Andrew Clements on the volume of sales.
It has already been an astonishing year and we are only two-thirds of the way through.
At GTH, we have already sold more than 10,000 dairy cattle by the end of August whereas this was our total for the full 12-month period in each of the last two years.
We have seen this huge number of cattle brought to the market place with the demand remarkably still outstripping supply through summer and our client base of buyers ever expanding, especially through the larger sales, with more Midland and Welsh buyers attending due to Sedgemoor Livestock Markets ease of access, just off the M5.
Recent sales have seen Hadlow College from Kent top at 2,500gns in Sedgemoor for a fresh Pedigree second calver, an on-farm sale in Dorset for the Jeanes family topped at 2,400gns for a commercial cow.
Our pedigree showcase, the Spotlight Sale, topped at 6,400gns for the Wills brothers, Cornwall, for their maiden heifer Willsbro Tropic Sharon.
Buoyancy
The question we get asked the most is how is the trade is still so strong and the main answer is buoyancy with the farmgate milk price and the cull values at record levels.
The autumn trade for milkers remains fierce, with the best always in demand and perhaps the only dampener in the past couple of months is trade for the lower quality.
As we head into winter we would usually see demand for youngstock slow, but this year maybe the large feed stocks or the strong summer trade has helped buck the trend with young bulling heifers in our recent collective sales from West Wales selling to more than 900gns.
We continue to see great merit in Marteye, our online bidding portal, with those using the system very comfortable and allowing ‘attendance' at a sale when there are more pressing things on-farm or when time restricts travel.
Of course it is also a great way to keep an eye on trade as you can watch the whole sale to see the stock and prices at the click of a button.
Andrew Clements
Andrew Clements is an associate at Greenslade Taylor Hunt, Sedgemoor. Call 01278 410 250, or email [email protected]
