Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock and their fortnightly sale of rearing calves on Monday 17th November 2025. Forward were 398 cattle, 1235 sheep, 85 calves and 3 pigs.
122 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 396ppk or £3229
3 Stock Bulls sold to 266ppk or £2417
14 Breeding Cattle sold to £3000
20 Young Bulls sold to £2190
91 Store Steers sold to £2620
148 Store Heifers sold to £2500
925 Store Lambs sold to £182
310 Feeding Ewes/Rams sold to £250
85 Calves/Stirks sold to £900
3 Pigs sold to £140
Cast Cattle – Get on the green scene to sell your cast cows, red is dead in the water as the feeding firms are fit to travel and a well weathered show appeared an excellent trade from start to finish. The sale averages of 264ppk and £1766 look similar on paper but make no mistake the cows are dearer as some forty-six milkers are included in the figures. The cows carrying flesh naturally eased their way to the top of the leader boards with wholesalers also stepping on, top per kilo at 396 pence was a lovely OTM Hereford heifer from AP Taylor, Ox Close Farm. Just a touch behind at 388ppk came an excellent 4-year-old Limousin cow from WI Suddes & Son, South Farm with a cracking 5-year-old British Blonde from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm next best at 386ppk (£3095). The super Suddes pen topped the gross values with an excellent 10-year-old Limousin weighing 859kg and reaching £3229 on a day which saw the top eight cows all sell over £2500. Beef Shorthorn’s impressed the most amongst the natives when selling to tops of 372ppk from Messrs Heathcote, Greengate Farm and £2366 from JR Wesson, Ricey Hall. The milk cows were motoring too, tops for a Montbéliard from HM Dent, East Farm of 286ppk and £2019 and a Friesian from A Willey, Broomfield Farm at 274ppk and £2115.
Cast Cows – Top prices ppk 396 324 AP Taylor. 388 384 376 316 WI Suddes & Son. 386 332 P Weightman & Sons. 372 354 Heathcote. 368 362 312 288 S&J Dent & Son. 340 334 314 312 GH Farms Ltd. 336 328 304 JR&G Walton & Sons. 324×3 322×2 316 312 D&M Lowes. 318 RA&SL Wearmouth. 310 B Watson. 302 JW Richardson. 297 296 292 GT&M Tweddle. 298 JV Hodgson & Son. 294×2 JR Wesson. 292 PJ Glass. 290 D Barron. 288 A Davison.
Lead Grossing Cast Cows £3229 £2948 £2929 £2632 WI Suddes & Son. £3095 £2782 P Weightman & Sons. £2795 £2496 £2376 £2226 GH Farms Ltd. £2576 £2393 £2360 £2352 S&J Dent & Son. £2496 RA&SL Wearmouth. £2447 JV Hodgson & Son. £2366 £2302 £2133 JR Wesson. £2328 D Barron. £2296 £2217 JR&G Walton & Sons. £2248 £2245 AP Taylor. £2227 B Lowson. £2219 A Newton. £2204 £2134 PJ Glass. £2193 £2180 £2141 D&M Lowes.
Cast Bulls – Top prices ppk 266 C Harle & Sons. 238 JR Wesson. 224 MW Coverdale & Son.
Lead Grossing Cast Bulls £2417 C Harle & Sons. £1823 MW Coverdale & Son. £1715 JR Wesson.
Store Cattle – Scintillating scenes in the store ring as the beef buyers continued at full throttle. A scattering of breeders began proceedings and sold to a top of £3000 for a 9-year-old British Blue cow with a Limousin sired heifer calf at foot from W Love Ltd, Sandy Carr Farm. On to the young bulls and a largely dairy bred offering were all keenly bid for, top of the day at £2190 was a 13-month-old from JJ Kemp & Son, Elstob Hill with Messrs Wilkinson & Son, Carrsides next in line, also with a British Blue, at £2160. The top eight, and in fact nine of the top ten steers this week were Aberdeen Angus, despite strong competition from FB Wreford & Co, Fleming Field Farm and E Taylor & Son, Wallish Walls it was G & JH Tomlinson & Son, Sunniside Farm wearing the yellow jersey with a 26-month-old selling for £2620. A worthwhile amble down from Amble this week for CW Gray, Low Hall Farm as they produced all of the top ten heifers, the pick from this excellent run was a lovely 18-month-old Limousin when she sold for £2500.
