Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock and their fortnightly sale of fodder on Monday 13th October 2025. Forward were 379 cattle, 2181 sheep and 100 bales of fodder.
79 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 390ppk or £3042
2 Stock Bulls sold to 292ppk or £2525
78 Breeding Cattle sold to £4000
24 Stirks sold to £840
27 Young Bulls sold to £1900
76 Store Steers sold to £2440
93 Store Heifers sold to £2380
4 Shearling ewes sold to £200
580 Feeding Ewes/Rams sold to £190
1597 Store Lambs sold to £158
100 Bales of Fodder sold to £76
Cast Cattle – Sharper for all classes as a slightly sharper beef trade nationally results in the live ring green sales doing what they do best and giving an instant price lift to all concerned. Top of the day was a wonderful 6-year-old British Blue cow from BR Lawson, Buddle House; at 780kg the Buddle House beauty sold for 390ppk and £3042. Native breeds aplenty today, none better than a excellent Beef Shorthorn from BJ Haigh, Hightown when she sold for 326ppk and £2265 although a case could be made for a smart Hereford from Leslie Brown, Westholme at 278ppk and £2271. Little Newsham Farms led the Friesian prices with a cow at £2122 and another at 236ppk whilst bull prices were led at 292ppk and £2525 for an Aberdeen Angus from DA & MAM Brown, Agglethorpe Hall.
Cast Cows/OTM Leading PPK – 390 352 340 328 284 BR Lawson. 368 322 JC Johnson. 358 JJ Horn. 338 SH Watson & Sons. 326 BJ Haigh. 322 B Kenny. 312 RN Foord & Co. 308 294 TW Clark & Son. 306 282 DA & MAM Brown. 302 T & DI Allen & Son. 300 TC Walton. 298 MS Foord. 296 R Leiper & Co. 294 Kirkbride & Bell. 292 M Gallon. 290 R Bradley & Son. 290 MW Reed. 284 A & D Heyes. 284 TW Thompson. 282 WA Wardman Ltd.
Stock Bulls Leading PPK – 292 DA & MAM Brown. 278 J & K Woodward.
Cast Cows/OTM Leading Gross – £3042 £2611 £2516 £2515 BR Lawson. £2662 £2487 JC Johnson. £2385 £2265 BJ Haigh. £2377 £2120 DA & MAM Brown. £2376 TC Walton. £2366 SH Watson & Son. £2301 JJ Horn. £2271 £2026 £2013 Leslie Brown. £2259 R Bradley & Son. £2257 £1959 Kirkbride & Bell. £2257 A & D Heyes. £2246 R Leiper & Co. £2192 £2149 TW Clark & Son. £2174 £1917 WA Wardman Ltd. £2134 M Gallon. £2124 MS Foord. £2122 Little Newsham Farms. £1998 TC Walton. £1974 MW Reed. £1967 B Kenny.
Stock Bulls Leading Gross – £2525 DA & MAM Brown. £2376 J & K Woodward.
Breeding Cattle – An excellent genuine dispersal of the entire beef herd belonging to W & JC Harrison, Council Farm, Gunthorpe attracted a large crowd to ringside, neither the cows nor the trade disappointed and a buzzing atmosphere resulted in a great sale throughout. Five in calf cows from the dispersal began proceedings, they sold to a top of £2750 for an 8-year-old Limousin and averaged £1940 per head. Next came the thirty cows with strong Limousin sired calves at foot, a top of £4000 went to a 7-year-old Limousin with a cracking bull calf, nineteen other outfits followed beyond £3000 to see the cows and calves from this home average a pleasing £3128.
Breeding Cattle Leading Prices
In Calf Cows – £2750 £1900 £1800 £1700 £1550 W & JC Harrison.
Cows & Calves – £4000 £3750 £3550 £3500 £3450(x2) £3400(x3) £3350 £3300(x2) £3200 £3150 £3100(x2) £3050(x2) £3000 £2950 £2900 £2850 £2750(x3) £2700(x3) £2550(x2) W & JC Harrison. £3100 Cowclose Farm. £2750 C Harle & Sons. £2750 £2050 Messrs Bell.
Breeding Bull – £2550 PT Stephenson & Son.
Stirks – A run of five-month-old Hereford, Aberdeen Angus and British Blue stirks from Deerness Valley Dairy sold well to average £732. The British Blues led the way with bulls topping at £840 and heifers £740.
Bull Stirks – £840(x2) £790 £770(x2) £760(x4) £720(x3) £710 £690
Heifer Stirks – £740(x2) £710(x3) £700(x3) £660 £600
Store Cattle – As the finished beef trade indicates a rise the store cattle wasted no time joining the party and looked some £40 to £50 dearer this week. Top of the day at £2440 was an excellent 23-month-old Limousin steer from D Robson & Sons, Merryshields; more merriment from Merryshields followed with a British Blue steer at £2400 and half a dozen more between £2280 and £2380. Hottest of the heifers was a stunner from HS Hutchinson, White House Farm, a delightful 19-month-old Limousin sold for £2380. Following in the females were two good sorts from WO Grix & Partners, Hillhead Farm at £2240 just ahead of another two White House wonders at £2140 and a quality quintet from IW Cairns, Pesspool Hall Farm. A mixed offering of young bulls this week were earlier topped by a shapely British Blue from HE Jewitt, Lodge House Farm at just 11-months-old he reached £1900.
