Stags of South Molton held their first joint sale of store cattle and breeding sheep.

A decent entry for the first sale of 50 store cattle and 466 sheep drew a respectable crowd of purchasers.

The sale began with the store cattle which topped at £940 for 16mo Charolais-cross steers from the regular consigners Messrs W Parker & Son of South Molton.

Next best was £900 for a pair of 23mo Aberdeen Angus-cross steers (NS) from Mr MF Way also of South Molton who sold a 27mo British Blue steer at £880. Heifers topped at £740 for 21mo British Blue-cross from Mrs J Slee of Bish Mill.

Next best at £720 were a pair of 14mo Charolais-crosses from Messrs Parker. In the sheep pens the breeding ewes topped at £130 for a pen of pure bred in-lamb Dorset shearlings from Mr TR Slee of South Molton whose other pens rose to £126 for 6T/FM; £125 & £125 for 4T & £124 for 6T.

Suffolk mule shearlings were in short supply and topped at £120 from Messrs IFJ & JC Harris of Beaworthy; who also topped the Texel Mule shearlings at the same money.

North Country mule shearlings sold to £116 for three pens from Mr R Sizmur of Okehampton.

The majority of the breeding rams forward found new homes and topped at £250 for Charollais shearling from Mrs FE Tucker of South Molton. Ram lambs sold to £200 from Messrs G Mills & Partners Ltd of Witheridge who sold Charollais lambs to £180.