Livestock

Beef Shorthorn bulls met a 6,200gns high, selling to an average of 4,410, up 971 on the year and a clearance rate of 64 per cent.

Cammock Nova, a September-2018 born bull from Niall and Katy Blair, Kilry, led the trade in the Salers section.

Females in the Beef Shorthorn section soared a 15,000gns high, marking a new female breed record price for John Elliot, Kelso.

Charolais bulls sold to a 20,000gns high, to average 6,627 up 892 on the year, with a clearance rate of 60 per cent.

Leading on the first of the three days at Stirling was a 10,000gns top call for Aberdeen-Angus bulls.

Future policy must allow farmers to continue their dual role in maintaining and enhancing landscapes while producing food, an NFU report has highlighted.

Farmers already do so much to preserve our countryside, and there is more they can do, but they must be given the tools they need by Government, says High Peak Conservative MP Robert Largan.

Farming is a resilient industry, but there is still much work to do on issues such as export certificates, trade deals and future policy to prepare us for Brexit, says Matt Legge, a sheep, beef and pig farmer from the Isle of Wight.

Defra’s new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme must stop the uplands from being destocked and wilded by stealth, says Phil Stocker, chief executive of the National Sheep Association.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the UK is now preparing to leave the EU without a deal, as he accused his European counterparts of ‘abandoning the idea of a free trade agreement’.