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This has been a year like never before, but thankfully many of the farming community are still here to see it. Auctioneers and farmers aroundÌýthe country are resilient to everything that gets thrown at them (andÌýoften does).

There has been no better yearÌýto prove how strong the industry isÌýand that we are needed to feed the country and world.

In the livestock markets, auctioneers have given many people hope and optimism to keep fighting for what they believeÌýis theÌýbest products in the world and to keep producing quality stock.

Regular headlines have boasted livestock markets are seeing recordÌýprices in many breeds and flying trades, which has given manyÌýfarmers enthusiasm to expand their businesses.

It is pleasing to see numbersÌýof stockÌýhaveÌýimproved this year at many livestock markets, we have seen a vast increase in throughput in cattle and especially sheep in comparisonÌýto previous years, which could have been completely the opposite.

As lockdown came and many shops, restaurants and pubs were closed, along with transport andÌýexport becoming more difficult than usual, we all thought that we would be in for a tough time.

But, surprisingly enough, prices lifted and demand was exceptional for the time of year, even with all the masks and social distancing.

Many local butchers and farm shops saw queues of new customers out of the door and down the street, giving a real boost in their takingsÌýand putting many of them back onÌýthe map.

That educated many customers about how good British food is, which is fantastic for the UK economy.

This triggered the smaller local wholesalers and abattoirs to increaseÌýtheir throughput, meaning these shops, apart from home-rearedÌýanimals from their farms, were looking to source their local beef and lamb from these outlets.

This caused buyers in the livestock markets to purchase some different types, not just the usual specifications of meat that have to fit in the right sized plastic containers or they get penalised for weight, size, fat, quality and so on.

Again, this helped the producerÌýin these difficult times with ever-increasing feed and bedding costsÌýfor finishing animals to the right specification.

This year has seen a huge amount of confidence in purchasing breeding stock, which has come off the back of the good trade we have seen this year.

European production and stock numbers are decreasing and weÌýare increasing. This could be great news for the UK economy and especially with Brexit, just around theÌýcorner again.

This will hopefully enable us to be a major player in the world's food production as a country and increase exports rather than relying on imported food with often lower standards than those we have to adhere to.

Sales have been very interesting this year, with many companiesÌýturning to internet sales, either liveÌýor timed.

That is one way of keeping an open and transparent transaction, but hopefully when we get back to some kind of normality, we will appreciate the buzz of the livestock markets, meeting with new and old friends talking about the good times around the ring or in the cafe, along with being able to see your stock sold at the best price on the day. That is what auctions are all about.

Once again, as many auctioneers writing these articles have already said, a huge thanks must go to Chris Dodds on behalf of the Livestock Auctioneers' Association, who has been in discussions with Government to ensure livestock operations stayedÌýopen during the Covid pandemic,Ìýunlike many businesses involved in the food industry which have had to close during lockdown.Ìý

I will sign off by wishing youÌýall stay safe and well in these current conditions. Do not forget all the hardÌýwork you put in to producing someÌýof the best food in the world.ÌýPlease market your stock by supporting the livestock markets, as they have supported you.

Panel

Alastair Brown is a senior auctioneer at Bletsoes. CallÌý07885 804 450, or emailÌýalastair.brown@bletsoes.co.uk