Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 23rd October 2025. Forward were 218 cattle and 1879 sheep.
75 Prime Bulls sold to 433ppk or £3521
38 Prime Steers sold to 482ppk or £3360
103 Prime Heifers sold to 500ppk or £3238
2 Cast Cows sold to 210ppk or £1524
1672 Prime Lambs sold to £1672 or £191
207 Cast Sheep sold to £275
Prime Bulls (75) – Bull beef dearer on the week by a fair margin, the best end in particular benefitted which helped the sale average to a terrific 382ppk and £2730 per head. A superb twenty-two bulls sold at 400 pence and beyond, the top five of these sold in the 430’s; three of those in the upper echelon hailed from TN & J Hall, Ainstable Hall including our leader, a 662kg Limousin at 433ppk. Other vendors at 430ppk were SH Watson & Son, Low Fields and LR Welsh & Co, Green Lane Farm. Twenty-one passed £3000, right at the top was a brilliant 859kg Limousin from J Layfield, Nackshivan Farm. Second on the gross value list at £3360 came TW Clark & Son, Frankland Farm with the third spot going to LS Staley, Bluestone House at £3341. Native breeds were in demand again this week selling to a top of £2786 and 393ppk for a Hereford from Renton Highlaws Ltd, Morpeth whilst Friesian trade was topped at 334ppk and £2227 by JK & CE Farming, Blue House Farm.
Bulls Gross Value Top Averages-
TW Clark & Son sold 3 (832kg) Average £3201
J Layfield sold 4 (797kg) Average £3194
SH Watson & Son sold 2 (734kg) Average £3123
FW Hodgson & Son sold 2 (759kg) Average £3007
Bulls PPK Top Averages-
SH Watson & Son sold 2 (734kg) Average 425ppk
TN&J Hall sold 8 (704kg) Average 423ppk
LR Welsh & Co sold 4 (720kg) Average 408ppk
GKKN&GJ Hird sold 3 (707kg) Average 403ppk
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 433 431 430 429 425 424 410×2 TN&J Hall. 430 426 392 LR Welsh & Co. 430 420 SH Watson & Son. 418 401 390 GK KN & GJ Hird. 417 412 407 391 390 CH&SE Armstrong. 410×2 409 J Layfield. 405 N White. 403 392 Renton Highlaws Ltd. 399 384 AJ Marr & Son. 398 394 FW Hodgson & Son. 391 EW Grieves. 389 381 PJ&ES Rogerson. 389 388 LS Staley. 388×2 TW Clark & Son. 383 N White.
Lead Grossing Bulls £3521 £3157 £3111 £2985 J Layfield. £3360 £3123 £3119 TW Clark & Son. £3341 LS Staley. £3319 £2927 SH Watson & Son. £3221 £3191 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £3140 £3120 £3106 £3083 £2973 TN&J Hall. £3131 EW Grieves. £3072 £2943 FW Hodgson & Son. £3065 £3048 £3027 £2999 £2871 CH&SE Armstrong. £3031 £2983 LR Welsh & Co. £3005 GK KN GJ Hird. £2960 N White. £2871 S Luck & Son. £2855 PJ&ES Rogerson.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 334 JK&CE Farming. 304 GW Dobson & Son.
Lead Grossing Bulls £2227 JK&CE Farming. £1976 GW Dobson & Son.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 393 Renton Highlaws Ltd. 351 R Hall & Son. 343 J&K Woodward. 324 310×2 MA&PD Foster. 304 GW Dobson & Son.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2786 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £2460 R Hall & Son. £2411 £2309 £2118 MA&PD Foster. £2267 GW Dobson & Son. £2099 J&K Woodward.
Clean Cattle (141) – A fist full of fivers, the clean were just a dream, a tidy offering met a biblical trade, completely unrivalled anywhere in the land this week to see the smoking-hot heifers average 447ppk and £2650 and the simply sensational steers 440ppk and £2733. Bids flew feverishly as five fabulous cattle sold at 500 pence per kilo, twelve sold 490-499ppk and a sweet sixteen others sold 480-489ppk. The famous five heifers at a fiver came from four vendors; two from R Hirst, Neasham Grange were joined by Renton Highlaws Ltd, Morpeth plus PJ & MP Gilhespy, West House and JV & JA Hodgson, The Grange. The super steers weren’t far adrift, the top eight per kilo all came from Five Houses, their best trio included two at 480ppk and a stunning 574kg Limousin leading the way at 482ppk. The top twenty-two traded over £3000, pick of them all at £3360 was an excellent 800kg Limousin steer from Messrs R Miller, Arkleby Hall. Next in line at £3238 came a lovely 689kg Limousin heifer from AC Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm followed by a super sort from WO Grix & Partners, Hillhead at £3201. Checking in another four times over £3100 was more artistry from Arkleby Hall plus another Grix in the mix as the colossal clean prices just kept on coming throughout the sale.
Clean Gross Value Top Averages-
Messrs R Miller Ltd sold 8 (739kg) Average £3118
AC Simpson & Son sold 3 (645kg) Average £3107
Renton Highlaws Ltd sold 6 (606kg) Average £2945
TW Clark & Son sold 3 (634kg) Average £2922
Clean PPK Top Averages-
R Hirst sold 8 (563kg) Average 491ppk
Renton Highlaws Ltd sold 6 (606kg) Average 485ppk
AC Simpson & Son sold 3 (645kg) Average 481ppk
JV&JA Hodgson sold 10 (583kg) Average 469ppk
Steers – Top prices ppk 482 480×2 477 475 470 469×2 468 464 461 458 456 455 452×2 450 Five Houses. 449 448 407 Askwiths. 442 431 430 424 422 420 412 395 Messrs R Miller. 439 438 431 420 Taylor Bros. 412 386 G&JY Marshall.
