HEREFORD Market Auctioneers report the following prices at their weekly sale in Hereford.

Prime Hoggetts (1,294): As expected, a more selective trade, but hoggs still reaching £89.50 for 55kg (163p/kg), and still a very acceptable return for anything over £80. After this price alteration, it is almost certain that prices will rise again next week. Overall average 171.9p, top price/head £89.50 for lambs grading 55kg.

Spring Lambs (501): An excellent entry of top quality lambs met a very good trade to £91.90, £89 and £88.60, with an overall average of 208.7p/kg. The euro is weakening and customer resistance is slightly reducing trade but there is still a satisfactory return. Overall average 208.5p/kg, top price/head £99 for lambs grading 46kg.

Store Hoggetts (236): Sold to a much easier trade, quality is getting less each week, with only the few more forward sorts selling from £50 to £60.20, and smaller sorts from £40 to £50 and plainer types from £20 to £38. Total clearance.

Ewes & lambs (652): The largest entry of the spring saw 652 ewe/hoggs with their 890 lambs on offer. The first spring show of hoggs with lambs attracted some very good quality, with keen competition for the Roly Patrick Perpetual Challenge cup, awarded to P C and C J Morgan, Gwernherrion Farm. They sold at £154 for 10 Suffolk cross mule hoggs with their 10 Charollais cross lambs.

The top price bunch of black faced hoggs was £160, again for singles with Charollais cross lambs. Other consignments ranged from £115 to £146. Welsh Mule hoggs, again with singles, sold at £155, with North Country Mules from £116 to £130. Small light faced hoggs sold at £76.

Lowland ewes all sold to good interest on all pens of younger sorts with prices from £130 to £152 for two, three and four-year-olds and poorer backed young ewes from £80 to £120. Older ewes with twin lambs sold to £144 for stronger sorts, with several pens from £110 to £130. Plainer sorts from £70 to £108. Hill-type ewes sold well with quality of lambs the principal concern; a large selection of Speckles with singles from £59 to £76, with twins from £81 to £107. Welsh ewes, again with singles, sold from £47 to £64. A total clearance effected.

Prize winners in the show were: Class 1 - Best 10 Black Faced Hoggs with Lambs: 1 P C and C J Morgan, Welsh Newton £154, 2 Halford Partnership, Kempsey £160, 3 P C and C J Morgan, Welsh Newton £135; Class 2 - Best 10 Mule Hoggs with Lambs: 1-2 L M Buckland, Ashleworth £130, £128; Champion - Roly Patrick Perpetual Challenge Cup: P C and C J Morgan, Gwernherrion Farm, Welsh Newton.

Cull Ewes (751): Another flying trade to £90 for Suffolk ewes and texel rams. As with the hoggs and prime lambs, there has been a reduction in prices, as all meat firms seem to be doing some very careful costings, and prices have reduced accordingly. Prices still excellent for sheep at the end of their career. Overall average £54.44, Suffolks to £90, Continentals £88, North Country mules £75, Welsh mules £72, Speckles £50, Welsh £42.50, cull rams £90, cull wethers £55.

Store Cattle (165): The larger entry of 165 store cattle were generally younger sorts which sold to strong interest and a total clearance. A major consignment of Belgian Blue crosses, six-12 months-old saw steers range from £440 to £595, with the heifers out of Friesian cows selling from £430 to £495, most being from 190p to 221.p/kg.

Beef-type stores of good conformation aged from 10-13 months sold from £685 to £860 for Limousine cross steers, with heifers 11-15 months from £518 to £748 and most from 175p to 200p/kg.

Strong cattle sold to £960 for a 530kg Limousine cross heifer at 22 months, with other heifers 18- 25 months from £680 to £855, and from 155p to 180p/kg. Steers topped at £956 for 580kg Blonde crosses with other stronger sorts from £708 to £860. The larger selection of young bulls eight-11 months ranged from £282 to £642.

The entry of 16 beef-type cows in or with calves included a good consignment of second and third calvers with their five-six-month-old calves. They topped at £1,330 for a home-bred Blonde cow with her heifer calf. Five others ranged from £1,090 to £1,320, all with heifer calves. Older cows with their calves sold from £610 to £860. In calf heifers sold at £720 and £660.

Barren cows topped at £900 for an 800kg cow with prices from 75p to 112p/kg.