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'THE GAVEL' - DECEMBER 2009 Issue 30 |
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Read on! 1. Looking Back |
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Looking back -
Despite a world-wide recession,
instability in the banking world, and reports of financial hardship in most
sectors of the business world, 2009 has been a relatively successful year for
the farming community in Orkney. We
were very lucky, in that, we had a much better summer than most of the
country. Silage and harvest crops
were secured, without too much difficulty, and yields were good. A favourable
euro exchange rate boosted Single Farm Payments for the year, so there were
smiles all around in early December!
Our ÒSpecial SaleÓ, on the Monday following the
ÒShowsÓ, got the ÒBack EndÓ period off to a flying start, with prices well up
on the previous year. These
prices were maintained, throughout the Autumn, and
remain stable to date, and the substantial rise in sheep prices, has, at last,
given farmers some encouragement to maintain flock numbers.
Here are our statistics and comparisons for the
calendar year: -
Store cattle
2007
Ð 6685 Steers averaged £583.49
2008
Ð 6183 Steers averaged £727.26
2009
Ð 6581 Steers averaged £854.56
2007
Ð 3996 Heifers averaged £512.88
2008
Ð 3961 Heifers averaged £627.78
2009
Ð 3997 Heifers averaged £756.33
O.T.M. cattle
2007 Ð 1395
averaged £423.12
2008 Ð 1895 averaged £637.60
2009 Ð 2027
averaged £685.11
Prime lambs
2007 Ð 5255
averaged £33.51
2008 Ð 8022 averaged £47.38
2009 Ð 9686
averaged £60.46
Store lambs
2007 Ð 14414 Ð
averaged £20.57
2008 Ð 11415 Ð
averaged £31.84
2009 Ð 13477 Ð
averaged £45.76
£`s in your pocket
Ð
As throughput, and turnover, have increased, the Mart too, has
had a better financial year, and, for the first time in many years, we have
been able to give you a little back.
Earlier in the year, we issued a refund of commission, based on the number
of animals sold in the year, and, early in the New Year, we will be sending out
cheques for Òinterest on share capital heldÓ. This may only go a little way towards
showing our appreciation for your custom, but we do thank all of you, who have
supported us throughout the year, and hope that we can continue to market your
stock to your best advantage, in the year to come.
Single Farm Payment
The
trading period for Single Farm Payment will commence in January, and, if you
wish to buy, or sell entitlements, please do not hesitate to give us a call.
****
Blue Tongue ****
It has been confirmed that Blue Tongue vaccination of stock,
in
Tags, Tags, Tags!
Since writing the June newsletter, Mark
Evans has been appointed Animal Welfare Officer for Orkney Islands
Council. He is present at the Mart
on sale days, checking, not only that animals are transported correctly, but,
that paperwork and tags conform to legal requirements. Just to remind you:-
All cattle born after 1st January, 1998, MUST be double
tagged, with 2 clearly readable, complete tags, ie.
Each tag must have 2 sides Ð
½ tags are not acceptable.
We cannot
sell cattle that are not properly tagged.
Congratulations! 
To Robbie Stanger, who has
successfully completed the degree course, for auctioneers, run by the
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Special Sales of Prime, Store and O.T.M. Cattle:-
Monday,
11th January, 2010. Monday, 8th February, 2010. Monday, 1st March, 2010.
Monday,
29th March, 2010.
O.L.A. Sale of Breeding Stock Ð
Thursday,
14th January.
Orkney Bull Breeders Show and
Jim, John and Robbie try to visit everyone regularly, but, if you have
livestock to market, and you would like
a visit, please do not hesitate to
get in touch.
A Word from the Managers office Ð
It does not seem 6 months, since our last Gavel, but, as
they say, ÒTime Flies When You`re
Having FunÓ. The Autumn
sales have been and gone, and I think the vast majority of sellers left the
Mart with smiles on their faces. As
you can see, from our statistics, both store steers, and heifers, rose by about
£125, in the year. Sheep prices too, rose sharply. This increase, while very
welcome, was much needed, and really only sees a return to prices received in
the `90`s. Cull cows have been a good, steady trade, throughout the year, with
many cows selling close to £1000 Ð I`m glad to say
that, gone are the days, when we saw good fleshy cows going to Òthe burnerÓ for
£250!
