Demand High for Performance at Kelso Ram Sales 2011

Demand High for Performance at Kelso Ram Sales
2011-09-14

An optimistic mood at the annual Cydectin Kelso Ram Sales, on Friday 9th September, resulted in the average increasing £27 to a new record of £649 per head.

Texel shearling ram Grey Peel Rambo was sold for £15,000
(photo by Robert Smith Photography & Video)

4457 rams sold through 14 auction rings for £2,895,770.

Despite the damp start to the day there was the usual flurry of high-flying prices, but most buyers were being selective, with the end result that more than 10% of rams returned home unwanted.

Jack Clark, managing director of auctioneer John Swan, said: "It was the top half who had the bigger lift."

For Rod McKenzie, of the Scottish Sheep Strategy Group, the sale was a "complete vindication" of the work that many breeders were now putting in to record the performance of their ram lambs.

He claimed that the commercial producers, the majority of Kelso buyers, were now picking out lambs on the performance figures. "The scheme is beginning to pay off. Prices for good performance rams are now £200 to £300 per head above the average and that is a telling amount of cash."

£15,000 was paid for Grey Peel Rambo, a Texel shearling from Messrs MS & C Hardy-Bishop and sold to Bruce Goldie, Townfoot, Mouswold, Edward Fox, Elsdonburn, Wooler, and Jonathon Watson, Bowsden Moor, Berwick on Tweed. Rambo was in the top 1 per cent of the breed in breeding value and he had taken the breed prize at the Border Union show.

The best Bluefaced Leicester price of the day was paid for a Tanhouse B4 son from Messrs Hall, Lilyburn Firth which sold to Crowhall farms, Hexham for £6,500.

In the ram lambs, top call was £5000 for a Suffolk from Iain Barbour, Solwaybank. A son of the 12000gns Rhaeadr Rastafari out of a Perrinpit Physique mother, he sold to James Rooney and Gerry Killilea.

Averages;

Registered rams; 101 Beltex shearlings £462.08, nine Beltex ram lambs £346.67, nine Berrichon Du Cher shearlings £572.22, 14 Berrichon Du Cher ram lambs £405.71, three Blue Texel shearlings £850, 482 Bluefaced Leicester shearlings £879.25, 25 Bluefaced Leicester ram lambs £1012.80, 64 Border Leicester shearlings £545.16. 256 Charollais shearlings £533.75, 58 Charollais ram lambs £376.59, four Easycare shearlings £562.50, 11 Hampshire Down shearlings £460, 108 Lleyn shearlings £375.74, two Millenium Bleu shearlings £300, 74 North Country Cheviot shearlings £383.38, 10 Oxford Down shearlings £219, two Poll Dorset shearlings £415, three Poll Dorset ram lambs £233.33, 455 Suffolk shearlings £712.99, 280 Suffolk ram lambs £587.57, 1144 Texel shearlings £717.11, 89 Texel ram lambs £415.84, eight Vendeen shearlings £487.50.

Unregistered rams; 10 Beltex shearlings £219, 465 crossbred rams £509.68, 16 crossbred ram lambs £436.25, 486 Suffolk shearlings £718.19, 269 Texel shearlings £592.97.

Photo Gallery
click on thumbnails to enlarge (photos by Robert Smith Photography & Video)