Cows & Calves £3000 W Love Ltd. £2600 C Harle & Sons. £2250 £2050 WT Hall. £1800 HG Lynas & Son.
In Calf Cows £2050 £1800 £1680 R Hall & Son. £1220 HG Lynas & Son.
Store Bulls £2190 £1800×2 £1580 JJ Kemp & Son. £2160 £2110×2 £2000 £1820 Wilkinson & Son. £1680 £1420 Barrs of Broughton. £1590 £1220 TT Hall & Son. £1520 £1400 AP Taylor. £1440 P Kirk. £1400 WT Hall. £980×2 A Dixon.
Store Steers £2620 G&JH Tomlinson & Son. £2240 £2140 £2110 £2100×2 FB Wreford & Co. £2180 £2160 £2130 £2000 £1790 E Taylor & Son. £2100 JG Wilkinson & Son. £2100 £1900 DR Smith. £2000 £1940 £1900 £1880 F Ward. £1820×2 £1680×3 I Newton & Son. £1820 £1780 DG&PD Ayre. £1800×2 SC Barron. £1800×2 R Tebbutt & M Todd. £1780×4 JF Harland.
Store Heifers £2500 £2480 £2400 £2350×4 £2340×3 £2310 £2280×2 £2260 £2180 CW Gray. £2160×2 £2120 £2080 £2000 £1980 B Storey. £2120 £2070 Rose A Farms Ltd. £2040 £1980×7 £1900×2 F Ward. £2040 £2000 £1860 E Parsons. £2020 RJ Bradshaw. £1980×2 G&JH Tomlinson & Son. £1980 DG&PD Ayre. £1910 GL&M Steel. £1900 DR Smith. £1860 JG Wilkinson. £1820 C Rodrigues.
Store Sheep – The lively lambs show absolutely no signs of a let up with fresh faces appearing in the buyer’s gallery week after week after week. Today’s offering averaged an excellent £113.84 and duly included its fair share of hill bred lambs and also a fair proportion of sweepings up. A pair of excellent Beltex lambs from B Cowton topped the day when they sold for £182, the same feeding followed at £174. Suffolk lambs topped at £148 from D & HM Hodgson, Dyke Nook whilst Texel’s sold to £145 from LD Laws, High Village Farm and a lesser show of Mules on the week topped at £113 from SMA & J Swinbank, Whinfield Farm.
Feeding ewes fantastic again to average a stunning £114.11. Run of the day undoubtedly came from KO Stones, Nun Cote Nook topping with a brilliant Texel at £250; the same vendor twice sold pens of Cheviot and Cheviot Mule ewes to £180. P Turnbull of West House Farm led the Mule ewe trade at £140 and also topped the horned ewes with a Blackface at £98, Swaledale ewes topped at £96 and averaged £63.29.
Store Lambs:
Beltex – £182 £174 B Cowton. £142 ME Dowson. £135 £127 LD Laws. £132 JR&J Crowe. £131 NG Beveridge.
Suffolk – £148 D&HM Hodgson. £139×2 £135 JH Johnson. £137 GS Bainbridge. £123 WH Brown. £114 JD Teasdale.
Texel – £145 £129 LD Laws. £137 £133 £127 GD&AF Adamson. £135 SMA&J Swinbank. £134 £129 P Turnbull. £133 £121 3116 A Hughes. £132 £116 £109 O Dennis. £132 J Waters. £132 £131 £127 JR&J Crowe. £131 M&J Hodgson. £131 B&L Robson. £127 D&HM Hodgson. £126 £120 WH Brown. £126 3109 DE Stones. £126 W&J Herbert. £124 £122 £115 £109 H&P Hutchinson. £120 J Kelly. £119 WB Rutter & Sons. £118 JR Dowd. £116 S Straughan.
