With the summer in full swing (although hard to believe as we look outside  the window to the usual British weather!), the dairy industry is  continuing to look optimistically forward to autumn as a shortage of milk bolsters farmgate prices. The dairy cattle trade has firmed over recent months with the July sales seeing strong trades for quality cattle. Highlights have included the Gold Cup Winners Sale of 83 milkers from the ever impressive Bettiscombe herd which averaged over £2000 and a very strong youngstock trade for the extremely classy Whitamhall Holsteins Herd Reduction Sale.

As we look ahead to the next month, dairy cattle are in very short supply across  the whole of the west country and with an increasing demand as milk prices rise trade is predicted to stay firm. We are seeing a large amount of demand for autumn milk as well as fresh milk and large groups  of cattle are hard to source. The shortage of sales means that now is the time to take stock of what surplus you may have for the autumn and winter months!

Sedgemoor Auction Centre has a number of marketing opportunities for all types of dairy cattle, with weekly sales held every Saturday with 100 entered  last Saturday with vendors from Kent Cornwall, Carmarthen, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. As well as special catalogued monthly  sales and a much-viewed private treaty sales register.
The Dairy  department are currently cataloguing for their next monthly sale on Tuesday 22nd August for which the entries deadline is Monday 7th August, to place entries or for further details please contact 01278 410250 or livestock@gth.net.