Top prices of £65,000 twice and £60,000 on three occasions were paid on the second day’s trading of Blackface ram lambs at Lanark, where trade was decidedly selective.
From a catalogued entry of 232 ram lambs, only 156 were forward for sale of which 98 were able to find new homes, which represents a 62.8% clearance.
“There was plenty of spirited bidding for the best breeders’ sheep, but there was no real commercial trade,” said Lawrie and Symington auctioneer, Archie Hamilton.
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His pen leader was the first to make £65,000 when selling in a three-way split to Donald and Jimmy MacGregor, Dyke, Milton of Campsie and Hugh and Alan Blackwood with Crossflatt retaining an equal share.
Their purchase is sired by Titan, a home-bred son of the £160,000 Dyke lamb retained for breeding with the dam being a full sister to Ayr Raid – a ram lamb sold at Ayr for £34,000 in 2020 to Merkland, Clonrae and Silloans – and sired by a £150,000 Auldhouseburn.
Mr Murray also retained an equal share of his third lamb which made £40,000. He was knocked down to Eoin and Kirstyn Blackwood, Dalblair and the Dunlops from Upper Wellwood, both Muirkirk; Donald McVicar, Lephinchapel, Strachur and Colm McAteer, Drumboy. The pedigree behind this lamb includes Titan and a show gimmer by Crossflatt McCoy Lookalike.
Matching that £65,000 top price was the much talked about lamb from Hugh and Alan Blackwood, Auldhouseburn, of which a fifth share was retained.
The second lamb from the Blackwoods by the £35,000 Orchilmore lamb bought last year at Dalmally, made £17,000, selling to Charlie and Cathal Harkin, Loughash, The Rock. His dam is a daughter of the £150,000 Auldhouseburn.
Lambs from the Wights at Midlock, Crawford, again sold well with sales at £60,000 twice and £22,000 to average £22,314.29 for seven.
The third lamb from Midlock, a son of the £26,000 Gass shearling bought at Dalmally last year, out of a ewe by Midlock Hawkeye, also made £60,000. He goes out to work on three farms, Crossflatt, Dollarbank and Gass, with the second two owned by Andrew and Ian Cullens, Dollar and Andrew Kay and sons Robert and Andrew, Straiton, respectively.
Last year’s £90,000 Dalchirla lamb sold at Dalmally was behind the Wight’s £22,000 lamb which was knocked down jointly to Archie and John MacGregor, Allanfauld, Kilsyth; Willie and Ewan Bennie, Merkins, Gartocharn and Neil and Stuart Barclay, Harestone, Insch. The dam is a daughter of Midlock Hawkeye.
The former and No 2 from Glenrath which was brought out by Steven Renwick, is bred from a ewe by a £160,000 Elmscleugh and sold to the Ramsays, Milnmark, Dalry, Corsock.
Selling at £10,000 from Nunnerie to Selby Robson, Yatesfield, Otterburn, was a lamb bred from a ewe by a £30,000 Midlock.
Top price for Donald and Jimmy MacGregor, Dyke, was £55,000 paid for a son of their own £160,000 Dyke lamb of which a share was retained in 2022.
He is bred from the same ewe as the £16,000 shearling sold the previous day, a daughter of a £4200 Dalwyne, and headed home with Auldhouseburn.
Last year’s £22,000 Dyke lamb sold at Lanark to Nunnerie, Dalblair and Upper Wellwood, did well for his new owners too, with sales at £28,000 and £26,000.
The former, from Eoin and Kirstyn Blackwood, Dalblair, is out of a ewe by a £13,000 Elmscleugh, and was knocked down to Elmscleugh.
The Dunlops from Upper Wellwood, Muirkirk – Matthew, Jamie, Hannah and Andrew – then took £26,000 from Allanfauld, Dyke and Nunnerie. The dam is by Crossflatt McCoy Lookalike.
More than financing that shared purchase, Allanfauld took £20,000 for a son of Gass Danny Boy, from Iain and John Renwick, Corsebank, Sanquhar, Nunnerie and Gass. He is out of a ewe by a £5500 Elmscleugh that is the twin sister to the dam of the £130,000 Allanfauld.
After a good day selling shearlings at Lanark, the Ramsays from Milnmark, Dalry, had another top sale amongst the lambs, taking £16,000 for a son of last year’s £45,000 Auldhouseburn sold here. Out of a daughter of a £55,000 Easter Happrew, he was purchased jointly by Burncastle Farming Co, Lauder and Colin Campbell, Easter Happrew, Stobo, Peebles.
As always, Willie Dunlop’s Elmscleugh lambs proved popular, with sales at £13,000 and £10,000. The dearest, by a £14,000 Cuil shearling bought last year at Ayr and bred from a ewe by a £15,000 Gass, headed home with Colin McClymont, Cuil, Newton Stewart.
The Patons, Craig, Straiton, bought the £10,000 lamb, a son of last year’s £45,000 Midlock shearling out of a ewe by an £80,000 Allanfauld.
Matthew Hamilton and son also Matthew, South Cobbinshaw, West Calder, also had another good day, taking £13,000 for a lamb by a home-bred son of a £32,000 Glenrath, bred from a £10,000 Crossflatt-sired daughter. The buyers were Alan McClymont, Kirkstead, Yarrow and Scott and Alan Lambie, Ashcraig, Selkirk.
Top price for Billy and Andrew Renwick’s Blackhouse hirsel from Yarrow, was £12,000, paid for a son of last year’s £38,000 Dalchirla lamb sold at Dalmally, purchased by Cuil, Ian Hunter, Dalchirla and David Ferguson and Jim McEwan, Drannandow, Newton Stewart.
Other Leading Prices
£6800 – Glenrath, by a £90,000 Dalchirla, to SA Robson, High Leam, Tofthouse, Otterburn.
£5500 – Nunnerie, by an £800 Burnhead, to Burncastle Farming Co, Lauder; Glenrath, by a £90,000 Dalchirla to D Henderson, Sweetshawhead, Elvanfoot.
£5200 – Orchilmore, by a £32,000 Auldhouseburn, to R and M McIntosh, Borthwickshiels, Roberton, Hawick.
£5000 – B Cluckie, Waterhead, by a £4000 Elmscleugh, to Elmscleugh; Elmscleugh, by a £10,000 Crossflatt, to A Woodburn, Netherwood, Muirkirk.
Flock Averages
Farm (No) Top (£) Avg (£)
Gosland (3) 1200 816.67
Allanfauld (3) 20,000 8166.67
Gass (3) 900 833.33
Crossflatt (4) 65,000 41,500.00
Nunnerie (5) 10,000 3960.00
Blackcraig (4) 4000 2000.00
Midlock (7) 60,000 22,314.29
Elmscleugh (5) 13,000 6840.00
Orchilmore (3) 5200 2600.00
Dalblair (3) 28,000 10,400.00
Upper Wellwood (5) 26,000 7400.00
Auldhouseburn (4) 65,000 22,125.00
Dyke (3) 55,000 19,266.67
Netherwood (3) 2000 1416.67
Glenrath (6) 26,000 7383.33
Auctioneers: Lawrie and Symington.
Averages: 98 ram lambs, £7938.27 (+£3006.27 for 23 fewer sold).
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