A GOOD entry of finished cattle met a brisk and competitive trade with retail and wholesale buyers bidding keenly for quality cattle carrying the required finish at the auction in Ross-on-Wye on Monday, November 9.

Auctioneers RG and RB Williams report that steers reached £2,809.62 per head from GH & GG Savidge of Dean Common Farm while an excellent run of Limousin-cross heifers from DE & SJ Cheacker of Ostbridge Manor Farm attracted spirited competition selling to 410p/kg and 405p per kilogramme.

Well-finished Continental cattle regularly achieved between 380p and 410p per kilogramme.

The overall average price of four bulls at the auction was £1,848 with the top vendor being N R Scudamore of Llangarron Court.

A good entry of lambs met another strong trade with keen competition for handy weights and sustained demand for heavier, well-finished lambs.

Texel lambs from N & I Bevan from Trothlands Farm topped the sale at £206.50 per head, while the leading price per kilogram was 383p/kg.

Well-finished lambs weighing between 38kg and 43kg were particularly sought after generally achieving between 340p and 383p per kilogramme.

Buyers remained prepared to pay a premium for finish reinforcing the message that meat is money.

Store cattle met a blistering trade from the outset with buyers competing strongly for both well-grown cattle and younger sorts offering further growth potential.

Charolais-cross steers from BC & LS Bayliss topped at £2,080 per head.

Angus-cross steers from B Taylor-Davies also reached £2,080, with the run selling from £1,920.

A useful run of Blonde-cross steers from WG & SJ Clements led the price-per-kilogram trade at 431p per kilogramme.

A substantial entry of Angus steers attracted sustained interest, regularly selling between 370p – 420p per kilogramme. The overall steer averages was £1,700 per head.

An attractive run of Aberdeen Angus heifers from F I Bevan & Sons topped at £1,840 per head, with further quality Angus heifers from selling to £1,700.