The shipment of livestock went well this ÒBack EndÓ, with no major
hold-ups. On our biggest sale days,
some cattle did have to be Òheld overÓ, but, working closely with Northlink, we always managed to Òclear the decksÓ before
our North Isles cattle for the next week began to arrive. The new livestock containers worked
well, and we managed to minimise freight costs by selling sheep on Tuesdays,
for as long as the Tuesday freight boat was in place, so that sheep could be
transported in the Òtop decksÓ, above the cattle left over from Monday. I think
this reduction in freight was an added attraction to South abattoirs, as they
have supported us well, throughout the season. This year, we had a large
attendance of ÒSouthÓ cattle buyers, with several new faces around the ring.
Their enthusiasm to buy Orkney cattle is very encouraging, and would indicate
that the store cattle, produced in our islands, remain a premium product.
I am confident that the economic rule of ÒSupply and DemandÓ will
determine that, with less cattle available for sale, trade throughout the
Spring will remain buoyant, and, on that positive, and optimistic note, I would
like to wish you all a Merry Xmas, and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New
Year.
Jim
EID Ð An update.
As the
electronic tagging regulations come in to force after the New Year, a lot of
work has been done, at the Mart, for the implementation. A fixed reader has
been installed, which the sheep can run through, 2 or 3 wide, as they leave the
sale ring. A Dutch company, called
NEDAP, supplied the reader, and were here to install it on Monday 30th
November. As yet we havenÕt had a
chance to test the reader fully, although early indications are that the type
of tag may be the greatest factor in the Òread rateÓ. It would appear that the button tags are
giving a better % read, than the fold over types. I would be confident of a read rate,
close to 100%, with the button tags, providing the tags have been inserted
correctly. The read rate for the
fold over tags, would generally be a bit poorer. Unfortunately, we still havenÕt been
informed by the Scottish Government, as to what exactly the E.I.D. rules on
individual identification will be, but an announcement is expected very shortly,
and I will Òkeep you postedÓ.
Meantime, all I can say is that, all sheep born after 1st
January, 2010, which are to be kept for longer than 12 months, MUST be double
tagged, and that one of the tags must be ÒelectronicÓ.
Colin Flett Ð
Orkney E.I.D. Fieldsman
If you have prime cattle to sell, we not only need cattle
to supply our weekly prime sale ring, but also procure cattle for McIntosh
Donald Ltd. The procurement team
will be happy to come and have a look at your stock, or, give the office a
phone on Friday afternoonm for an updated price for
the coming week.
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'THE GAVEL' - FEBRUARY 2009 Issue 28 |
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Read on! 1. Resolutions 2. Statistics 4. Diary Dates |
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New Year Resolutions!
Firstly, we
must apologise for the absence of "The Gavel", over the latter months
of 2008.
We will try
to make amends in 2009, and produce a quarterly Newsletter, to keep you up to
date with happenings at the Mart.
Looking back
-
2008 was a
year of mixed fortunes. Both sheep and cattle prices rose in the year, with the
"Back End" trade for store cattle being particularly buoyant. O.T.M.
cattle prices showed a significant increase, as there is now an established
market for this type of beef. However, unfortunately, the price of everything
else rose too, with fertilizer, feed and fuel in particular, taking a jump in
the wrong direction!
The recent
retirement of several local farmers, seeking a well earned rest, has meant that
the number of breeding cows in Orkney has fallen, and, in line, so has the
number of store cattle sold through our auction ring, but we are optimistic
that the economic rule of "Supply and Demand" will apply, and that,
as the number of cattle and sheep on the market falls, the increase in value
will compensate. We would like to thank all of you who have supported us throughout
the year, and hope that we can continue to market your stock to your best
advantage in the future.
