Bellingham suckled calf sale tops at £1,800
More than 900 spring-born suckler calves were on offer at the Bellingham sale at Hexham. The pre-sale show was judged by Jim Wilkinson, Leyburn, who awarded the championship to a Limousin cross heifer from Steven Richardson, Corbridge. It went on to sell for the top price of £1,800 to Bev Younger, Capheaton New Houses, for the Young Farmers overwintering competition.
In reserve was a Limousin cross steer from Eric and Mark Armstrong, Whitfield, which sold for £1,700 to Messrs Wilson, Ripon.
A run of calves from Willie, Faye and Ryan Walton, Penpeugh, topped at £1,690 and £1,640 for Blue and Limousin crosses respectively.
Charolais cross steers sold to £1,540 for the Johnsons, West Wharmley, and to £1,510 for Messrs Walton, Flotterton.
Heifers sold to £1,600 for Robin Williamson, Littleburn, and Messrs Lee, Morley Hill.
The Waltons sold British Blue heifers to £1,500 and Charolais heifers to £1,380.
Aberdeen-Angus cross steers sold to £1,360 for a pen of six from Dave and Stuart Hall, Elsdon, who averaged £1,000/head for 26 females, all selling to J. Howard Johnson, Crook.
Average – steers, £1,125; heifers, £970.
Auctioneers: Hexham and Northern Marts.
HPLS celebrates 50 years
There was a celebration day at Bakewell to mark 50 years of the High Peak Livestock Society (HPLS). The society was formed by 12 founder members, who met at the Cat and Fiddle pub in 1974, with the aim of promoting High Peak livestock through sales at Bakewell and other sites.
For the first time, a show for the suckled calves was held before the sale, which was judged by regular buyer Roger Egglestone of Nixons Farm Shop, Heald Green.
The winning calf was a 10-month-old British Blue steer from Dan and Sam Byard, Ashover, which went on to sell for the top price of £1,650.
Next, at £1,520, were two 15-month-old Limousin steers from D.N. and J.E. Renwick, Middleton.
Heifers topped at £1,500 for a 15-month-old Limousin consigned by A. and J. Henshaw, Fairfield, followed at £1,400 by two 11-month-old Limousins from Messrs Renwick.
Young bulls sold to £1,500 for a British Blue, also from Messrs Henshaw, with two six- to seven-month-old Charolais from B. and M. Frost, Youlgreave, at £1,380.
Averages – 168 young feeding bulls, £1,071 (+£124 on 2023); 222 steers, £1,027 (+£53); 338 heifers, £988 (+£109).
Auctioneers: Bagshaws.
Records smashed at Penderyn
There were 413 rams sold at Penderyn, where a new record of 18,000gns was set for a yearling South Wales Mountain ram.
This was the second prize winner from K. Stephens, Rhydyfelin, which sold to C.D. Johns and Partners, Cwmtaff.
Next, at 15,000gns, was the first prize winner from D.M.G. Millichap and Partner, Duffryn, which was knocked down to the Messrs Stephens.
This was followed by 10,000gns for a ram from D.T. Richards and Son, Llangynwyd.
Aged rams sold to 2,800gns for a three-year-old ram from H.E. Parks, Church Stretton.
White-faced rams topped at 2,160gns for a yearling from B. and A. Walker, Pontsticill, selling to H. Davies, Talybont. This was followed by a yearling from D.B. and D.R. Williams, Penderyn, making 1,000gns to G. James, Pontbren.
Lowland rams sold to 740gns for a Suffolk yearling from L.M. Howells and Son, Cymmer, followed by a Bluefaced Leicester yearling ram at 650gns from A.J. and E.W. Price, Gwynfe.
Averages - South Wales Mountain – 189 yearling rams, £1,11.95 (+£142.18 on 2023); 30 aged rams, £456.54 (+£141.25). White-faced – 128 rams, £414.17 (£122.65); lowland rams, £348.66 (+£55.91).
