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Blue ram sells for 15,000gns
The Bluefaced Leicester sale in Ballymena Mart on Saturday was topped at 15,000 guineas (gns) by a ram lamb exhibited by Dominic McCrystal from Maghera. The 640/H1 Kirkby Redgate son is from a dam sired by 980/E1 Hewgill.
The next highest price of 7,500gns was paid to Brendan Blaney from Cushendall for a 3920/H1 Tievebuaile Farm son. Michelle Wright from Carnlough received 5,550gns for a ram lamb sired by 1386/G4 Parkgatestone.
The highest shearling ram price on the day was 4,600gns paid to Julie and Graham Loughery for a 3331/G1 Cottage son. Overall, there were 296 sheep sold through the ring with ram lambs averaging £1,072, shearling rams £984, and females to an average of £495.
Sales growth for NI grocery market
The NI grocery market has experienced year-on-year sales growth of 1.9%, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel.
“Driven by retirees and households without children, consumers are spending 1.3% more on their grocery shop compared to the previous 12 months,” David Berry from Kantar Worldpanel said.
Tesco has increased its share of the grocery market and now commands a 35% market share. Shoppers visited the store more times during the year with 59 visits on average, up from 57 in 2016.
Lidl had the largest sales growth at 7.2% over the year and has a 5.4% share of the NI grocery market. Sainsbury’s and Asda are at 17.3% and 7.2%, respectively.
Farms the most dangerous workplace
Farming remains the occupation with the highest rate of workplace fatalities in NI, according to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland’s (HSENI) annual report.
There were six fatal farm accidents in NI in the 2016/17 year, which is the same total as the previous year. “Whilst we are disappointed this number has not decreased, it has maintained our steady progress from both the 2011 and 2012 calendar years when we recorded 12 farm deaths,” said HSENI chief executive Keith Morrison.
There were 16 workplace fatalities in total, recorded across all sectors (including agriculture) in 2016/17, which represents a 33% increase year on year. But major injuries fell from 411 to 357, representing a 13% decrease.
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