PEDIGREE BELTEX SHEEP
Sixteenth annual sale of
MV accredited pedigree rams and females
Thursday 11th October 2007

It was third time lucky for the Beltex Sheep Society when their premier sale finally went ahead at Carlisle having been twice postponed due to FMD restrictions. A depleted catalogue and a larger than usual number of substitutes showed that many breeders had decided not to gamble on the resumption of sales and had been buying and selling privately. A huge sense of relief greeted the eleventh-hour decision by DARD to allow Northern Ireland breeders to bring their sheep to the sale and a good attendance of commercial buyers helped to lift the ram averages to a better-than-expected level.

Top priced Gimmer shearling from Gavin Shanks, Lot 8 which made 2000gns to Messrs Goodge & Sommerville

The main talking point of the day was provided by the Aberdeenshire-based partnership of Andrew Goodge and Fiona Sommerville, Hillbrae Farm, Newmachar who bought seven of the day's top-priced lots for their new flock of Beltex. The couple are proprietors of RS Occupational Health Ltd, a leading health service provider to the off-shore oil and gas industry and businesses in Scotland. The partnership paid the day's top price of 2,000gns for Brickrow Kermit, a Cookstown Hamish son out of a homebred ewe, consigned by Beltex Scotland club chairman John Cowan, 3 Brickrow, Auchincruive, Ayr. This ram stood first in the shearling ram class at this year's Highland show and was first-prize and reserve male championship at the Great Yorkshire show. Keeping him company on the journey to Aberdeenshire was a shearling from Glen and Heather Forsyth, Corra Farm, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire who saw their 2007 Royal Show male champion, Bishopton Kez, go under the hammer to the Goodge and Sommerville partnership at 1,000gns. He is by the Belgian-bred Grimeur V/D Harleembois out of Bishopton Gwyneth.

John Cowan's Brickrow pen produced a second four-figure sale when Brickrow Kerr, a Cookstown Hamish out of Alan's Una, was sold at 1,250gns to fellow breeders, D Mason & Sons, Coat Green Farm, Burton in Kendal, Cumbria. Another Cookstown Hamish son, Brickrow Kmal, consigned by local breeder, Ann Story, Hobbiesburn, Longtown, sold at 1,150gns to T Hetherington, Old Hall Farm, Staffield Penrith. There were two 1,100gns sales by Lanarkshire breeders, the first by Andrew Baillie, Calla Crag, Carnwath, who has enjoyed a run of successes in this year's prime lamb competitions. His shearling ram, Calla Killer by Longley Hero out of Calla Heather, went to M Hamer, The Hollies, Wentnor, Barnard Castle, Co Durham. In a second 1,100gns deal, David Cunningham, Walkerdyke, Strathaven, sold the Brickrow Jaguar-sired Walkerdyke Kit-Kat, to R Lambert, Moss Farm, Wigglesworth, Skipton. Featuring among the top deals was progeny of Viagrow, one of the Beltex breed's best known sires. Mary Dunlop, Corstane, Biggar, sold a Viagrow son, Corstane Kashmir at 1,050 gns to fellow Beltex breeders S & D Peile, Parkgate Hall, Wigton, Carlisle. A Viagrow grandson, Clary Kipper, by Corstane Coulter out of a homebred ewe and consigned by Ian McMillan Carse of Clary, Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire joined the Shap Abbey flock of M Bindloss, Shap Abbey, Shap, Penrith.

Both of the four-figure prices for ram lambs went to Ayrshire breeder John Barclay, Mid Brockloch, Maybole for January-born sons of his stock ram Clary Kaiser chief. A 2,000gns deal saw Beachy Limited Edition travel a few miles up the coast to join John McIlwraith's Balig flock, at Doonfoot, Ayr, while a 1,400gns bid from Andrew Baillie, Calla, secured the services of Beachy Loch Lomond, whose grand-dam, Challenger Veronica, was the Beachy flock's foundation ewe.

The trade for shearling gimmers provided one of the bright spots of the day and was topped at 2,000gns for Inveresk Kissable consigned by Gavin Shanks, Bowmanhurst, Carluke. By Grimeur out of a Belgian-bred ewe, she was knocked down to Goodge and Sommerville who also took Inveresk Knead at 1,000gns. The Beachy flock again featured in the four-figure prices when Goodge and Sommerville bid to 1,800gns for Beachy Key to Fame, a Brickrow High Five daughter out of a Carsloe dam, and 1,100gns for Beachy Kindred Spirit, a Clary Hope daughter out of a home-bred ewe. The same buyers also took a gimmer with a string of show successes, bidding to 1,200gns for Dergview Kate, a daughter of Gids V/D Laatse Stuiver out of Dergview Duchy and consigned by David Gardiner, 107 Hilderstone Rd, Meir Heath, Stoke-on-Trent. This gimmer stood first in her class and reserve champion at Leicester County show, first at the Three Counties, and first at the Royal show. She was bred in Northern Ireland by Alan Lecky, 35 Garvetagh Rd, Castlederg, Co Tyrone.

Beltex Society chairman, Colin Barnes, expressed his relief that the sale had finally taken place. 'Delays and uncertainty meant that breeders have had to get on and do what was best for themselves. Tups have been bought and sold privately and a lot of ewes are already in lamb. This has affected both supply and demand for breeders' sheep, while the poor trade for prime lambs and the restrictions have affected demand for commercial tups, although I think Beltex are selling fairly well compared to the other breeds here today. But the trade for females shows that breeders have confidence in the breed and that bodes well for the in-lamb sales later in the year, and for the future.'

Averages
4 Aged Rams £349.13
179 Shearling Rams £432.32
24 Ram Lambs £479.94
47 Shearling Gimmers £524.78