Auctioneers: Penderyn
HIgh of £3,200 for suckled calves at Kirkby Stephen
The show and sale of 455 suckled calves at Kirkby Stephen topped at £3,200 for the pre-sale show champion, a 10-month-old Limousin cross heifer from Messrs Brown, Great Asby, which was bought by Messrs Hargreaves, Preston. Their consignment of 60 calves averaged £1,416.86, up £125.86 on the year.
The same vendors sold seven-month-old Limousin heifers at £2,600 to the judge, Amy Vance, Newton Stewart, with a six-month-old British Blue heifer making £2,300 and a six-month-old Limousin heifer making £2,200, both to Messrs Slack, Penrith. A seven-month-old Limousin heifer also made £2,200 to Messrs Walton, Hexham, and a 10-month-old Limousin heifer sold for £2,100 to Messrs Mongomerie.
Messrs Hayton, Asby, sold 10-month-old British Blue cross heifers to £2,600 to Messrs Barnett, Shap, and averaged £1,426.92 for 40 calves.
Messrs Sedgley, Carnforth, sold the reserve champion, a nine-month-old British blue steer, for £1,850 to Messrs Harrison, Driffield.
Messrs Brown, Asby Hall, also sold a 10-month-old Limousin steer to £1,845 to Messrs Amos, Leicester.
Averages – Steers, £1,237.58 (+£10.33 on the year); heifers, £1,221.8 (+£47.94); overall, £1,230.60 (+£26.15).
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington
Luke Fair sale sees £800 twice
The Luke Fair sale of 3,000 breeding sheep at Kirkby Stephen topped at £800 twice. Firstly, this was for four-shear Swaledale ewes from the dispersal sale for K. Sowerby, Brough, which were bought by Messrs Brogden, Brough.
Three-shear ewes from the same home sold to £280, and three- and four-crop ewes sold to £250, with the consignment averaging £238.89.
Also making £800/head was a pen of two- and three-crop Swaledale ewes, which were faulty in the udder, from Messrs Hutchinson, Valley Farm, Bowes. They sold to Shaun Procter, Kirkby Stephen. Another pen of two- and three-crop Swaledale ewes from Messrs Hutchinson sold for £340/head to Messrs Nattrass, Garrigill, with the consignment of 30 Swaledale ewes averaging £282.60.
Messrs Rukin, Weststonesdale, sold a pen of three-crop Swaledale ewes at £460/head to Messrs Nicholson, Barras.
Messrs Sowerby, Slaggyford, sold Dutch Texel shearlings to £265/head to Messrs Coulthard, Baldersdale.
Texel cross shearlings sold to £230 twice and £225 from Messrs Wilson, Carlisle. Beltex shearlings sold to £225/head for Messrs Brown, Barnard Castle, and Texel cross ewes sold to £222 and £215 from Messrs Coulthard. Mule ewes sold to £198 from Messrs Fawcett, Stainmore.
Gimmer lambs topped at £235 for Bluefaced Leicesters from Messrs Twentyman, Great Strickland, selling to Messrs Hayton, Asby.
Messrs Twentyman also topped the Mule gimmer lambs at £170/head for a pen of five.
Swaledale gimmer lambs sold to £130 for Messrs Gibson, Barnard Castle.
Breeding rams topped at £900 twice: firstly, for a five-shear Bluefaced Leicester from Messrs Dawson, Kendal, bought by Messrs Bousfield, Bampton; secondly, for a Bluefaced Leicester shearling from Messrs Morland, Starrah, which sold to Messrs Hodgson and Peart, Westgate.
Averages – 1,005 Swaledale ewes, £142.23; rams, £552.30.
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington.
Champion tops Dalesbred sale
The Dalesbred Sheep Breeders Association show and sale at Skipton topped at 450gns for the pre-sale show champion, a four-shear ram from M.J. and A. Carr, Horton in Ribblesdale. The buyer was A. and M.A. Wright, Wray.
Reserve champion went to the winning shearling ram from R. Jackson and Son, Horton in Ribblesdale, which made 380gns to E. Snowden, Keighley.
