Heifer from Stephen and Ashley Mills which sold for £9,000
Show potential cattle top at £9,000 at Skipton
A top call of £9,000, among the highest prices in the event's more than 20-year history, was recorded at Skipton's Craven Champions show and sale of 2024-born calves with show potential.
The sale leader was the second prize halter-led Limousin-sired heifer from father and son, Stephen and Ashley Mills, Sheffield.
Their 12-month-old blue roan heifer is an AI daughter of Uptonley Livingthedream. Out of a home-bred pedigree British Blue, it sold to Ellie Hargreaves, Walton-le-Dale.
The Mills also sold a second prize winning one-year-old heifer by the British Blue sire, Toscan, for £3,000 to M. Allen, Knock Hall Farm, Appleby.
The Walker family, Dunsop Bridge, claimed the championship with their 12-month-old British Blue cross heifer by Cromwell Fendt which sold for £5,200 to the judge, Liam Rodney of Rodney Bros, Masham. They also took the reserve male championship with a bullock by the British Blue, Maes Owain, which sold for £2,050, with a heifer by the same sire selling for £2,600 to Jack Shepherd, Pateley Bridge, and they then sold an unhaltered heifer for £2,500.
Mark and Fee Ewbank, Middlesmoor, took the male championship with Rolo, a Limousin cross bullock by Marchington, which sold for £2,100 to the judge.
Stephen Horsfield, Mytholmroyd, sold his third prize winning Limousin sired heifer for £2,500 and an unhaltered heifer for £2,150.
Auctioneers: CCM.
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Limousin heifer tops Barnard Castle show potentials at £3,900
Topping the Farmers Guardian supported show and sale of show potential cattle at £3,900 at Barnard Castle was the winning haltered Limousin heifer from J.E. and E. Dobson and Son, Frosterley, which sold to A. Barnett, Shap.
Steers sold to £3,600 for the winning British Blue steer and reserve champion from R. Hutchinson, Valley Farm, Bowes, which was knocked down to Messrs Harrison, Driffield.
The haltered calves were judged by James Nisbet, Ayrshire, awarded the overall championship to a British Blue heifer from R.R. Reay and Sons, Matfen, which later sold for £3,400 Sam Marsh, Dover.
F. and M.P. Allinson and Son, West Briscoe, had the second, third and fourth prize winning British Blue heifers which sold for £3,500, £3,500 and £2,600 respectively.
The second prize winning Limousin heifer from Kate Swinbank, Darlington, made £2,800.
Top price bull at £2,450 was a Limousin from L.F. and H.C. Wood, Marwood Green, which was bought by Messrs Kemp, Durham.
Unhaltered cattle
The unhaltered cattle were judged by Walter Dandie, Fife, who gave the championship to a Limousin heifer from Messrs Dobson which went on to sell for £2,900 to Messrs Barnett.
The reserve unhaltered champion, a Limousin steer from the same home sold to the judge for £2,600.
The winning unhaltered British Blue heifer consigned by Messrs Allison sold for £3,400.
Averages – steers, £1,921.45; heifers, £1,955.97; bulls, £1,839.24.
Auctioneers: Barnard Castle and Teesdale Farmers Auction Co.
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South Country Cheviot females sell to 2,000gns
At the sale of breeding females on behalf of the Cheviot Sheep Society at Longtown, the pre-sale show was judged by Ewen MacMillan, Lurg, Fintry, who selected as champion a two-crop ewe from T. Elliot, Hindhope, Jedburgh, and backed his judgment by buying it at 2,000gns. By Mainside Arthur, the ewe was inter-breed champion at the 2022 Holm Show and was in-lamb to the £14,000 Skelfhill Unique.
The reserve champion, a four-crop ewe by Mainside Yorkie and in-lamb to Skelfhill Utopia, from R.H. Paton, Castle Crawford, sold for 1,500gns, again to Mr MacMillan.
Castle Crawford topped the gimmer section at 1,900gns for a first prize winning Castle Highlander daughter which sold, in-lamb to Glenochar Riot, to Messrs Bridgewater and Wood, Langholm, who also took a Becks-sired three-crop ewe from W.J.C. and S.J. Weir, Hownam, at 1,600gns.
Messrss Elliot took 1,300gns for a two-crop ewe, selling to A.A. Roskell and Partners, Laverhay, and the Hindhope pen of four averaged £1,417. I.H.G. Warden, Skelfhill, also sold at 1,300gns for a shearling which went to Jack Graham, Corrie.
Ewes , £964 (+£119 on 2024); gimmers, £960 (+£92); 1 geld hogg, £368 (+£32).
