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29th August 2017
Brisk Trade for NSA Wales & Borders Main Sale
Expectations are high for a brisk trade at the NSA Wales & Border Main Ram Sale, to be held at the Royal Welsh Showground on Monday 25 September. A good lamb trade and an exceptional early sale augur well for the flagship event, when 5,300 rams will go under the hammer in 21 rings organised by eight firms of auctioneers.
Organisers say the season’s ram sales have seen a good trade across the UK and this, coupled with the strength of the lamb trade, sends out the right signals. The reputation of the NSA Wales & Border Ram sales even draws buyers from mainland Europe.
Executive Director Jane Smith said: “We find buyers are prepared to pay for the good quality, veterinary inspected rams they find at the Builth sale. They are happy to travel to a venue that is pretty central for most of the UK and beyond, because they know they will have choice and quality.
“It’s a well tested formula and over nearly forty years it’s the event that flockmasters don’t want to miss. It’s also an important economic driver in Mid Wales, with people staying overnight for one or more nights often treating it as one of the year’s social highlights.”
Last year there were smiles all round when a Texel achieved a record price of 18,000 guineas at a brisk sale. Turnover was up on the previous year at £2.2 million, with 85% of sheep forward sold and average prices paid held up or increased across the breeds.
This year’s early sale, held in August, grossed a record £256,880, £43,000 more than last year, with a top price of 1750 guineas. The number of rams sold was 426, well up on last year’s 390, with more than 76% of the rams forward sold, compared to last year’s 72%.
Crediton based Paul Quick whose family have been selling Loosebeare Texels at the Builth Wells sale for ‘as long as I can remember’ says it’s becoming an ever more important sale for the family. He will be bringing 35 tups in September, having already sold 20 at the early sale, and praises the quality of the sheep and the fact that buyers come from all over the UK and even Europe.
He said:”It’s just the fact that there are so many buyers. They keep on coming from further afield and even the rams are coming from further and further away, with some from Scotland and Northern Ireland this year.
“The standard of sheep at the sale is unbelievably high and is improving year on year. The pens of sheep are now of such a quality that they are evenly matched with leading premier sales.
“The sheep are sold under Society rules, inspected, vetted and not trimmed. The best sheep are bought by breeders, who recognise the quality. It’s a massive draw.”
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