Here are our
statistics and comparisons for the calendar year: -
Store cattle
2007 :
6685 steers averaged £583.49 2008 : 6183 steers averaged £727.26
2007 : 3996
heifers averaged £512.88 2008 : 3961 heifers averaged £627.78
O.T.M.
cattle
2007 :
1395 averaged £423.12 2008 : 1895 averaged £637.60
Prime lambs
2007 :
5255 averaged £33.51 2008 : 8022 averaged £47.38
And Looking Forward -
2009 got off
to a flying start, with more than a third of the steers forward for sale at our
Special
Steers :
173.64p/kg (£935.38) Heifers : 163.32p/kg (£801.80) O.T.M.`s
: 115.31p/kg (£752.09)
The sheep
trade too, has shown a marked improvement since the New Year. Prime hoggs have averaged around £60 per head through January,
and all other classes of sheep have risen in line.
Jim, John
and Robbie try to visit everyone regularly, but, if you have livestock to
market, and you would like a visit, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Goodbye to
O.C.D.S
31st
December saw the end of an era, as the O.C.D.S. scheme drew to a close. Anyone
who has opted to keep pre-August `96 cows will not receive payment for them,
when they come to the end of their days, and it is vital that these cows are
not entered for sale in the O.T.M. ring. THEY ARE NOT ELIGIBLE! They must be
destroyed and buried at home.
Blue tongue :
As you will
all be aware, vaccination against Blue Tongue, is
compulsory for this year, at least, and all cattle and sheep, on your holding,
have to be vaccinated by 30th April, 2009. We have produced
"Form C`s", with a Blue Tongue declaration
on the reverse, which we would be grateful if you could complete, when selling
cattle after completing your vaccination programme. Our new sheep movement
documents also have a declaration on the back.
Grass Lets
As spring is
just round the corner!?, we have been thinking about grass lets, and, as many
of you will have been issued with new maps from SEERAD, with changes to some of
your field sizes, we would ask that anyone wishing to let grass by auction,
remembers to let us have the updated details.
Keep on booking!
In order
that we can arrange shipping and transport, and keep buyers informed as to what
we have on offer, we would appreciate if you could book cattle, and sheep,
intended for sale. This makes life easier for everyone!
And speaking
of shipping-
The new
livestock containers are working well. Shipping costs over the "Back
End" period, for cattle and sheep, worked out very competitively, and the
additional sailings provided during September and October, (along with a spell
of calm weather!), meant that the Livestock boat, chartered in previous years,
was not missed as much as anticipated.
DATES FOR
YOUR DIARY
Special
Sales of Prime, Store and O.T.M. Cattle:- Monday, 9th
February, 2009. Monday, 2nd March, 2009. Monday, 30th
March, 2009.
All Classes
of Sheep sold every Monday in February, with fortnightly sales thereafter.
Implement
Sale – Thursday 19th March
If you have
prime cattle to sell, we not only need cattle to supply our weekly prime sale
ring, but also procure cattle for McIntosh Donald Ltd. The procurement team
will be happy to come and have a look at your stock, or, give the office a
phone on Friday afternoon for an updated price for the coming week.
Property to Sell?
For some
time now, it has been suggested that we should be venturing into the property
market, and, we have, to date, successfully marketed 4 farms, with all 4
vendors being very happy with the outcome. Being a business so closely
connected to the farming community, it is, perhaps easier for us to target the
right market, and also to deal with enquiries from interested parties, so, if
you are thinking of selling property, we would be delighted to speak to you
about what we can do to help.
We have also
auctioned a few properties, and this is something we would encourage more of
you to consider. From the buyers` perspective, this is the most transparent way
to buy your property, and, if you are selling, we all know how easy it is to
get carried away at an auction. One more bid just might get you what you want!
Single Farm
Payment
You may be aware
that Single Farm Payments are presently being traded. The trading period is
quite short, as all transactions must be recorded before the 15th of
May, the deadline for submission of your IACS forms. We intend to hold an
auction of Single Farm Payments in the very near future, so, if you wish to
sell, please get in touch as soon as possible, or, if you want to discuss
selling, or buying, -
Just give us
a call!
