Hawes
By Will Sedgley
As I write this I have finished my three year term as Hawes Branch Chairman. I have really enjoyed my time and have met and made lifelong friends with many people in our industry. It has left me feeling very positive for the future of the breed.
2019 has, as usual, had its ups and downs but did however start with a fantastic spring making lambing a pleasure and resulting in plenty of strong healthy lambs. Summer was growey and a lot of good forage was made with sheep going into winter in excellent condition.
I have attended and judged at many shows this summer and I must congratulate the members for the excellent quality of the stock
on show; it improves year on year. The pride that is shown when exhibiting the Mule gimmers is tremendous and I am confident that the breed is in good hands for the future.
Huge congratulations and thanks to all exhibitors and breeders for their efforts to show and promote the breed.
Now to the sales starting with
Hawes Shearlings on 20th August. Average £139 up £2
1st & 3rdJR&LA Capstick
2nd S Yates
.
Bentham Shearlings. Average £127.15 up 40p.
1st Brian Lawson
2nd & 3rd Chris Hewitt
4th DW&DM Elliott
5th Fox Farms
Leyburn Shearlings. Average £140 up £19
1st Raymond & Robert Johnson
2nd Lowesby Farms
3rd Hannah Brown
4th Tom Anderson
.
Bentham Gimmer Lambs. Average NEMSA lambs £77.27 up 48p. Non NEMSA £64.81
1st WA&A Booth
2nd S&T Fawcett
3rd W&GJ Huck
4th J Garth & Sons
5th J Huddleston
.
Hawes Gimmer Lambs on Monday 16th September
1st and Best in Hawes Branch Cup – W&D Lawson
2nd S Allan & Sons
3rd G&HR Shields
4th J. Pedley
5th C&. Metcalfe
Tuesday 17th September. Total forward 23,459. Average £80.38 up £1.32
1st Messrs Lord
2nd WA&A Booth
3rd JA&R Caton
4th S&T Fawcett
5th GP Taylor & Son
6th R&PE Hargreaves
Best in Hawes Branch Trophy – W. Porter & Son
Leyburn Gimmer Lambs. Average £82.30 down £1
1st Bainbridge Bros.
2nd R Wallis & Sons
3rd David & Tim Brown
4th R Tiplady & Sons
Hawes Branch NEMSA Trophy for best run of lambs was won by Robert Wallis & Sons for the third year in a row.
I felt the backend sales were disappointing considering how favourable the conditions had been over the summer but undoubtedly the uncertainty in the industry had a negative effect. Hopefully this will change in the year to come.
We must focus on keeping the quality of the Mule at the highest standard.
As a branch we would like to thank the auction companies for marketing the lambs on our behalf.
Finally, I want to thank all the committee members for their support during the past three years and to Carol Moffat the Branch Secretary for all her hard work. Good luck to Tom Willoughby who is taking over the reins from me. I hope he gets as much out of the job as I have!
Will Sedgley