Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock alongside their fortnightly sale of fodder on Monday 2nd February 2026. Also held this day in conjunction with Rachel Capstick of Gisburn Farmers Mart was a significant flock reduction sale of in-lamb ewes on behalf of Winsbury Farm Partners.
Forward were 612 sheep, 363 cattle and 482 lots of fodder.
44 In Lamb Ewes sold to £820
99 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 384ppk or £3028
2 Stock Bulls sold to 306ppk or £2383
3 Breeding Cattle sold to £2200
34 Young Bulls sold to £2520
111 Store Steers sold to £3000
114 Store Heifers sold to £2200
282 Store Hoggs sold to £169
286 Feeding Ewes/Rams sold to £265
482 Lots of Fodder sold to £154
Winsbury Farm Partners Flock Reduction
A sizeable crowd gathered to bid for a fabulous collection of in lamb ewes and shearlings from Andrew Bailey; buyers from afar mixed with a strong local following which resulted in a sharp trade to see the in-lamb sheep average a pleasing £398.41 per head. Topping the trade at £820 was an excellent pure bred Blue Texel shearling which was scanned carrying twins to the Blue Texel due to lamb in March; the cracking sort was knocked down, by auctioneer Rachel Capstick, to DA & MJ Pedley, Kirkby Stephen. Thanks to all concerned at Winsbury Farm Partners for the kind instruction to sell these excellent ewes.
Leading Prices
In Lamb Blue Texel – £820 £600 £520 £400(x2) £360(x4) £320
In Lamb Dutch Spotted – £560 £540 £480 £440 £310
In Lamb Beltex – £500 £460(x2) £400 £340 £320(x2)
In Lamb (other) – £400(x5) £390(x2) £360(x4) £340(x5) £330(x6)
Empty Gimmer Hoggs – £280(x2) £220(x2) £180
Cast Cattle – Good numbers offered as the green status helped again with both the wholesale trade and the feeding fraternity assembled on mass and all classes reaping rewards. The numbers speak for themselves as the whole sale averaged 275ppk and £1837 and included no less than thirty-nine milk cows. Top per kilo at 384 pence was an excellent Aberdeen Angus OTM heifer from DA & MAM Brown, Agglethorpe Hall; following the leader were two tidy Limousin cows at 376ppk from J Dixon, Stainton Manor and E Wilson, White Hills. A strong Northumberland contingency this week and it was the Morpeth based JE Jordon & Son, The Brocks who produced the top gross value, an excellent 823kg Limousin cow adding up to £3028. Two further fleshy Limousin cows followed over £2800, both hailed from WJ & AS Bowes & Sons, Stainton Hill House Farm. Some fire in the Friesian’s as they sold to excellent tops of 278ppk from CN & P Penk, Pitfield Farm and an absolutely superb £2501 from FR & AL Lyth, Mount Pleasant Farm. Other milkers marauding down from the North East included a good run from the Willey Family of Broomfield Farm, Chopwell who produced Fleckvieh cows to 254ppk and £1800 and marvellous Montbeliarde to 276ppk and an impressive £2224.
Lead Grossing Cast Cows- £3028 JE Jordon & Son. £2856 £2852 £2633 £2623 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £2768 £2444 R Simpson & Sons. £2602 £2537 £2233 G Corner. £2584 £2531 £2299 RL Walker. £2527 £2400 £2068 DA&MAM Brown. £2501 FR&AL Lyth. £2474 J Dixon. £2432 PM Hill. £2407 £2094 BR Lawson. £2277 RG&HE Thompson. £2243 K Hall. £2224 £2075 A Willey. £2210 GW Dobson & Son. £2194 E Wilson. £2167 Skelton Farming Ltd. £2090 JT Forster & Son.
Cast Cows- Top Prices PPK 384 356 352 342 DA&MAM Brown. 376 E Wilson. 376 294 J Dixon. 368 JE Jordon & Son. 364 362 342 G Corner. 360 338 R Simpson & Sons. 350 PM Hill. 342 K Hall. 340 336 x2 334 332 x2 312 Skelton Farming Ltd. 338 336 328 312 WJ&AS Bowes & Son. 332 298 BR Lawson. 316 DC Briggs. 300 AW Sanderson. 296 J Bennison. 294 GW Dobson & Son.
Lead Grossing Stock Bulls- £2383 DC Briggs. £2205 GS Dixon.
Stock Bulls- Top Prices PPK 306 DC Briggs. 210 GS Dixon.
