Trade peaked at £15,000 at Kelso ram sales, where almost 5,000 rams were on offer in 15 rings. Turnover was £2,926,510, with an overall average of £698.28, a rise of £16.76 on the year with an 81.35 per cent clearance rate.
The sale leader was a Bluefaced Leicester shearling ram by K1 Duhonw out of a home-bred ewe from Obie Sharp’s Newbigging Walls flock, Lauder. The buyer was Messrs Dick.
The second top price of £12,000 was also for a Bluefaced Leicester shearling, this time from J. Wight and Sons’ Midlock flock, Biggar.
By Midlock Mustang out of a home-bred ewe, it sold in a two-way split to Messrs Robertson, Beeches and Hartside Farms, Lamington.
The champion crossing type Bluefaced Leicester, a shearling son of J1 Hott Bank, from James Herdbank’s Edlingham flock, Alnwick, sold for £8,000.
Texel shearlings sold to £8,500 twice. Firstly, for Greenall Billy Whiz, a son of Greenall Atticus, out of a ewe by Hightecs Ultimatum, which had an index of 220. Consigned by John Green, Melrose, it sold to Richard and Chris Thornton, Morpeth.
The next to make this money from John Elliot’s Roxburgh flock, Kelso, and boasting an index of 260, was a shearling from the first crop of £23,000 Midlock You’re The One. It sold to Ken Hodge, Earlston.
Also selling for £8,000 was the ring 5 champion, the Texel shearling, Glenway Billy The Kid. Consigned by Ian Murray, Wooler, it was inter-breed champion at Glendale Show and is by Glendale Ace of Diamonds. It sold to with an index of 269 to Jeff Teward, Darlington.
Texel lambs sold to £4,800 for Garngour Captain, a Teiglum Braveheart son from the Clark family, Lesmahagow, which sold to Angus Kennedy, Mitchellhill.
Top price ram lamb and Suffolk section leader from Stewart Lanthangie, Fife, which sold for 6,000gns.
The top priced lamb on the day and topping the Suffolk section at £6,000 was a son of Limestone Legacy, out of Birness Bollinger, from Stewart Lanthangie’s Pyeston flock, Glenrothes, Fife, which sold to Laura Jane Berry, Lancashire.
Also selling for £6,000 and leading the Beltex trade was Buckles Dragon Slayer by Broxty Supreme, out of Buckles Annie Power, from the Buckles family, Kirkby Stephen. It was knocked down to Messrs Hall, Skipton.
Cross-bred rams peaked at 3,200gns for a Texel cross Charollais shearling from Bruce and Gregor Ingram, Logie Durno, Pitcaple, which sold to Messrs Buckley.
Buckles Dragon Slayer, from the Buckles family, Kirkby Stephen, which topped the Beltex trade at 6,000gns.
Shearlings: 292 Beltex, £726.68; 10 Berrichon, £453; 8 Blue Texel, £486.25; 450 Bluefaced Leicester, £968.29; 48 Border Leicester, £350; 4 Charmoise, £267.50; 127 Charollais, £482.83; 3 Dutch Texel, £1,333.33; 18 Hampshire Down, £317.22; 69 Lleyn, £540.14; 28 North Country Cheviot, £611.79; 2 registered crosses, £320; 208 Suffolk, £789.42; 766 Texel, £975.20; 10 Vendeen, £607; 5 non-MV Beltex, £404; 17 unregistered Berrichon, £311.18; 598 crosses, £580.37; 3 Dutch Texel, £750; 411 Suffolk, £635.52; 598 Texel, £571.20. Lambs: 14 Beltex, £412.86; 2 Berrichon, £400; 4 Blue Texel, £312.50; 38 Bluefaced Leicester, £616.84; 20 Charollais, £359; 1 Hampshire Down, £250; 250 Suffolk, £475.80; 164 Texel, £516.04; 12 Berrichon, £343.33; 11 crosses, £341.82.
Border Livestock Exchange, C and D Auction Marts, Harrison and Hetherington, Hexham and Northern Marts, Lawrie and Symington, North East Livestock Sales, United Auctions.