UA Stirling Ram Lamb Sale

UA Stirling Blackface ram lambs 

Averages: 111 ram lambs, £955 (-£75 for three more sold).

Flashy Blackface ram lambs always attract the big bucks, and this year was noexception at Stirling with entries with size and that all-important breed character, spark, and a good coat attracting premium prices over the rest.

Such was the demand that prices peaked at £15,000 and £11,000 with the former paid for the pen leader from Hugh and Alan Blackwood, Auldhouseburn, Muirkirk, purchased by Davie Morrison, Dalwyne, Barr.

For his money, he gets a son of last year’s top-priced lamb, a £160,000 Dyke sold at Lanark which is shared with Glenrath and Crossflatt, with Dyke retaining a quarter share. An ET-bred lamb, he is the result of a flush from a ewe lamb by an £82,000 Loughash lamb bought at Lanark in 2021. 

The Blackwoods also produced the lead flock average selling three lambs at £6800.

Their No 3, a son of the £82,000 Loughash bred from a ewe by the £70,000 Harestone lamb, headed home with Graeme Wallace, Shilnavogie.

Heading in the same direction, R Lennox, Heatherhill Farms, bought the second Auldhousburn lamb at £2200. He is by the £16,000 Blackhouse lamb bought last year at Lanark with the dam being a daughter of the £160,000 Elmscleugh.

Dumfriesshire breeder, Hugh Rorison, Clonrae, Thornhill, also had a field day, taking £11,000 for his show lamb brought out by shepherd Michael Robertson, which stood third at Muirkirk and fourth at Abington. Sired by an £8000 Dyke lamb bought at Lanark last year, he is out of a ewe by a £2200 Glenrath and headed home with Willie and Sandy Taylor, Dall, Killin.

Young Lewis and Ryan Smith and their father Graeme, Towiemore, and Keith, are pretty new to Blackface sheep breeding but they have been making a name for themselves in recent years and did so again at Stirling producing the third top price amongst the lambs at £6500.

Their big lad is bred from the £6500 Auldhouseburn Queen Bee ewe bought privately by the £160,000 Elmscleugh and got by frozen semen from the £13,000 Glenrath tup sold in 2020 to Dalblair, Crossflatt, and Elmscleugh. The buyers were Auchnafree Estate, Amulree, managed by Andy Scott and Richard Nixon, Marbrack, Carsphairn.

The £13,000 Glenrath was also the grandsire of a £5200 Dalblair lamb from Eoin and Kirstyn Blackwood, who is now based at Castlehill, Durisdeer, having made the big move from Ayrshire in the spring.

The brother and sister duo who are now running 2300 ewes across 1900 acres, saw their pen leader, a son their own £85,000 Dalblair lamb sold last year to Dyke with a share retained, make this money when selling to John and Iain Renwick, Corsebank, Sanquhar. The dam is a daughter of the £28,000 Auldhouseburn and one of 500 ewes in the stud flock.

Two lambs sold for £3000 to include a son of the £125,000 Nunnerie lamb sold in 2021 to Elmscleugh, Crossflatt, and High Staward. This tup, from William Dunlop and sons Quintin and William, Elmscleugh, Innerwick, is out of a ewe by a £22,000 Dalwyne and sold to DJ MacDonald, 13 Peinchorran, Braes, Portree, Skye.

Later, Alister and Alan Mclarty who manage the Firm of Shawhead, Douglas, received the same money for the reserve champion from Strathaven Show which was also reserve male at Moffat. He is by a £1000 Midlock son of a £60,000 Loughash, out of a home-bred ewe and headed home with P McDiarmid, Shenlarich, Lawers, Aberfeldy.

Rory Kerr, The Glen, Drymen, also had a good day with sons of last year’s £32,000 Dyke ram lamb which was bought in partnership with Dollarbank, Mains of Burnbank and Burnhead, Kilsyth, making £2000 and £1600. The dearest, bred by a ewe by a £15,000 High Staward, was purchased by D Higginson, Braeleny, Callander.

The top price for the Taylors, Dall, was £1900 paid for a son of a Merkins ram. He goes out to work at Dunalastair Estate, Kinloch Rannoch, Pitlochry, managed by Finlay McIntyre.

Flock averages

Flock (No) Top (£) Average

Elmscleugh (5) 3000 1400.00

Littleport (4) 1500 962.50

Berrydyke (4) 400 192.50

Dalwyne (3) 1000 473.33

Rowanhill (3) 80 80.00

Dall (9) 1900 620.00

Burnhead, Kilsyth (3) 900 683.33

Dollarbank (3) 650 533.33

Craigend (3) 900 600.00

Sidlaw (4) 550 337.50

The Glen (3) 2000 1300.00

Midlock (4) 1000 737.50

Mitchellslacks (4) 1000 530.00

Braes of Ardeonaig (10) 1100 361.00

Drumgrange (3) 200 186.66

Auldhouseburn (3) 15,000 6800.00

Greenside (3) 750 450.00

Dalblair (3) 5200 2133.33

Shankhead (4) 180 120.00