Well it's feeling nice and Christmassy. We enjoyed a lovely day out at the weekend; we were invited on a friend's shoot over in East Yorkshire. I'm a rotten shot, so spent the day beating. It was just the tonic: fresh air, grand folk, and a totally different landscape to what we are used to.

The lambs are still coming, along with a new calf. One of my favourite Limousin heifer calved to the Blue. We struggled to get her in-calf to a Limousin, so we AI'd her to the Blue and she took first time. Great result, she calved a heifer calf no bother. Without wanting to tempt fate, if it stays alive and healthy, it may turn into a good fatstocker.

Christmas primestock shows are all finished now which has resulted in a drop in cattle averages after the inflated trade of the last few weeks. Lambs which have been steady all the way through the Christmas period have had a bit of a lift at the beginning of this week as numbers in markets have tightened.

There have been some good dairy sales though as a bit more optimism filters into the industry and pedigree trade is strong across the board with a Texel gimmer making 10,000gns at Ballymena, Northern Ireland, and a new record for a polled Hereford of 8,500gns set at Shrewsbury.

We'll be in touch again in January once the sales pick up so, until then, have a lovely Christmas and all the very best for the New Year. 

Steph Ryder
Head of Commercial Sales & Development