Knighton Market played host to another outstanding sale on Friday, April 18, with McCartneys reporting an excellent turnout and strong demand across all livestock categories.

The event saw 126 store sheep, 383 store cattle, and 75 weaned calves exchanged under the hammer, with top prices achieved across the board.

A limited number of hoggets were on offer, but the trade for these sheep was exceptional, outpacing current fat lamb prices. Texel x ewe hoggets from RWE Vogel & Son achieved the top price of £147 per head, while JP Breeze & Son also saw strong returns with Texel x ewe hoggets reaching £137.50 per head. Other notable sales included Texel x ram hoggets from PH Morris & Sons, selling for £135 per head, and mixed hoggets from the Price family and HE Rollings & Son, which fetched prices as high as £134 per head.

Overall, the market saw large hoggets selling between £130 and £147, while medium hoggets ranged from £100 to £125. Smaller hoggets also found keen demand, with prices between £78 and £95.

The weaned calves and young store cattle section saw an incredibly strong performance, particularly in the weaning category. DM Wilding topped the sale with three Charolais x bull calves (7 months old, 365kg), which sold for an impressive £1900 per head. Weaned steers also performed well, with a Charolais x steer from WJ Barnett & Son (330kg, 10 months) reaching £1800, while SS Deakins achieved £1860 for five 345kg Charolais x steers.

Weaned heifers were also in demand, with RP Morgan & Son's five Charolais x heifers (255kg, 10 months) selling for £1500 per head. Heifers continued to perform strongly, with several batches reaching over £1700 per head.

The Spring Show & Sale for store cattle was a major highlight, with more than 60 buyers in attendance, despite the damp weather. The event was generously sponsored by Mid Wales Incineration and RVW Pugh Ltd, and it delivered some of the highest prices seen in the area.

JB Morris emerged as the champion of the day, with a pair of Charolais x Saler bulls (11 months, 640kg) selling for £2880. These cattle led a strong showing of young feeding bulls, with 53 bulls achieving an average price of £2254.91 per head. Steers also performed well, with the top price for a Limousin x steer (14 months, 605kg) from JT Powis & Son, which sold for £2780. Meanwhile, heifers averaged £1915 per head, with the top price of £2890 achieved for a Charolais x heifer (23 months, 615kg) from HC Davies.

The sale highlighted the continued demand for all breeds, with Limousin and Charolais cattle in particular seeing significant interest from buyers. The sale saw 53 bulls exceed £2500, and 206 cattle surpass £2000, marking a record for the area.

The sale of cull cows was also impressive, with eight cows averaging £1902 per head. The top price of £2590 was achieved for a 780kg Saler x cow from AJ & JA Powell.

The next sale will take place on Friday, May 2.