Young Bulls – £1900 HE Jewitt. £1830(x2) £1650 £1500 £1340 T Ducker. £1680 TT Hall & Son. £1600 £1580 £1520(x2) A Gregg. £1440 £1220 J Norman. £1420(x2) AP Taylor. £1400 Leslie Brown. £1340(x4) DA & ER Thirtle. £1280(x6) RC Morgan. £1140 JH Johnson.
Store Steers – £2440 £2400 £2380 £2360 £2350 £2300 £2290 £2280 £2230 £2220 £2180 £2100 D Robson & Sons. £2280 D & HM Hodgson. £2270(x2) £2170(x2) Rose A Farms. £2160(x2) GW & L Marsay. £2020(x2) RN Foord & Son. £2020 £1910 JP Phelan. £1960 JH Johnson. £1940 TT Hall & Son.
Store Heifers – £2380 £2140(x2) £1960 HS Hutchinson. £2240(x2) £1960 £1950 £1920(x3) £1900(x3) £1890 £1870 £1840 WO Grix & Partners. £2100 £2090 £2080 £2040 £1980 IW Cairns. £1980 G Calvert & Sons. £1950 £1920 £1910 J Dent. £1940 C Harle & Sons. £1910 HM Dent. £1880(x2) L & BM Kidd & Son. £1870 G Calvert.
Store Sheep – Dearer again as more and more buyers appear by the week, trade absolutely excellent and way ahead of most other outlets in the area to see an average of £111 with Mule and hill lambs aplenty included in in that number. Top of the day at £158 was a strong Texel lamb from Adam Mason, Crook; the short keepers traded consistently between £125 and £145. Mule lambs averaged £95 and sold to a top of £106 whilst the long keep continentals looked off the clock with three figures just the norm, even achievable for very small lambs.
A bumper entry of feeding ewes met with a very competitive gallery of buyers; little wonder the Monday sales are drawing the majority of our ewes as accounts were in place for all creeds and colours, a great trade across the board. Two Texel tups led the way from F Ward, Rogerley Hall at £190. Strong continental ewes traded £140 to £180 whilst Mules with flesh sold £110 to £150 and the leaner girls £70 to £100. Horned ewe trade also looks sharp with £38 to £88 on the radar and only some very lean sorts trading below.
Leading Prices – Lambs
Continental – £158 £127 A Mason. £146 £128 W Wearmouth & Son. £143 £142 £125 £124 B Cave. £140 DM & HM Hodgson. £137 JW & J Collin. £135 £132.50 F Shield. £134 £121 J Butterfield & Son. £133.50 £126 Messrs Beckwith. £130 T & A Walton. £130 £124 JR & J Crowe. £130 A & R Thompson. £127 A Martin & Co. £124 WH Brown. £123 GP Addison. £122 K Mowbray. £121 D Johnson.
Suffolk – £141 W Wearmouth & Son. £127 K Mowbray. £127 A Martin & Co. £120 P Kirk. £111 WH Brown. £111 JH Johnson. £110 AP & E Procter. £105 GW Dobson & Son. £105 RA Patterson & Son.
Cheviot – £113 WH Brown. £76 GS Dixon. £70 F Dixon & Sons.
Mule – £106 W Wearmouth & Son. £105 Dan Smith. £100 AP & E Procter. £95 C & JC Stephenson. £94 S Straughan. £93 JM Sayer. £85 GS Dixon.
Leading Prices – Ewes/Rams
Continental – £190 £160 £111 F Ward. £180 £130 D & HM Hodgson. £175 £122 £110 Messrs Bell. £160 £122 £108 WH Brown. £158 SJ Love. £156 F Shield. £150 £128 IW Cairns. £150 £110 RA Patterson & Son. £142 £138 £108 K & RE Robson. £140 £128 £112 £108 CH & MC Phalp. £132 A Tunstall. £130 Petch Farms. £122 Patrick & Sons. £116 JH Johnson. £116 F Dixon & Sons. £112 B Needham.
Mule – £148 RA Patterson & Son. £132 £104 D & HM Hodgson. £125 Messrs Bell. £124 F Ward. £118 IW Cairns. £112 A Martin & Co. £112 T & HA Barrass. £110 JH Johnson. £109 Petch Farms. £108 B Needham. £108 K & RE Robson. £106 SJ Love. £105 £100 A Tunstall. £104 CH & MC Phalp.
Horned – £88 £67 Petch Farms. £80 £50 £38 Patrick & Sons.
Shearlings – £200 G Ward (Mule)
Fodder – Unbelievable scenes! The trans Pennine routes could be busy this back end as the desperate shortage of feed this far East looks set to create a demand which will surely bring some of the plentiful Cumbrian and Lancastrian supplies this way.
2024 baled quadrant hay, twenty-five bales at £76 and twenty-five at £72
2025 round baled silage (1st Cut) fifty bales at £48