Auctioneers: C. and D. Auction Marts.
Store cattle averages up at Bishops Castle
Store cattle averages were up 30p/kg on the January sale at Bishops Castle with an overall average of £1,680.63, with steers at £1,684.57/head (391p/kg) and heifers at £1,675.15/head (375p/kg). Feeding bulls averaged £1,614.29/head (358p/kg).
Limousin cross steers averaged £1,780 (418p/kg), topping at £2,460 for E.H. Pennie and Son, Llandyssil, and 474p/kg for Bowen and Bowen, Berriew.
Charolais cross steers averaged £1,670 (459p/kg) with a top price of £2,190/head for D.P. and M.A. Jones, Minsterley, and 459p/kg for the Neath Port Talbot College Group, Newtown.
British Blue cross steers averaged £2,055 (399p/kg), selling to £2,280 and 424p/kg for Messrs Pennie.
Limousin cross heifers averaged £1,780 (385p/kg), peaking at £2,720 for C.J. Davies and Sons, Clun, and 685p/kg for Bowen and Bowen.
Charolais cross heifers averaged £1,474 (363p/kg) with a top price of £2,120 for W.K. and S.I. Watkin, Sarn, and 456p/kg for Bowen and Bowen. British Blue cross heifers averaged £1,612 (369p/kg), selling to £2,020 for S.J.C. Morris and Sons, Clun, and 476p/kg for A.J. Owen, Newtown.
Limousin feeding bulls averaged £1,555 (365p/kg), reaching £2,350 for B.T. Williams, Craven Arms, and 413p/kg for Bowen and Bowen. British Blues averaged £1,580 or 355p/kg, topping at £1,780 and 339p/kg for A.J. Owen.
Auctioneers: Halls.
Calves in demand at Bentham
In the stronger continental calf section at Bentham, Steve and Andy Wallbank, Wray, sold British Blue Bulls to £750, with others to £690. Ed Swindlehurst and the team at Stanworth Agriculture, Chipping, sold bulls to £600 twice, with the 22 bulls averaging £529.
British Blue heifers from the Wallbanks sold to £660 and to £600 twice from Stanworth Agriculture, matched by John Handley, Kendal, with the 22 heifers averaging £516.
Phil and Becca Casson, Nether Kellet, sold month-old Simmental and Blue bulls to £510, with heifers from the same home at £435.
John and Edward Fox, Quernmore, sold a Charolais bull at £725. Native calves topped at £645 for an Aberdeen-Angus from Ian Hodgson, Tatham. Aberdeen-Angus heifers were £440-£470, topping at £495 from John Lawson, Bentham. All 95 calves forward, including the small ones and dairy bulls, averaged £489/head.
Auctioneers: Richard Turner and Son.
Dairies to 4,500gns at Carlisle
The February Border and Lakeland Holstein Club sale at Carlisle topped at 4,500gns, with the overall average for milking cattle £2,935 and 45 animals selling for, or above, £3,000.
Topping the sale at 4,500gns was the second lactation cow, Berryholme Chief D Flo, which was unshown, from the Wright family, Kendal, which was bought by Michael Reece, Nantwich.
Flo was bred from four generations of National Show winners with three of these being national grand champions. The Berryholme herd sold another four heifers to average £3,425.
Bocalir Ryder Apple Red, a heifer by Ryder Red, consigned by David Brewster, Glasgow, sold for 4,200gns to Loran Murray, Shropshire.
The Logan family, Ayrshire, sold nine heifers to average £3,027, topping at 3,400gns for Holehouse Say Rilla Red, which was bought by the Davies family, Abergele.
The pre-sale show was judged by Stuart Forshaw, Preston, who made as champion, Bilsrow Amulet Iloa by Alta Amulet, consigned by Aubrey and Oliver Greenhalgh, Carlisle, which he went on buy for 3,500gns.
Reserve champion was Crossfell Hanley Roxy from John Greenop's Bridgedale herd, Wigton, which sold for 3,300gns to the Caldwell family, Ayrshire.
Averages - 12 cows in-milk, £2,935.63; 102 heifers in-milk, £2,913.18; 3 faulted heifers/three-quartered heifers, £1,680; 2 heifer calves, £549.50.
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington.
Record sheep numbers at Melton Mowbray
There was a record number of sheep at Melton Mowbray, with 7,155 head sold from 179 vendors.
The 2,606 hoggs had an SQQ of 334.38p/kg and 327.24p/kg overall. Topping the pence per kilo prices at 422p was F.R. Wallis, West Wycombe, with 36.5kg Beltex. Andrew Avery, Tamworth, sold 45kgs hoggs at the same money.
