THE 3,747 prime sheep penned for sale at Skipton Auction Mart’s latest weekly Monday sale comprised 3,274 prime and lightweight hoggs, along with 473 cast ewes and rams. Numbers showed the anticipated seasonal increase with sheep from root crop feeders now coming on stream and available for sale, especially from vendors from the east of the country, with several wagons arriving from Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire and the Vale of York, supplemented by regular consignments from Cheshire, Lancashire and northern vendors. Handy-weighted sheep were good to sell as expected, while quality runs of fed mediums were in high demand. Heavies were also good to sell, although commercial mediums and heavies were probably a shade less on price, while the smart end were not up to the recent extreme high rates seen in previous weeks, with 350p-380p/kg the mark for the best end.