Abattoirs are paying farmers £5.90/kg for R grading hoggets up to 21kg, which is up 20p/kg on the week. The Monday live sales were strong again, with £2.73/kg at Ayr, £2.74/kg at St Boswells and £2.72/kg at Lanark.

Tuesday’s sales at Dingwall, Stirling and Caste Douglas were also around £2.70/kg for medium-weight hoggets.

The official Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) price for across GB was £5.82/kg for an R3L carcase, which is up 22p/kg.

The number of hoggets slaughtered in GB was over 35,500, which is up nearly 3,000 on the week.

The ewe price in Scotland last week was £74/head for the 5,879 sold through the marts.

Store lambs over £100/head

United Auction sold 829 store lambs, with Texels and Suffolks making around £105/head, up £12 on the week. Blackfaces were making £73/head, down £7.50 and Cheviots were at £80/head down £14.

Beef trade back 5p/kg

Abattoirs have managed to pull the price in some slaughter houses by around 5p/kg.

Farmers can expect between £3.80/kg to £3.85/kg for R grade steers up to 400kg.

The AHDB price for R grading steers for the week ending 6 February was £3.91/ kg, which is 1p on the week.

Same-grade heifers were at £3.92/kg, which is unchanged on the week.

The young bull price jumped 5p/kg to £3.78/kg.

Finished cows were reported by the AHDB at £2.66/kg for an 0-4L, which is down 1/kg.

United Auctions in Stirling sold cull cows at £1.40/kg for beef types, up 3p/kg.

Strong stores

Thainstone sold over 665 store cattle, with prices back around 10p/kg as steers averaged £2.40/kg and heifers averaged £2.29/kg.

Last Wednesday, United Auctions sold 1,218 store cattle, with prices up around 9p/kg.

Steers averaged £2.39/kg, dairy steers averaged £1.88/kg, heifers averaged £2.31/kg and young bulls averaged £2.41/kg.

The national average for steers between 12 and 18 months of age was £1,093 for the 374 sold last week.

Fodder sale

Aberdeen and Northern Marts held a fodder sale, with inside barley 4x4 bales trading at £12.50/bale.

Inside hay was selling for £13/bale and haylage jumped up £5.50 to £18/bale. Baled silage sold to £8.50 per bale.

Acres of turnips sold for £440/acre while acres of kale/stubble turnips sold for £160/acre.

Carlisle’s fodder sale saw barley straw mini Heston bales drop £4/t to £130/t, but round bales were up £6 to £38/bale. Wheat straw round bales made £32/bale. Mini hestons of hay dropped by £4/bale to £24/bale and round bales dropped £15/bale to £21/bale.