Hownam Grange Ophelia, £4,500
Hownam Grange hogg is a hit
A EWE hogg proved to be the star attraction at the sale of North Country Cheviot females at Lockerbie when it claimed the Park-type championship ticket before selling for the top price of £4,500.
The Humbleheugh Cantakerous daughter named Ophelia, from Willie Thomson's Hownam Grange flock, Kelso, was shown successfully during the summer, standing first at three shows. It sold to Messrs Millar, Lockerbie, for that £4,500.
Next best at £3,600, when sold to Messrs Heads, Fenwick, was the second prize Park gimmer from Keith Stones' Nune Cote Nook flock, Marrick. It is by Nun Cote Nook Charmander and scanned with a pair to Nun Cote Nook Franco.
The reserve Hill champion, a Badanloch Wildfire-sired gimmer from Bowmont Farming, Yetholm, sold to Messrs Kirk, Thurso, for £2,220. It was in-lamb to Dorrery Dynamite.
Another from Bowmont Farming sold in a two-way split to Messrs Robertson, Sutherland, and Messrs Matheson, Alness, for £1,900.
Close behind at £2,000 was a Kinaldy Park gimmer from George Milne, St Andrews, which sold to Messrs Johnstone, Ballindalloch.
Messrs Kerr, Stewarton, paid £1,900 for a Park gimmer from Jim Thomsons's Kelso flock, Yetholm.
The Hill champion, a gimmer by an Auldallan ram from Innes Graham's Carruthers flock, Lockerbie, sold to Messrs Hughes, Betws-y-Coed, for £1,800. It sold in-lamb to Sorbietrees Elvis.
Averages – 13 ewes, £988.46; 42 shearling gimmers, £952.38; 16 ewe hoggs, £676.87; 3 black females, £716.66.
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington.
Red heifer tops Borderway dairy sale
A TOP of £3,000 was paid for a red heifer at the February Borderway monthly dairy day, where a catalogued entry of 165 was on offer.
Hitting that top price was Broughton Cas Red 3, a January-calved Delta Abundant daughter from R.J. Holden, Broughton-in-Furness. Bred from a dam that recorded more than 13,000kg in its second lactation, Cas Red sold to Ling Dairies, Southwaite.
A trio of heifers from J. Bryson and Son, Lesmahagow, saw a best of £2,800, paid by Messrs Huddleston, Penrith, for Carnduff Bryson Penny which sold giving 34 litres. Sired by Gen Bryson, it is out of a dam that regularly yielded more than 11,000kg.
Messrs Kincaid, Lockerbie, paid £2,750 for Carnduff Altanixie Unwin, giving 36 litres, and Messrs Kennedy, Linlithgow, paid the same for Carnduff Robin Allie Red, giving 45 litres.
Matching that £2,750, when sold to Messrs Sloan, Lockerbie, was Kibbleston Rager Wilma Red, from John Craig and Son, Carnock.
READ MORE: Near complete clearance of Luings at Castle Douglas
Two from D.J. Livingstone, Gretna, sold for £2,700 apiece. First and knocked down to Messrs Kincaid was Kirtlevale Adorable Judy; second, when sold to Messrs Pollock, Carlisle, was Kirtlevale Adorable Honey.
In-calf heifers sold to £2,150 for YoungBro Pattern Phoebe 2, from Ed and Linda Wilson, Southwaite, which is out of a 15,000kg plus Almamater dam and sold to Messrs Vance, Whithorn.
Averages – 88 Holstein heifers, £1,925; 18 Holstein cows, £2,131; 6 Ayrshire cows, £2,050; 13 Jersey cross cows, £1,926.92; 1 Montbéliarde heifer, £1,950; 9 cross-bred Swedish cows, £1,473.33; 4 faulted cows and heifers, £1,362.50; 41 Holstein in-calf heifers, £1,650; 8 Montbeliarde in-calf heifers, £1,875.
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington.
Large entry of prime and cast sheep at Penrith
DEMAND was strong across the board at the sale of 3,666 prime hoggs at Penrith, which sold to average 328p/kg (1,269 SQQ hoggs at 356p) or £157.60/head.
Topping the sale at 475p/kg was a pen of seven Beltex weighing 40kg, from Messrs Bindloss, Shap, followed at 473p/kg for a pen of six at 41kg from R.W. and G. Dickinson, Askham.
Messrs Dickinson led the gross trade at £197/head for a pen of 11 weighing 42kg, followed at £194/head for the six at 41kg from the same home, matched by a single at 46kg from N. and K. Gill, Barnard Castle.
A total of 3,250 cast sheep saw pure Texels from M. McNally, Northern Ireland, top at £370/head, followed at £342/head from H. MCrae, Aberdeenshire.
A Texel ram from T.A. and A. Jefferson, Wigton, broke the ram record at £335/head.
Auctioneers: Penrith and District Farmers Mart.
Manhattan is the main man
BULLS reached a top of 38,000gns at the second HW Netherton online sale of Aberdeen-Angus bulls.
Making top dollar was HW Manhattan A040, a 22-month-old son of HW Mr Equilibrium, a stock sire which bred daughters to 15,400gns, which is, in turn, by one of Australia's highest ever performing sires, Te Mania Emperor.
Manhattan's dam from the Auchterarder-based herd is the HW Abacus-sired HW May Y581, and it sold to Messrs Ismail, Perth.
Setting a new UK red Aberdeen-Angus record when sold to Cogent Breeding for 13,000gns was HW Red Edinburgh A068.
The pedigree of this May 2024-born bull features HW Red Louisiana on to HW Everngree V757, a HW Red Dabadoo daughter.
Two followed at 12,600gns apiece. The first was HW Black Bordeaux A113, a Brissac Hampton son that sold to Messrs Pilcher, St Ives.