Continental – £138 B Cowton. £134 NG Beveridge. £128 E Cox. £123 £109 WH Brown. £120 JD Teasdale. £119 £115 AW Sanderson. £115 B&J Bainbridge.
Mule – £113 SMA&J Swinbank. £112.50 P Turnbull. £110.50 WB Rutter & Sons.
Feeding Ewes & Tups:
Texel – £250 £224×2 £208 £190 KO Stones. £242 £218 J Waters. £200 NG Beveridge. £184 £146 LD Laws. £136 GD&AF Adamson. £134 P Evans. £130 WB Rutter & Sons. £128 BR&RI Routledge. £124 MT&J Burney. £120 O Dennis.
Cheviot – £180×2 £172 £156 £126 KO Stones.
Rouge – £160 C Parker.
Continental – £144 £136 P Evans. £135 £124 RW Dalton.
Mule – £140 £136 P Turnbull. £136 J&SE Bainbridge. £132 K Cator. £128 D&HM Hodgson. £127 £119 RW Dalton. £126 E Anderson.
Beltex – £138 RW Dalton. £130 NG Beveridge.
Suffolk – £134 D&HM Hodgson.
Calves & Stirks – A cracking average of £480.76 as the calves continue to sell well, granted, a dozen strong stirks are included in that figure but still they sit at £435.26 with those removed. A tremendous run of 6-month-old dairy crossed stirks across from D & J Taylforth, Laypool Farm, Renwick deservedly led the way on the day. Best of the bunch at £900 was a British Blue heifer, others followed at £860 and £800. The travelling Taylforth’s also sold British Blonde bull stirks to £860 and British Blue bulls to £800.
Baby calves – A superb run of Inra 95 calves from Baysleap Dairy Farm, Heddon-on-the-Wall impressed selling bulls to £690 and heifers to £675. Aberdeen Angus calves looked to enjoy a rejuvenated trade, tops of £590 went to JT Forster & Son, Killerby Hall whilst the dozen Friesian bulls sold well to average £264.12 with a top spot of £445 from WD Richardson, Manor Farm, Hunderthwaite.
Bull Calves:
British Blonde – £860 £800×2 D&J Taylforth.
British Blue – £800×2 D&J Taylforth. £670 £660 £550 £530 £370 H Gibb & Son. £220 JT Forster & Son.
Inra 95 – £690 £650 £610 Baysleap Dairy Farm Ltd.
Angus – £590 £300 £245 £240 JT Forster & Son. £550 £470 WD Richardson. £540 £510 £450 £400 JL Miles & Sons. £500 RW Raper & Sons.
Hereford – £450 £445 WD Richardson.
Friesian – £445 £250×2 £210 £180 WD Richardson. £405 £295×2 £220 RW Raper & Sons. £230 JT Forster & Son. £200 JL Miles & Sons. £190 H Gibb & Son.
Limousin – £430×2 £425 £380 RW Raper & Sons.
Dairy Shorthorn – £350 £280 £170 P&CA Harrison.
Heifer Calves:
British Blue – £900 £860 £800×3 D&J Taylforth. £560 H Gibb & Son. £550 R Valks. £450 £385 JT Forster & Son.
Limousin – £740 R Valks. £385×2 £375×2 RW Raper & Sons.
Inra 96 – £675 £615 £600 £590×3 £580 £535 £470 Baysleap Dairy Farm Ltd.
Hereford – £500 WD Richardson. £500 £430 Baysleap Dairy Farm Ltd.
Angus – £490×2 £480 £440 JL Miles & Sons. £450 £390 WD Richardson. £430 £420 £360×2 JT Forster & Son.
Friesian – £430 £220 WD Richardson.
