Marts: Carlisle sees £1m in sales

LIMOUSIN breeders rewrote the record book this weekend at their pedigree sale in Carlisle. More than £1 million changed hands as buyers set a new all-breed record for the centre with 176 bulls selling at an average of £6,046.

Some 18 deals were carried out at or above the 10,000gn mark with more than half that number selling to commercial and not pedigree breeders. These deals helped push the average up to its new high. The top priced bull, sold at 72,000gn and thus provided the second highest ever price at a UK auction.

ST BOSWELLS - John Swan Ltd sold 159 clean cattle, 72 OTM cattle, 2,035 prime hoggs and 785 ewes., Bullocks (80) averaged 164.8p per kg (-0.4p on the week) and sold to 200p gross, 1,303, from Lurdenlaw. Heifers (74) averaged 169.5p per kg, (-2.8p on the week), and sold to 193p gross, 1,042, from Bee Edge.

The five young bulls averaged 150.4p per kg, and sold to 156p gross, 1,058, from Broad Meadows. The 70 beef type OTM cattle averaged 104.7p per kg, and sold to 150p gross, 1,170, from Mosstower.

The two dairy type OTM cattle averaged 79p per kg, and sold to 79p gross, 604, from Sandyknowe. The 2,035 prime hoggs averaged 188.7p per kg and sold to 100 a head from R Powell, Springwood, also A Halliday, 5 Huntshaw Place,Earlston and 229.7p per kg from Firm of Nixon & Co, Oakwood, Selkirk.

The 785 ewes averaged 64.05 (+0.55p on the week) and sold to 138 from J Guthrie, Hartwoodmyres, Selkirk.