Lead Grossing Steers £3360 £3177 £3136 £3116 £3105 £3047 £3035 £2966 Messrs R Miller Ltd. £3078 NE Dyson. £3032 £3017 £2490 Askwiths. £2881 £2785 £2766 £2760 £2755 £2753 £2743 £2691 £2678 £2661 £2641 £2628 £2621 £2570 Five Houses. £2519 £2505 £2435 £2406 Taylor Bros. £2513 £2493 G&JY Marshall. £2364 WO Grix & Partners.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 500×2 497 496 490 488 486 478 R Hirst. 500 491×2 488 480 Renton Highlaws Ltd. 500 498 496 494 489×2 JV&JA Hodgson. 500 488 478 475 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 494 484 Five Houses. 493 483 470 AC Simpson & Son. 491 478 TW Clark & Son. 490 476 N White. 487 484 483 478 465 461 WO Grix & Partners. 480 460 TN&J Hall. 478 465 JE Suddes & Son. 468 NE Dyson. 458×2 WF Hustwit.
Lead Grossing Heifers £3238 £3056 £3028 AC Simpson & Son. £3201 £3107 £3068 £3064 £3063 £2928 £2811 WO Grix & Partners. £3093 £3035 £2960 £2932 £2887 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £3054 £2916 £2796 TW Clark & Son. £3002 £2915 £2891 £2875 £2873 £2826 JV&JA Hodgson. £2971 £2868 JE Suddes & Son. £2967 NE Dyson. £2956 TN&J Hall. £2916 £2840 £2829 £2818 R Hirst. £2896 £2810 £2806 PJ&MP Gilhespy.
Prime Lambs (1672) – The lamb trade maintained the same form as last week to average a weighed straight 310ppk and £139.53 with an SQQ of 315ppk. A leaner show by some margin with many offered from grass-based systems which are without doubt now showing signs of an autumnal lack of loin cover. The trade of the week belonged to the excellent feeding of R Atkinson, High Greenbury Farm who produced the top pen per kilo with eighteen 44kg Texel’s at 385 pence (£169.50). The same good feeding followed with two further pens of 44kg lambs as fourteen reached 383ppk and eighteen made 373ppk. Heavy lambs dominated the gross values, top call of £191 went to a 56kg Texel from JR & JA Wharton, Segbushwell. A hefty 64kg Texel from GF Whitfield, Hamsteels Hall followed at £184 with plenty of the other hopper-fed heavies trading £160 to £175 once again this week.
Lambs Top Averages-
R Atkinson sold 117 (44kg) Average £164
M&A Gaskin sold 53 (52kg) Average £163
Namens Leases Farm Ltd sold 5 (54kg) Average £162
SE Whiteford sold 2 (46kg) Average £160
Lead Grossing Lambs- £191 JR&JA Wharton. £184 £160 GF Whitfield. £174 £166 £158 £155 M&A Gaskin. £172.50 £169.50 £168.50 x2 £164.50 £162 £161 R Atkinson. £170 x2 £161 £160 £155 £154 £150 T Lawson & Son. £169 £152 Namens Leases Farm. £168 JJ Horn. £168 x2 £158 £155 F&JS Gargett. £167 DR Smith. £166 A&EJ Dobinson. £163 x2 £156 £155 I&A Holmes. £163 CM Cameron. £163 158 D&PH Brown. £163 W Kirk & Sons. £160 SE Whiteford. £159 x2 J Hird. £158 A Hall & Son. £155 WM Allison & Son Ltd. £155 RH Thompson. £154 DM Tiplady. £153 JM&S Walton. £151 AWSM Farms. £151 WKMM Lamb. £150.50 G Thompson & Sons.
Lambs- Top Prices PPK 385 383 373 367 365 x2 361 358 344 R Atkinson. 370 CM Cameron. 369 WM Allison & Son Ltd. 360 350 333 323 322 F&JS Gargett. 359 346 334 321 x2 AWSM Farms. 359 357 JC Hope & Son. 358 S Bell. 347 DR Smith. 347 SE Whiteford. 343 321 x2 GF Whitfield. 342 WKMM Lamb. 341 K&PM Lough. 341 JA&A Herbert. 341 JR&JA Wharton. 337 Anthony Tindale. 336 C&V Harrison. 333 RA Patterson & Son. 333 330 K Tallentire. 333 S Bell. 332 W Kirk & Sons. 332 x2 Thornbrough Farm. 332 330 CH Tindale. 332 A&EJ Dobinson. 330 JJ Horn. 327 Elemore Hall. 326 DM Tiplady. 324 J Hird. 323 A Hall & Son.
Cast Ewes/Rams (207) – Similar news from the ewes as another week passes with huge numbers sold at our Monday store sale therefore less offered at the weekly prime stock today. The sale averaged £104.48, flesh remains key as the best meat is good to sell but some leaner sorts would certainly have made more on Monday gone. Top of the trade at £275 was a tremendous Texel ewe from Namens Leases Farm, following at £242 were the best quartet from a fed run from AWSM Farms who sold thirty-nine to average £166. Mule ewes this week topped at £140 from D & PH Brown whilst Swaledales sold to £48.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £275 Namens Leases Farm. £242 £190 £161 £160×2 £150 £127 AWSM Farms. £190 £170 £168 £120 G&S Frankland. £156 WR Wilson & Partners. £150 WM Allison Ltd. £144 £80×2 JJ Horn. £140 D&PH Brown. £140 TB Walton. £114 A Layfield. £112 DM Tiplady. £104 £100 D&G Spry. £100 CJM Hedley. £100 WR Wilson & Partners.