Shearling gimmers topped at £160/head for pens from both David Charnley, Litton, and Messrs Coates, Stainforth.
Ellie Forster, Bentham, sold one- and two-crop ewes to £150, with three-crop ewes to £145. Gimmer lambs topped at £140 for Hayton and Stocks, Bolton Abbey.
Averages – Shearling rams, £128; aged rams, £182; gimmer lambs, £92.36; gimmer shearlings, £160; ewes, £126.
Auctioneers: CCM.
Store cattle at Norwich
Store cattle sold to £1,670 at Norwich for an 18-month-old Limousin cross steer from A. White, Norton. Next, at £1,170, was a 22-month-old British Blue steer from N. Baxter, Bungay.
Messrs White also had the top price heifer, an 18-month-old Limousin cross which made £1,570, with another from the same home at £1,550.
A 12-month-old Limousin bull from F. Calver, Norwich, sold for £940.
In the breeding cattle section, Beef Shorthorn cows with strong calves from W.E. Chantry, Saxmundham, sold to £2,180. D.R. Coe, Needham, sold Limousin calves on their mothers to £1,620.
Beef Shorthorn heifers from Messrs Chantry topped at £1,330.
The top price calf, at £400, was a British Blue consigned by C.W. Potter, Tharston.
Auctioneers: Norwich Livestock Market.
Limousin heifers claim top titles
At the show and sale of forward store cattle at Darlington, the pre-sale show championship and reserve both went to 18-month-old Limousin heifers from the late George Dent, Cockfield. Both sold to J.C. White and Son, Barnsley, at £1,680 and £1,670 respectively.
A trio of 20-month-old Aberdeen-Angus steers from B. and B. Kitching and Son, Stockton, sold for £1,910, with their six steers averaging £1,858.
Heifers topped at £1,830 for a 19-month-old Limousin from T.W. West, Egremont, whose run of five averaged £1,712.
Young bulls sold to £1,360 for a Charolais from C.S. Thompson, Hawsker, while the only cow and calf in the mart, a four-year-old Limousin with a bull calf at foot, from J.R. and A.R. Wall, Lartington, sold for £2,200.
Averages – Steers, £1,256 (+£82 on 2023); heifers, £1,142 (+£137).
Auctioneers: Darlington Farmers Auction Mart.
Store cattle in demand at Hexham
At the Tow Law show and sale of store cattle, the judge, James Crichton, Loughrigg, awarded the store cattle championship to a red Limousin heifer from P. Guiry and Son, Glanton Town Farm, which went on to sell for £1,700.
The champion suckled calf was a nine-month-old steer from Messrs Charlton, Whiteside, which sold for £1,620.
In reserve was the first prize Limousin cross heifer from T.C.E. Armstrong, Harlow Bower, which made £1,650.
Stronger cattle peaked at £2,200 for an Aberdeen-Angus cross bullock from L.R. Carmicheal and Son, Berwick Hill.
Limousin and British Blue cross steers from J.A. Gilson, Heugh Farm, topped at £2,180 for a Blue and another to £2,060.
A run of forward Limousin, Blue and Charolais cross steers from I. and A. Hamilton, Claywalls, sold to £2,120 for a Blue cross and £2,020 for Limousins.
Charolais cross heifers from J. and D. Longlands, Tone Hall, topped at £1,680.
Auctioneers: Hexham and Northern Marts.
Suckled calves at Broughton
AT the show and sale of 97 suckled calves at Broughton, the judge, Fiona Jowett, Bradford, awarded the championship to a British Blue steer from N.A. and J. Temple, Seathwaite, Broughton-in-Furness, which she later went on to buy for £1,750 – the top price of the day.
The reserve championship went to a British Blue heifer from S.G. Benson, Pennington, Ulverston, which sold for £,1500, also to the judge.
Cattle over 30 months old sold to £1,543.70 for a South Devon cow from J. Roberts and Sons, Holmrook, and 193.5p/kg for a 42-month-old Longhorn from M. Noble, Kirkby-in-Furness.
