By Jonathan Long on September 14, 2009 8:26 AM

Top call at Friday’s Kelso tup sales was a £12,000 bid for a Texel from Peter and Lynn Gray, Galston. It sold to Angus Kennedy, Mitchelhill and the Carruther family, Silloan.

Next best was a Bluefaced Leicster at £10,000. This one was from first time Kelso vendors John and George Browell, Hexham. Their champion from the pre-sale show is by a Firth tup and sold to John Kerr, Maybole.

Then at £8000 was the best Suffolk of the day from Robbie Wilson, Turriff. This was a son of  Strahbeg Stan the Man and sold to Niall Walsh Co Laois, Eire.

Overall the trade look’s like it reflected the confidence coming from the sheep sector on the back of good lamb prices so far this year. Averages were strong, and buyers were in a mood to invest in the best they could afford. Vendor of the largest run, Malcolm Stewart, Brotherstone, sold 85 Suffolk shearlings to level at £576, with the overall average for the 4185 rams traded finishing the day at £569.39, £111.83 up on last year.

Shearling averages; 57 Beltex £573.86, four Berrichon du Cher £430, 517 Bluefaced Leicester £677.21, 44 Border Leicester £599.09, 238 Charollais £446.34, four Dutch Texel £510, 17 Hampshire Down £304.71, 68 Lleyn £434.41, 10 Bleu du Maine £455, 66 North Country Cheviot £422.42, 10 Oxford Down £249, 499 Suffolk £569.50, 1187 Texel £608.58, six Vendeen £511.67.

Lamb averages; three Beltex £840, nine Berrrichon du Cher £283.33, 23 Bluefaced Leicester £517.39, 44 Charollais £371.82, 328 Suffolk £477.61, 91 Texel £373.63.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but more will hopefully follow later….