Top price per head was £210 for 57kg continental crosses from Team Bustance, Spalding, with 45kg hoggs to £190/head for Messrs Avery and 55kg hoggs at the same price for G.E. Hayes and Son, Winslow.
Store lambs topped at £160/head for Mule ewe lambs from Charlotte Barnes, Bourne, with continentals from G.A. and A. Vickers, Tilton, to £141.50.
Barton Farms, Buckinghamshire, sold 174 store lambs to average £107.26 and T.P. Radford, Lincolnshire, sold 188 to average £117.10.
The cull ewe section topped at £370/head for Texels from H. Harvey and Son, Norwich, with Texels from Phil Weaver, Newark, to £330/head and S.J. Leedham, Husbands Bosworth, at £300/head.
Rams sold to £239/head for Texels from Clark Bros, Skillington.
Auctioneers: Melton Mowbray Market.
Flying calf trade at Leyburn
Rearing calves sold to £830 at Leyburn for a Charolais bull, less than two months old, from David Smith, Selby.
He also sold Aberdeen-Angus to £720 twice and £705 twice, all bought by Katie Grainger, Bedale.
Edward Dent of G.R. Dent, Walden, topped the British Blue heifers at £630.
David Wood, Aysgarth topped the Limousin bull and heifer sections at £770 and £570 respectively.
Simmentals from Messrs Armstrong, Arrathorne, averaged £547 with the best bulls to £650 and heifers to £420.
Messrs Mallinson, Halifax, topped the British Blue bulls at £805 and Charolais heifers at £590.
Black and whites sold to £370 for Mr Smith.
Auctioneers: Leyburn Livestock Auction Mart.
Blackface females sell to 3,600gns
The Blackface Sheep Breeders' Association show and sale of females at Lanark topped at 3,600gns with 30 selling to average £1,600.45 and a clearance rate of 85%.
Leading the trade, was the champion, a gimmer from the Wight family, Midlock, Crawford. The daughter of £75,000 Dyke out of a ewe by £60,000 Loughash, sold in-lamb with a single to £24,000 Nunnerie, to Robert and Iain Shaw, Ardfern.
Next at 3,300gns was the gimmer which stood second to the champion, a daughter of £19,000 Tullykeeran, from the Wights' Grains consignment. Due with a single to £18,000 Dyke, it was knocked down to Alasdair and Andrew Fletcher, Bishopton.
Making 2,400gns was the first prize ewe and reserve overall champion, a two-crop ewe from Aberuchill Estate, Comrie. By £14,000 Crossflatt, it sold carrying twins to £65,000 Auldhouseburn, to online buyer, Ewan Fraser, Laggan.
Robert Cockburn, Hill of Errol, Crieff, topped at 2,100gns for a gimmer by £24,000 Dyke which sold carrying twins to £15,000 Dalchirla, to Elliot Bowman, Islay.
Auctioneers: Lawrie and Symington.
Strong dairy trade at Gisburn
Pedigree heifers sold to £3,350 twice with a section average of almost £2,800 at Gisburn.
The joint top price, and all except one of the leading eight bids, came for fresh heifers from the Fieldside herd of H. and V. E. Jolly, Great Eccleston.
First at £3,350 was Fieldside Gala 42, a Mopan A2A2 daughter which sold giving 37kg. Also topping the sale at £3,350 was Aliann Hanley Cortina, a 29kg heifer by the Siemers AVZ sire from J. D. and J. A. Holgate, Rathmell.
Messrs Jolly's 35kg Fieldside Alice 136 by Nortonhill R2D2 sold at £3,280 while another four were at £3,220, including two by Peak Altaindigo, another R2D2 daughter, and then a 38kg Altagopro daughter. Another Fieldside entry by the Nortonhill sire made £3,000.
Jennings Farmers, Ripon, sold Abbeyhouse Caliber Lucy, out of a Yamaska dam at £2,980.
Joint top price of £2,720 in the non-registered section was for a 32kg heifer from R. W. and M. Walker, Bradford, and then for a 30kg entry from. H. Close, Starbotton, Upper Wharfedale.
Pedigree cows peaked at £2,650 for I. R. and N. Bradburn, Wigan with a 39kg Leaninghouse Helix second calver out of a 60tonne dam from their Deanbank herd, and then from the same home at £2,600, was a 33kg Claynook Fransico second calver.
Averages - Pedigree newly calved heifers, £2,795.45; non-pedigree newly calved heifers, £2,105; pedigree newly calved cows, £2,142; non-pedigree newly calved cows, £2,475; in-calf heifers £1,696.
Auctioneers: Gisburn Auction Marts.
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