SIMMENTALS CONTINUING TO TOP COMMERCIAL MARKETS AROUND THE UK AND INCLUDING: PRESTON; MARKET DRAYTON; FROME; DUMFRIES; HOLMFIRTH; DINGWALL; AYR; SEDGEMOOR; CARLISLE; DUMFRIES; HUNTLY; EXETER; ABERDEEN; TRURO; LANARK; DARLINGTON; WORCESTER; LUDLOW; OSWESTRY; DUNGANNON; AND ANGLESEY

Playing a little bit of catch up but see the first of two market briefs reports, firstly up to the 6th April, of the Simmental breed topping commercial sales, across all classes of stock, at livestock markets around the country. Look out for a further Simmental market briefs round up coming soon.

In the sale of cull cows, heifers and bulls at Brockholes Arms Auction Mart on 6th April, Preston, the cow section was topped by Ron Loftus with a Simx to 197p/kg. At the same sale S Phoenix had another Simx cow at 180p/kg.

At Market Drayton’s store cattle sale on 6th April, steers sold to £1,340.00 for 588kg Simmentals from D. & A. Swift & Son
On 6th April at Frome’s sale of prime cattle, a good show of heifers saw Messrs LJ Curry’s outstanding Simmentals roar to a huge £1707 top gross price or 229.50p/kg and £1638 or 227.50p/kg.

At Dumfries on 6th April, prime cattle were topped per head £1569.80 by a Sim from East Langate.
On 5th April, Holmfirth Market’s OTM trade was topped at 203p/kg (Avg 158.03p/kg) for a Simmental (£1898) from ID & R Jones sold to JB Eastwood & Sons.

In a small sale of prime cattle on 5th April, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd saw Prime bullocks average 232.0p and sell to 232.0p per kg and £1,682.00 gross twice for 725kg Simmental crosses both from Balnageith, Forres.

At Ayr’s breeding cattle sale on 5th April, in-calf cows were topped by Simmental X’s at £1400 and £1350 from Turnberry Lodge. Bulls sold to 2200gns for a Simmental off Messrs Drummond, Skeoch.

Sedgemoor’s sale of barren cows and cull stock bulls on 4th April saw a centre record for a cull bull of £1896.60 and paid for a Simmental from BJ Stephens & Sons, Weston Super Mare. At the same sale, a ‘feeding’ Simmental made 191.5ppk from FA Kingcott & Son, Clevedon. In the sucklers a ‘feeding’ Simmental rose to £1,426.68 from FA Kingcott & Son.
Monday 4th April, Simmental bulls were ‘doing the business’ at Carlisle’s primestock sale. A shapey Skerrington Iceman son from Jim & Patricia Goldie, Newbie Mains Farm, Annan, Dumfriesshire weighed in at 891kgs and sold for £2392.94 and 268.5ppkg. Meant for breeding the bull was sold through the prime ring due to injury and went on to realise a tremendous trade.

C & D Auction Marts held their fornightly sale of store cattle in Dumfries on Monday 4th April 2022. Bullocks averaged 239.3p/kg to 305.9p/kg and sold to a top of £1655 for a Simmental from RB Oliphant, Shawfield. The same seller also sold Simm bullocks at £1555, £1465, & £1280.

At Sedgemoor’s store cattle sale on 2nd April, Simmental steers featured in the top prices when peaking at £1650 for JR Westcott & Son, Willand. Dairy bred steers saw a tremendous trade to £1270 for a fleshed Fleckvieh from A Baker, Meare.

At United Auctions April Show & Sale at Huntly, OTMs sold to average 171.2p per kg selling to a record £1920 or 201.1p per kg for a SimX from Pitgaveny, Farms, Elgin.

In a sale of mainly dairy bred stirks, and suckled calves at Exeter on 1st April, Joe Maule across from Okehampton showed a cracking run of well farmed stirks topping at £780 for 10-month-old Simmental crosses (10m).

On 31st March, Thainstone witnessed a phenomenal trade with a new achievement of 16 cows and bulls, including Simmentals, surpassing the £2,000 bracket. Beef Finished Cows sold to £2250 including one from Drumfober, Laurencekirk. Beef Feeding Cows sold to £1450 for a Sim from Drumneachie, Birse. Bulls top prices included a Sim at £1890 from Mains of Cowie, Stonehaven. On the same day, a sale on behalf of Orkney consignors saw prime cattle (30-48 Months) sell to £1,408.35 gross and 229p per kg for a 615kg Simmental heifer from Glebe Farm. The Glebe, Grimbister.

At Truro Livestock Market’s store cattle sale on 30th March the 1 year old heifer section was led by a Simmental x at £905 for Mr L Vague of Baldhu, Truro.

At Ayr on 29th March, clean cattle sold to a top price per kg of 229.5p for a Simmental Heifer off Drumjargon.

At Lanark’s sale of store cattle on March 29th, 301 bullocks were topped at £1425 by a Sim x from Parklea. Sim Bullocks from Overcairn also featured in the top prices pence per kilo when selling at 250p.

Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of Cast Cattle, Store & Breeding Stock on Monday 28th March 2022. In the cast cows, the top gross valued cow was a hefty Simmental from C & E Gaskin of Marwood at an impressive £1613.

At Worcester Store Market Sale on 26th March, store steers sold to a remarkable 366ppkg for 11month old suckler bred steers from R M Phillips 7 Partners!!

In a sale of calves at Exeter on 25th March, young Simmental bulls featured in the top prices when selling to £375 & £345 for Messrs WJ & J Snell & Son of South Molton.

At Ludlow on Friday 25th March, some very good young, fit, suckled type feeding bulls saw Simmental X Bulls sell to £1225 x2 & £1200.

At Ayr’s store cattle sale on 24th March, the top price per kilo was 284.7 for Simmental bullocks from Figgitoch.

At Oswestry’s store cattle sale on 23rd March, the top price per kilo of two or more steers 13m and over went to Llangedwyn Home Farm with a bunch of 19mo Simmentals weighing 460kg and making 267.4p/kg.

At Frome’s prime cattle sale on 23rd March, EM Horn & Sons, Swanmore, exceptional Simmental raced to 229.50p/kg or £1445, with others from Waddon Farm Ltd selling to 215.50p/kg.

At Dungannon Farmer’s Mart on 23rd March steer prices peaked at £1600 for a 695kg Sim (230.00) presented by A Robinson.

At Anglesey’s Gaerwen Auction Centre store cattle sale on 22nd March, the heifer trade was topped at £1250 for Simmentals from E Jones, Cott Farm, and followed by further Simmentals at £1210 from M Roberts, Glascoed Hall.