Success for Oxfords at South of England Winter Fair

Oxfordshire breeder Harry Bishop (Astlebury Flock No 925) and Emily South had a great result for the Oxford Down breed yesterday at the South of England Winter Fair. Their Oxford x Beltex carcass won the champion carcass in the native class, with a 49kg live lamb, killing out at 25kg. This carcass went on to win the overall reserve champion carcass of the show. It was sired by a home-bred Oxford ram from Harry's Astlebury flock out of a Beltex ewe.

Congratulations to Harry and Emily on their success, which provides valuable publicity for the breed and shows what the Oxford can produce commercially as a terminal sire.

Melton Mowbray Show & Sale

The catalogue for the Melton Mowbray Show & Sale on Saturday, 14th September is available here Melton Catalogue. There is an entry of 37 head comprising:

14 shearling ewes (1 MV acc, 13 non acc)

4 ewe lambs (MV acc)

1 two-shear ram (MV acc)

16 shearling rams (5 MV acc, 11 non acc)

2 ram lambs (MV acc)

The entry should give prospective buyers a good choice of breeding stock from a variety of bloodlines.

Oxford Downs to 420gns at Worcester

TRADE FOR Oxford Downs peaked at 420gns at the breed’s annual show and sale at Worcester market.

Leading the sale was the male champion from the pre-sale show, a shearling ram from James Brown’s Monkstone flock at Redberth, Tenby, Pembrokeshire which went to Northumberland breeder Tom Lamb, East Fleetham, Seahouses, for use on 20 pedigree ewes. The Lamb family have the oldest Oxford Down flock in the UK, established in 1934. The 420gns tup is sired by Duntarvie Robert The Bruce, bred by Tommy Nimmo at Winchburgh, West Lothian and is out of a home-bred ewe.

Next best price for rams was a 400gns bid from Andrew Rutherford, Guards Farm, Gretna, Dumfriesshire for a shearling from the Greenlands flock run by Roland Williams at Aneddle, Capel Seion, Aberystwyth. This one is by the home-bred sire Greenlands Class Act out of a Barley Park dam and sold for pedigree work on the Rutherford’s 50-strong Langrigg Oxford Down flock.

An Applewick shearling ram from Philip Quick, Upper Bearfield Farm, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire sold at 340gns to Lesley Parry, Bryn Drofa, Llanbabo, Rhosgoch, Anglesey for her Bro Alaw flock. The tup is a son of the 840gns Barley Park Lincoln, which was breed champion at the last Royal Show in 2009.

Ram lambs sold to 300gns for one from Ruth Steele, Redhouse Farm, Weeton, Hull, East Yorkshire, selling to R C & D E Shepherd, The Grange, Hellifield, Skipton, North Yorkshire for their new Grange flock. This lamb is out of a ewe imported from Finland and is sired by the home-bred Weeton Bounty.

Top price in the sale of females went to the pre-sale champion, a shearling ewe from Rex Vincent’s New House flock at Ducklington, Witney, Oxfordshire which made 400gns to Ruth Steele for her Weeton flock of 20 performance-recorded Oxford ewes. The champion is by Barley Park Taranto out of a Longfriday-bred dam. The New House consignment averaged £238.87 for four. Andrew Rutherford’s smart pen of Langrigg shearling ewes sold to 230gns for a Beswickhall Cherrytom daughter, going to Lesley Parry, Bro Alaw. Langrigg averaged £210 for four.

A ewe lamb by Barley Park Tornado from Martin Johnson’s Longfriday flock at Wollaston, Northamptonshire which was reserve female champion at the pre-sale show, claimed the second best price of the day for females, attracting a 300gns bid from J S K Rawlings, Finham, Coventry.

Averages

Type No sold Top (gns) Avg (£)

Shearling ewes 27 400 165.67

Ewe lambs 3 300 213.50

Shearling rams 14 420 202.50

Ram lambs 2 300 288.75

Overall, 46 head sold to 420gns and averaged £185.35 (£232.12 for 42 in 2017).

Auctioneers: McCartneys