Store Cattle – Wow, unbelievable scenes at the stores, we must start with some supersonic steers from P & H Bainbridge, Moor House Farm, Caldwell. Eleven brilliant bullocks from this home, nine Limousin and two Charolais, ages from 16 to 21 months. Mind blowing from Moor House with a top price of £3000 twice, two more at £2980, three more at £2900 and the run averaged a magical £2883.64, credit to the vendor, that is quite some going. Away from the Moor House madness all other classes continued last week’s excellent trade, non-more so than A Willey, Chopwell Farm a quartet of Limousin steers at £2270 and Limousin heifers to £2160. Earlier an excellent British Blue from LD Laws led the young bull prices when he sold for £2520, some of the very young (7-11m) bulls this week trading £1400 to £1900 looked every bit as dear as witnessed anywhere, anytime.
Store Bulls- £2520 LD Laws. £1840 Deerness Valley Dairy. £1840 x3 £1740 E Parsons. £1620 x2 T Coulthard & Son. £1560 NB&R Hird. £1500 x2 £1400 x2 £1290 M&O Trewhitt & Son. £1490 £1450 £1390 x2 JW&GP Furness. £1200 x3 £1100 x4 G Beadle. £1180 x4 AW Sanderson.
Store Steers- £3000 x2 £2980 x2 £2900 x3 £2800 £2780 x2 £2700 P&H Bainbridge. £2270 x4 £2180 £2000 x5 £1980 x4 £1960 £1890 A Willey. £2070 £1980 DR Smith. £2050 x2 £2020 £1980 x3 £1960 x4 D Walker. £1980 £1860 £1810 E Taylor & Son. £1980 £1800 TW Brown & Sons. £1940 x2 £1900 W&J Herbert. £1940 x2 A Willey. £1930 I Newton & Son. £1910 A&D Heyes. £1880 Beckwith. £1840 £1830 £1800 W Love Ltd.
Store Heifers- £2200 £2160 x2 £1950 x4 £1940 x3 £1880 x2 £1820 A Willey. £1990 GA Willey. £1950 £1930 £1920 £1860 £1760 DR Smith. £1920 T&R Quinn & Son. £1920 £1840 £1780 x2 LW Martin. £1900 x2 C Harle & Sons. £1890 x2 DM McClurg. £1860 GT&MA Wearmouth. £1800 £1790 x2 Wilkinson & Son. £1800 I Newton & Son. £1790 T Coulthard & Son. £1780 E Taylor & Son.
Store Sheep – The hoggs remain hot and ewes euphoric as the feeding sheep continued in cracking form even at this late stage. Hoggs averaged £114.53, feeding ewes £132.53 and feeding rams £155.67 as all shapes and sizes impressed across the board. Three beauties from Angram Livestock, Ellinstring led the hogg trade when they sold for £169 apiece, a great run of Beltex from J & D Gibson, Penny Hill followed with the pick of their run proving to be a pen of seven at £161. Feeding ewes in marvellous order, top price of the day was two strong Texel’s from MR Cass, Beacon Farm at £265, plenty of the lowland ewes selling £160 to £220 which included more from Beacon Farm and some strength and quality from HT Davies & Partners, Lough House. Texel tups topped at £230 from D Rutter, Low Farm, Suffolk ewes sold to £172, Cheviot ewes to a top of £160, Mule’s to £148 and a leaner show of Swaledale ewes to £71.
Store Hoggs- £169 £128 £116 Angram Livestock Ltd. £161 £158 £150 £145 J&D Gibson. £141 £124 A Tunstall. £139 C Binks & Son. £137 £124 £92 T Walton. £132 £126 £125 £124 CA&J Kipling. £124 A Tunstall. £120 £95 GT&M Tweddle. £115 £114 GH Lister. £115 £114 GH Lister. £114 LF&HC Wood. £106 £104 £96 NB&R Hird. £106 RA Patterson & Son. £105 £92 GS Dixon.
Feeding Ewes- £265 £206 £202 £188 £182 MR Cass. £230 £225 £200 £184 £156 D Rutter. £220 £204 £184 HT Davies & Partners. £190 M Robinson & Sons. £182 JJ Horn. £180 Rose A Farms Ltd. £180 £175 K Mowbray. £180 JE Holliday & Son. £175 RA Patterson & Son. £168 GT&M Tweddle. £135 £130 C Harle & Sons.
Fodder-
Today’s fodder sale saw a flying trade yet again, as all types of fodder still in demand.
500kg bags of rolled oats sold to £154
Round bales of hay sold to £62
6 String square bales of wheat straw sold to £54
Mini Heston wheat straw bales sold to £42
Round bales of wheat straw sold to £36
4 string square bales of silage sold to £46
Fodder Beet sold to £40 per ton
Small square bales of straw sold to £3.50 per bale
