A different Lairg lamb sale this year
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A somewhat different, but still surprisingly similar, Lairg lamb sale took place on the 11th.
According to United Auctions’ summary, more lambs (14,365) were sold than last year at a higher price. Wethers were up £7.22 and ewe lambs were up £13.53 on the year. However, the feeling was that prices dropped away sharply in the later stages - -showing again how important your place in the draw is. The weather was excellent but the atmosphere was subdued with only 1 person per consignment allowed into the pens. And you had to go home immediately your lambs were sold. It would be interesting to know how many watched on the website.
The main achievement was that the sale took place at all – arrangements were not ideal (a good shower of rain would have caused major problems for the buyers outside) but UA are to be congratulated for getting it on at all. There seemed to be more yardsmen around which helped. That number of lambs going out of the county eases the pressure on grazing over the autumn.
Dingwall on the 13th reported “With more hill type lambs on offer, all classes fully maintained last week’s strong trade”. The latest news from Dingwall is that some lamb sales will go ahead in Portree, Lochmaddy and Stornoway.
Most buyers then seemed confident enough to keep buying despite the uncertainties around Covid-19 and Brexit. Covid has depressed the restaurant trade but has maybe boosted sales of local produce over imports. With Brexit, finishers may be banking on the government realising that they can’t negotiate a comprehensive trade deal before the transition period ends in December and so will agree a roll-over of current arrangements so lambs could be still be sold tariff free into the EU in the spring. But I doubt if anyone actually knows!
There is also a consultation going on just now on the workings of the UK internal market after December – the rules for that are currently laid down by the EU and so will need to be replicated or replaced. The White Paper is a confusing read but the Scottish Crofting Federation’s view has been clear since the Brexit referendum result became known. There does need to be some sort of UK framework to ensure standards are maintained but this needs to be agreed by the four home nations not imposed by Westminster (which functions as both the UK parliament for some matters and as the English parliament for agriculture). Scottish agriculture is different from England (more animal rearing less arable) so Scottish policy needs to be set in Scotland. Standards on animal health and welfare and on labelling must be maintained and not allow lower welfare products to be imported or produced. The White Paper, as it stands, says that standards in one part of the UK must apply throughout and not be discriminated against so you can’t ban lower standards if another nation chooses to adopt them. The principle of not just consultation but also agreement between Westminster and the devolved governments should also extend to the way the internal market is policed and to the setting of the level of support payments.
