A strong trade with brisk bidding for quality rams set the season off to a confident start at the NSA Wales & Borders Early Ram Sale.

The sale at the Royal Welsh Showground saw a top price of 1600 guineas paid for a Charollais shearling ram, with two Texel tups selling for 1400 guineas each. A Suffolk sold for 850 guineas.

Turnover was £142,970, with 211 rams sold, representing 73.5 per cent of the number forward. Top prices and averages were up on the last sale in 2019, across almost all the breeds.

Buyers and vendors were pleased with the trade and with the quality of rams offered for sale.

Sales chairman, Graham Jones, said it made for a good start to the year and augured well for the main sale in September.

He added: “The trade followed the quality and the good quality sold quite well.

“It was a very commercial sale and they were strong commercial prices. They weren’t pedigree breeders on the whole, they were commercial and they were prepared to pay for what they wanted.

“It was nice to be back and I think everybody was glad to get here, to get around, see a few sheep and have a little chat, then get on with the job.”

The top price of 1600 guineas was achieved by a Charollais shearling Foulrice ram, bred by Charles and Stephen Marwood. It had taken Supreme Champion at the pre sale breed show and was sold to Elgan Roberts, Denbigh.

A Texel from the Williams family of Lockerbie sold for 1400 guineas to Cain Owen, Geirn, Carmel, Anglesey. Another Texel from the Watkins family also sold for 1400 guineas to J Gravelle, Pentre Poeth Farm, Machen. A Horton Suffolk tup bred by John Pryce sold for 850 guineas.

Charles Marwood said that, once the sale got going, the trade had been very good, with demand driven by the strong lamb trade. It had been very much as expected and their 21 Charollais shearling rams had all sold .

He said of his 1600 guinea ram: “The shearling is an Osprey son and Osprey, one of our main senior stock rams, came up as one of the top carcass rams on Ram Compare this year.

“That’s what we aim for in the flock, is to produce rams with good skins and tremendous shape. At the end of the day, that’s what the butcher wants.”

Elgan Roberts of Llannefydd, Denbigh, was delighted with his purchase, praising his great back end, good carcass and amazing skin. He will be used on their small pedigree flock and also on commercial ewes.

One of the two Texels that sold for 1400 guineas was the breed Reserve Champion, from the Corras Flock and bred by the Watkins family of Abergavenny. They sold three rams in their first visit to the early sale and returns had been better than expected.

The other 1400 guinea Texel was the breed champion, one of a consignment of ten shearling rams brought from Lockerbie by Dona Williams and her father, Dewi. He said that while everyone had been a little anxious before the sale, it had proved to be better than expected and a really good start to the season.

Helen Roberts, whose father, John Pryce, had the highest priced Suffolk ram agreed that the sale had been a lot better than might have been expected. Their shearling ram sold to Gethin and Helen Davies of Maescar, Sennybridge, for 850 guineas.

Helen said the good trade in Suffolks was due to the fact that the breed finish quickly. People liked to put them to Mules to breed ewe replacements. Gethin Davies said he prized the ram’s good body and expected him to produce good finished lambs with plenty of weight on the carcass.

The NSA Wales & Border Main Sale will take place at the Royal Welsh Showground on Monday, September 20.