United Auction’s Stirling Agricultural Centre was full to the gunnels on Saturday for the annual Blackface ram sale, with hill farmers prepared to bid to sensible levels for commercial stock.
There was some higher level trading for breeders’ animals among both ram lambs and shearlings, with a top price of the day of £11,000 going to Ian Hunter, Dalchirla, Crieff, for a South-Type ram lamb. The buyers were Troloss Farms, Elvanfoot, and Mary McCall Smith, Connachan, Crieff.
The Stirling sale is really two sales in one, with the Perth Ram Society using one ring for its annual sale of North-Type Blackfaces while the other ring is devoted to the South Type of the breed.
Perth Ram Society Sale
The North-Type entry traded to a top of £9,000 and averaged £742 for 152 shearlings (up £124 on the year for the same number sold), and £504 for 49 ram lambs (down £319 for four more sold).
The highlight of the sale came near the end of the ballot when Matthew Hamilton and son Matthew from Woolfords, West Calder, took to the ring with their consignment of 12 shearlings.
The first, by a £6,000 Haughton, shot up quickly to £9,000 before being knocked down jointly to Breslin Bros, Co Donegal, and M Macaleer, Co Tyrone. This one was in the third prize pen of shearlings at the pre-sale show.
The next best from Woolfords was the £7,000 paid by Sandy Smith, Haughton Glenkindie, for a son of a £300 Conway and out of a ewe by an Auldallan loan.
Another Woolfords, this time by a £250 Craigneich, sold for £4,800 to David Myles and sons Bob and Peter, Dalbog, Edzell.
The Hamiltons also parted company with the son of a £3,000 Craigneich for £2,500 to Tom Paterson, Craigneich, Muthill.
The top-price run at Stirling comes in the year the Hamiltons celebrate 150 years at Woolfords. The hill farm on the West Lothian and Lanarkshire border is home to 700 Blackface ewes.
The champion shearling and overall City of Perth champion for the best North-Type sheep in the yard came from Sandy Smith, Haughton.
One of the first sheep through the ring, it was bid quickly to £2,500 before being knocked down to Stephen Duncan, Achdregnie, Glen Livet. This one was sired by an Eastmill bought as a lamb for £400 and out of a ewe by a £1,000 McAvoy.
The reserve champion shearling was bid to £100 more, making £2,600 for vendor Stephen Duncan, Achdregnie, and going to W Watson, Londonderry. Reserve champion at Perth Show, this shearling is by a £1,500 Craigneich and out of a ewe by an £1,800 Craigneich.
Bert Grant, Glendamph, Glen Isla, sold shearlings at £2,500 and £2,400. The dearer of the two, a son of an £800 Hillhead of Morinsh, sold to Ian Shearer, Hillhead of Morinsh, Glen Livet. The other a son of a Chamberwells, bought as a lamb sold jointly to the Johnstons, Chamberwells, Glamis, and Neil Kydd, Glenhead, Lintrathen.
Keeping the focus on Glen Isla, Doldy Farms fetched £2,400 for a son of a £9,500 Haughton out of ewe by a £2,100 Haughton. The buyer was Matthew Hamilton.
Another from Doldy sold at £2,000 to Breslin Bros. This was also by the £9,500 Haughton, but this time out a ewe by a home-bred son of a £3,500 Viewmount.
There were two transactions at £1,800.
In the first, Keith Webster, Markethill, Coupar Angus, sold to Tom Paterson, Craigneich.
The second saw Stephen Duncan, Achdregnie, sell to David Baillie, Calla, Carnwath.
Mr Baillie went on to take the two best prices for North-Type ram lambs.
The lamb champion, by a £6,500 Woolfords and out of ewe by a son of a 10,000gns Conway, sold to the Duncans of Achdregnie for £2,000.
Also at the same price Woolfords bought one by a home-bred son of a 1,600gns Harkin and out of a ewe by the 10,000gns Harkin.
*Perth Ram Society Prize List was as follows (judges: shearlings, David Nicoll, Viewmount, Glen Isla; Ram lambs, Stephen Duncan Jr, Achdegnie, Glen Livet; City of Perth Trophy, Donald Main, Little Brechin).
Champion shearling: David Baillie, Calla; reserve, Duncan Beaton, Newmill of Inshewan.
Champion lamb: Sandy Smith, Haughton; reserve, Stephen Duncan, Achdregnie.
Overall champion: Sandy Smith; reserve, David Baillie
Single shearling: 1 Tom Paterson, Craigneich 2 Stephen Duncan 3 Cadogan Estates, Auchnacloich
Single ram lamb: 1 David Nicoll, Viewmount; 2 David Baillie; 3 Mrs I Petrie, Meikle Coul Cottage.
Pen of five shearlings: Bert Grant, Glendamph; 2 Stephen Duncan; 3 Matthew Hamilton.
Pen of three ram lambs: 1 David Baillie 2 Duncan Beaton 3 Elizabeth Johnston, Chamberwells.
Meanwhile, the Stirling sale of South-Type Blackfaces is the first of an October series that takes in Lanark, Dalmally and Newton Stewart.
The season started with a bang on Saturday with Ian Hunter, Dalchirla, Crieff, selling six ram lambs for an average of £6,000.
Normally he and wife Patsy concentrate on the Dalmally sale, but their decision this time to have a pen for Stirling paid off.
First from Dalchirla in the ring set the tone being bid to £8,500 by IRS Bond Glengatehouse. This one is by a £30,000 Aitkenhead and out of a ewe by a home-bred son of “3D”, a £14,000 purchase from Elmscleuch.
The next crept steadily up to the day’s to price of £11,000 before the hammer came down in favour of a joint bid from Troloss farms, Elvanfoot, and Mary McCall- Smith, Connachan, Crieff.
This well-grown lamb is by the £68,000 Elmscleugh and out of a ewe by “3D”.
Next best was the £5,500 paid for a son of a £10,000 Gass out of a ewe by “3D”. The buyer was JW Kay & Co, Gass, Straiton.
There were two from Dalchirla at £4,000, with one by the £68,000 Elmscleugh going to John Hamilton, Aikengall, Dunbar, and the other by the same sire going to Malcolm Couborough, Whelphill, Biggar.
Another son of the £68,000 Elmscleugh was knocked down at £3,000 to Robert Cockburn, shepherd at Connachan.
Second-best price of the whole day was the £10,000 paid by Andy Paton, Craig, Straiton, for a shearling from Jimmy MacGregor, of Dyke, Kilsyth. This one was an embryo by an £18,000 East Happrew out of a ewe by “The Brother” which is full brother to a £40,000 Dyke.
The 563 South-Type shearlings sold averaged £729 (up £99 on the year for 25 more sold). The 167 ram lambs sold averaged £815 (up £80 for eight more sold).
Leading South-Type prices were as follow.
£7,500 (lamb): Crossflat to Chirmorrie, Barrhill.
£6,500 (lamb): Midlock to Fraser, Balgowan, Laggan.
£5,000: Nunnerie to Lurg, Troloss and Connachan.
£4,800: G McDougall, Whelphill to MacPherson, Blackford.
£4,500: Merkins to Knockdon, Straiton
£4,500: Elmscleugh to McLeod, Skye
£4,200: Glengate House to Nunnerie
£4,000: Lochryan to Penny, Harehead.