Auctioneers: Barnard Castle and Teesdale Farmers Auction Mart Co.
Dairies to £3,000 at Skipton
A small entry of dairy cattle at Skipton peaked at £3,000 for the third prize winning heifer in-milk, Ravensgate Argonaut Blossom 253, giving 32kg, from Pete Baul, Bishop Thornton.
The same vendor had the pre-sale show champion, a calved heifer by Peak Danger from the Ravensgate Sparkle family. It sold for £2,850 to Mark Goodall, Tong.
Norman and Chris Bell, Cowling, sold the reserve champion, an early October-calved Sound System daughter giving 30kg, which went to Brian Mellin, Blackpool, at £2,550.
In-calf heifers by Flowride and Boxcar, due November and December to named Angus sires, from the Ryders, Harrogate, peaked twice at £1,900, with the four averaging £1,750.
Average - heifers in-milk, £2,525.
Auctioneers: CCM.
Tilstone dispersal tops at 3,500gns
The dispersal of the Tilstone herd of Holstein Friesians on behalf of Tom and Sarah Mansell on-farm near Tarporley topped at 3,500gns for a third calver. The daughter of Errolston Grenade calved in February and was back in-calf to Angus, giving 52kg after producing 11,976kg in its second lactation.
Next, at 3,400gns, was a second calver by Luis Ooh Odel, which had given 10,256kg as a heifer.
Calved heifers sold to 3,380gns for a Denovo Hill daughter. In-calf heifers peaked at 2,500gns for a November-calving daughter of Denovo Elway, which was carrying a Bomaz Getaway heifer calf out of a 11,862kgs Rosylane LLC Spock dam. Yearling heifers sold to 1,250gns and heifer calves to 650gns.
Averages: 241 milking cows including faults, £2,200; 53 in-calf/served heifers, £1,568; 60 yearling heifers, £838; 63 heifer calves, £448.
Auctioneers: Gwilym Richards with Market Drayton Market.
Dairies to £3,000 at Brock
The monthly sale of dairy cattle at Brockholes Arms topped at £3,000 for A.B. and J. Parkinson, Out Rawcliffe, with their heifer, Liscabank Hanley Jen Molley 4, giving 30 litres, which sold to Evan Ellis, Shropshire.
Denhamhill Montoya Peggy from E.H. and R. Eccles, Chorley, sold for £2,980 to a Scottish buyer who also paid £2,950 for a Stardale heifer from J. Burrow and Son, Broughton.
Cows topped at £2,900 for a second calver, which had given more than 10,000kg in its first lactation and was giving 44kg again, from D. Fryars and Sons, Poulton-le-Fylde, which also went to Messrs Ellis.
Averages – newly calved heifers, £2,108; newly calved cows, £2,250.
Auctioneers: Brockholes Arms Auction Mart.
Blue Greys in demand at Lockerbie
The Newcastleton sale of 622 Blue Grey in-calf heifers, bulling heifers and heifer calves along with 322 suckler calves and native breed store cattle at Lockerbie topped at £2,600 for in-calf Blue Grey heifers from Messrs Flintoft, Sourhope.
Bulling heifers sold to £1,550 six times. Firstly, for Messrs Telford, Holme Head, who sold four to Messrs Cockburn, Midlothian. Secondly, for two from Messrs Bell, the Bloch, selling to Rhindhu Farm, Chapeltown.
Top price heifer calves, at £1,300/head, were from Messrs Hogg and Son, Milnholm, for two pens of four 12-month-old calves which went to Dalmahoy Farms, West Lothian.
The winning pen for four or more bulling heifers from Messrs Kyle, Sproutbank, sold for £1,400/head to Messrs Stobart, Croglin High Hall. The first-prize pen of four eight-month-old heifer calves went to Messrs Moore, Softley Farm, and were bought by Messrs Thomson, Kelso.
Averages – overall, £1,326.18 (+£291.88 on 2023); in-calf heifers, £1,863.22 (+£57.84); bulling heifers, £1,262.34; heifer calves under 12 months old, £886.54.
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington.
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