Breeding ewes lift by roughly £50 a head at Thame Sheep Fair
© MAG/Charlie Reeve More than 15,000 breeding ewes and lambs went under the hammer at Thame Sheep Fair in Oxfordshire on 1 and 2 August, with North Country Mule theaves topping at £270 a head.
A flying trade for ewes was fuelled by better returns for finished lambs so far in 2024.
See more: Tight supplies help to buoy up lamb trade throughout 2024
Mule theaves averaged £209 a head, while Suffolk cross theaves were trading at £221 a head and achieved a top price of £268 a head.
Texel theaves were trading at about £250 and peaked at an eye-watering £350 a head.
Thame Farmers Mart auctioneer Simon Draper told Farmers Weekly that trade across both days had been marvellous.
“Most things in general, averaging wise, were up by £40 to £50 a head on last year.”
He said that almost all stock presented was sold, with a sale completion rate of 99.4% and only three lots taken back home throughout the whole sale.
The numbers
15,295
Number of sheep sold at Thame Sheep Fair
£209
Average selling price achieved for North Country Mule theaves
£25
Annual increase in average store lamb price
Tight supplies
Throughputs were back on the year with roughly 3,000 fewer sheep going through the ring at this year’s sale, compared with a large entry of more than 18,000 head in 2023.
Mr Draper said: “We were down in the Suffolks and we were down in the continentals, but the mule numbers were fairly similar with perhaps slightly more mules on offer; we also had more store lambs, with nearly 4,000 stores sold.”
Richard Roff, chairman of Thame Farmers Mart, added that it was unsurprising that numbers were down this year due to record high prices of hoggets which resulted in many being killed earlier in the spring.
However, an abundance of grass, particularly in the south east had helped improve the overall quality of stock.
Store lambs were up £25 a head on the year at £101.19 a head, with a top price of £145.50 for a pen of Texel cross Suffolks.
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Average prices across a range of breeds, 2020-24 at Thame |
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Breed |
2020 (£) |
2021 (£) |
2022 (£) |
2023 (£) |
2024 (£) |
|
Beltex-crosses |
169.22 |
171 |
167 |
196.56 |
239.65 |
|
Texel-crosses |
165.48 |
176 |
173.8 |
174.31 |
229.50 |
|
Suffolk-crosses |
147.32 |
176 |
174.77 |
167.41 |
221.22 |
|
North of England Mules |
138.27 |
171 |
171 |
178.21 |
209 |
|
Cheviot Mules |
159 |
160 |
170 |
188.24 |
210.83 |
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Source: Thame Farmers Mart |
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NSA Wales and Border ram sale
Texel tups topped the trade at 2,000gns at the early National Sheep Association (NSA) Wales and Border ram sale hosted by Brecon Livestock Market on 5 August.
Average prices were up by almost £200 a head on the previous year and a highest ever clearance rate for the sale of 83% was achieved.
The cross bred trade peaked at 1,650gns for a Charollais cross shearling, with plenty more approaching 1,500gns.
NSA Wales and Border Ram Sales chairman, Geoff Probert, said: “We were a bit nervous in the run up, but the trade has been tremendous.
“It’s been a very good show of high standard tups and the quality was reflected in a very good trade.”
Executive director, Jane Smith added that the entry had been slightly smaller but the quality was certainly there and that farmers were prepared to pay for the sheep they wanted.