 was paid for an 18-month-old British Blue cross steer.
“Following on from this, November’s suckled calf sale saw some of the strongest prices ever witnessed, topping at £4,500 for eight-month-old Limousin heifer,” said Mark.
With 50 more calves going under the hammer than the year before, the sale average was £1,051.29. One local consignment of 51 calves sold to average £1,541.27.
Closing the cattle sales calendar was November’s beef breeding cattle fixture, which attracted buyers and sellers from across the UK. With an entry of 462, prices topped at £4,000 for a British Blue cow with calf at foot. The 115 in-calf heifers sold to an average £2,402.27 — up £426.61 on the year — and one consignment of 28 in-calf heifers averaged £2,739.29.
Mark added: “Once again, we would like to thank those who consign and purchase for supporting us throughout the year and turning out such quality stock, which we are pleased to offer for sale. Such tremendous quality of sheep and cattle really is testament to the stockmanship and standards of production of those farmers who sell through Kirkby Stephen.”
