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The Texel Sheep Society UK’s premier show and sale in Lanark this week was its highest-grossing sale yet.
High-end bidding from top pedigree flocks, coupled with a surge in ram lamb prices, saw the total settle at over £1.2m.
Topping the sale at 130,000gns (£136,500 or €147,460) was Sportsman A Star from Charlie Boden, Cheshire.
This ram is a son of last year’s 70,000gns sale-topper Teiglum Young Gun, with his dam being a daughter of former Lanark champion Cairnam Talisman.
With an opening bid of 5,000gns, some quick back-and-forth bidding saw the ram soar over the 100,000gns mark, before the hammer finally fell to successful bidders Hugh and Alan Blackwood, Auldhouseburn, and John Forsyth, Glenside.
50,000gns
The second-highest price was the 50,000gns paid for Deveronvale Ace of Diamonds from Graham Morrison’s Aberdeenshire-based flock.
Sired by Millars Windbrook and out of a Scoholars Twenty Twelve-bred daughter, she was secured by the breeder of the high-seller, Charlie Boden.
Overall, 415 ram lambs sold to average a massive £2,702.
The strong lamb trade witnessed throughout the summer has helped to restore confidence in the sector, with not only the Texel breed reporting record highs.
Beltex
Earlier this month the Beltex society held its premier sale in Carlisle. It recorded a record ram price of 27,000gns, as well hitting the highest numbers sold at sale in the breed’s history.
Setting the record was Richard Wood and family’s ram lamb Kingledores Crusader.
This ram had been placed as the reserve male champion at this year’s Royal Highland Show. Sired by Glantre Armani, Crusader is out of the noted Kingledores Pearl and was secured by Irish buyers Wade and Alison McCrabbe.
More than 900 rams sold across the two days to an average price of £1,300.
Irish trade at pedigree sales have also followed a similar trend, with a number of high clearances and high sellers in recent weeks.
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