Also at 12,600gns, this time selling to Messrs Morrison, Torphins, was the HW Mr Pride-sired HW Mr Pittsburg A114.
Messrs Braid, Moffat, paid 11,600gns for the dearest from Alexander Simpson, Methven, in the shape of MCE Black Rumm A190.
Another HW Mr Equilibrium son, it is out of a cow from the noted Blackbird family.
The Mr Equilibrium-sired HW Muthill Princess A078 sold to Messrs Gauld, Auchterarder, for 10,600gns.
Averages – 30 bulls, £9,555.
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington.
Dairy females at Gisburn sell to £2,980 twice
TWO pedigree heifers in-milk topped the show and sale of dairy cattle at Gisburn when they were knocked down for £2,980 apiece.
First up was a Solarpower daughter from R.C. and S.W. Beecroft's Killinghall-based Hollinshall herd, which sold giving 50kg.
Matching that was a Stantons Adorable daughter giving 38kg from T. Cowell's Whitecarr herd, Kirkham.
This was followed at £2,950 for the third-prize pedigree heifer from M. and J. Bristol Newton-in-Bowland, while the first prize pedigree heifer from J.T. Swales and Partners, Yarm, made £2,700.
Non-pedigree heifers hit £2,800 for the first-prize entry from E., L.M. and S.E. Barnes, Altham, which was yielding 30 litres. The second prize heifer from H.J. and K.L Blackwell made £2,550.
Pedigree cows were led by entries from J. Smithson, Kirkby Stephen, as the second-prize cow realised £2,750 while the first-prize entry that was yielding 52 litres made £2,720.
In-calf heifers sold to £1,850 twice – for a pedigree entry from A.J. and A. England and Sons, Blackburn, and a non-pedigree entry from A.R. and C.A. Parkinson, Chipping.
Averages – Pedigree cows, £2,283; non-pedigree cows, £2,140; pedigree heifers, £2,295; non-pedigree heifers, £2,079; pedigree in-calf heifers, £1662.50; non-pedigree in-calf heifers, £1,775.
Auctioneers: Gisburn Auction Marts.
Store cattle to £2,470 at Thame
A LIMITED number of 110 store cattle sold well at Thame where a top of £2,470 was paid for an Aberdeen-Angus cross British Blue steer from Keith Slade, Tring.
Messrs Slade sold others to £2,300, while a run of Charolais cross steers from P. and D.L. Warren, Wing, reached £2,420, £2,415 and £2,400.
Beef Shorthorn steers from Messrs Hares and Son, Butlers Cross, sold to £2,400, as steers set a mart record average of £2,058.26.
Heifers sold to £2,310 for similar Angus cross Blues while a run of feeding cows reached £2,460 for a Charolais cross from Ray Newell, Denham.
Auctioneers: Thame Farmers Mart.
Liz leads online dog sale
WITH 22 lots selling for £5,000 and above, a top price of £15,000 was paid at the Dolgellau online sale of working sheepdogs.
Setting that top price was Brondrefawr Liz, a two-and-a-half-year-old bitch from Dewi Jenkins, Talybont, which sold to a new home in Norway. Sired by Clwyd Bob and out of Brondrefawr Fly, Liz had a successful nursery season and qualified for the Welsh team in the Four Nations nursery final.
Next best at £14,100 when sold to a Yorkshire buyer was Brobar Meg from J.D. Wood, Derbyshire. A 20-month-old that has qualified for the English nursery final, Meg is by Hilltop Jon and out of Ruby, a daughter or R.J. Hutchinson's Sweep.
From the Isle of Bute, Emma Gray sold her Graylees Griff for £10,000 to a buyer near Glasgow. Born in August, 2023, out of Emma's own Scalpsie Nessie, Griff is by D.M. Howells' Nip.
Another Meg, this time from Cery Millichap, Porth, sold for £9,100, followed at £8,900 for Mon from Ellis Rees, Powys.
Partly-trained dogs reached £6,600 when Sion Jones, Corwen, sold 11-month-old Cefneithin Meg to a Cornish home.
Ellis Rees sold Dove for £5,900 while Iwan Pearce, Gower, sold Trevor for £5,600.
Pups peaked at £3,100 for Tyddyn Du Doug, a four-month-old from Emyr Williams, Nebo, that sold to Argyll.
Kevin Evans, Brecon, sold Atlas for £2,600.
Averages – Trained dogs, £4,865; partly-trained dogs, £2,057; pups, £986.
Auctioneers: Farmers Marts.
Mains of Airies bulls hit £5,800
THE annual on-farm spring sale of John Douglas and family's Hereford and Aberdeen-Angus bulls at Mains of Airies, Stranraer, met a 100% clearance as the sale averaged £3,733.33, a rise of £966.33 on the year.
Aberdeen-Angus bulls by HW Diablo W206 met the best of the trade and leading the way at £5,800 was Airies Salvador A315, which sold to G. McKie, Wigtown.
Closely following at £5,600 when sold to A.K. Hill Agri Contracts, Wishaw, was Airies Salvador A309.
Selling to A.B. Young, Dumfries, for £5,000 was Airies Salvador A301, while W.M. Hutchison, Wigtown, paid £4,800 for Airies Salvador A306.
Among the Herefords, two shared the top price of £5,000 with the first of these being Towford L1 Achievement 333465, a light birthweight bull that sold to J. Frame, Birks.
Matching that when sold to Messrs McTurk, Dalry, was Ervie L1 Advance 243323 which is from the L1 Peach family.
D. Clark, Borgue, paid £4,000 for Ervie L1 Advance 243326 which is bred from the Pansy family.
Auctioneers: C and D Auction Marts.
