Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 2nd April 2026. Forward were 66 cattle and 592 sheep.
34 Prime Bulls sold to 466ppk or £3677
7 Prime Steers sold to 437ppk or £3579
25 Prime Heifers sold to 475ppk or £2912
505 Prime Hoggs sold to 471ppk or £260
87 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £360
Prime Bulls (34) – With the long Bank Holiday weekend arriving numbers of all classes were depleted as expected. Perhaps not quantity but unquestionable quality offered in a fine display of bulls this week received an absolutely magnificent trade to see an all-in sale average of 413ppk and £2974. Of the eleven selling past 440 pence per kilo an unstoppable eight came from TN & J Hall, Ainstable Hall; the best of the Ainstable stable per kilo was a stunning 762kg British Blue at a whopping 466 pence. The cracking Cumbrian run carried on with another British Blue at 462ppk and a Limousin at 459ppk with TW Clark & Son, Frankland Farm in hot pursuit with great bulls at 455ppk and 457ppk. First dairy crosses sold frequently 370-390ppk and the only pure Friesian from R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall sold for 314ppk. The high-flying Hall’s were top of the gross values too as they produced eight of the fourteen which flew past £3200 and boasted five of the six over £3500. Top of them all at £3677 was a 796kg British Blue, three more the same way bred and same way fed followed between £3550 and £3554 before a fine Limousin from LR Welsh & Co, Green Lane Farm got in on the act at £3524.
A few of today’s top bull averages:
TN&J Hall sold 9 (756kg) average 449ppk & £3401
TW Clark & Son sold 3 (750kg) average 444ppk & £3338
LR Welsh & Co sold 4 (785kg) average 421ppk & £3308
Bulls – Top prices ppk 466 462 459 447 446×2 442×2 438 TN&J Hall. 457 455 425 TW Clark & Son. 449 416 411 409 LR Welsh & Co. 439 430 428×2 415 T&DI Allen & Son. 417 350 J Murray. 404 377 314 R Hall & Son. 388 383 380 376 350 JM&S Walton. 361 352 349 JC&P Tallentire.
Lead Grossing Bulls £3677 £3554 £3553 £3550 £3504 £3273 £3217 £3208 £3070 TN&J Hall. £3524 £3440 £3341 £2926 LR Welsh & Co. £3485 £3294 £3235 TW Clark & Son. £3035 £2974 £2893 £2747 £2683 T&DI Allen & Son. £2895 £2864 £2185 R Hall & Son. £2849 £2823 £2735 £2722 £2467 JM&S Walton. £2664 £2149 J Murray. £2259 £2217 £2104 JC&P Tallentire.
Clean Cattle (32) – For the few forward trade would be every bit as sharp as witnessed lately, steers averaged an outstanding 415ppk and £3066 whilst heifers levelled up at 436ppk and £2593. Top per kilo at 475 pence was a sweet 554kg Limousin heifer from W Miller, High Aketon, Wigton; the same yard followed at 472ppk and 469ppk ahead of R Hirst, Neasham Grange at 468ppk as the two mentioned consignors shared the top eleven spots at 450ppk and beyond. A stunning 819kg Limousin steer from F & R Simpson, Square House Farm topped at 437 pence, another Square House success followed at 431ppk ahead of a smart lad from the Askwiths of Low Mown Meadows at 430ppk. Some grand old gross values for the Simpson pen with their four fantastic steers weighing between 754kg and 819kg and selling between £3249 and £3579. The three cattle following in the £2900’s included a couple of steers from the aforementioned Askwiths and our top heifer a well finished 662kg Limousin from JV & JA Hodgson, The Grange at £2912.
A few of today’s clean cattle averages:
F&R Simpson sold 4 (784kg) average 428ppk & £3356
Askwiths sold 3 (655kg) average 430ppk & £2819
JV&JA Hodgson sold 6 (632kg) average 426ppk & £2698
R Hirst sold 7 (592kg) average 453ppk & £2686
W Miller sold 8 (554kg) average 457ppk & £2539
Steers – Top prices ppk 437 431 428 416 F&R Simpson. £2988 £2946 Askwiths. £2105 FJ Young & Partners.
Lead Grossing Steers £3579 £3303 £3295 £3249 F&R Simpson. 430 424 Askwiths. 330 FJ Young & Partners.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 475 472 469 460 452×2 442 441 W Miller. 468 461 460 455 450 440 438 R Hirst. 440 438 426 421 420 416 JV&JA Hodgson. 438 Askwiths. 390 370 350 FJ Young & Partners.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2912 £2774 £2756 £2683 £2588 £2475 JV&JA Hodgson. £2803 £2745 £2741 £2729 £2711 £2578 £2496 R Hirst. £2649 £2631 £2608 £2572 £2566 £2472 £2408 £2407 W Miller. £2522 Askwiths. £2445 £2301 £2243 FJ Young & Partners.
Prime Hoggs (505) – As with the cattle, numbers were very short this Maundy Thursday, trade up a gear or two to see a mixed offering average a weighed straight 400ppk and £189.33 with an SQQ of 411ppk. With a show of Liquorish Allsorts to pick through the better quality looked very well sold indeed, top per kilo were eight smart 46kg Texel hoggs from JR Stead & Sons, Park House Farm at 471.7 pence (£217). Following at 460ppk were a tidy trio of 40kg Beltex from Winsbury Farm Partners ahead of 48kg Texel’s from Park House Farm at 458ppk and 45kg Texel’s from J Hicks, Cockpit Farm at 455ppk. Four gargantuan Suffolk crossed hoggs from CM Smith led the gross values when they weighed 80kg and sold for £260. Next in line at £251 was a terrific 60kg Beltex hogg from the in-form JR Stead & Sons ahead of TA Greensit & Sons, Friars Garth at £238 and JA & A Herbert, Tees Farm at £236. Away from the mainstream breeds, how about some Hungarian Rakka’s? Not something we see every day but five of these unusual looking fellows from T Nesbitt & Son, Alwent Hall averaged 63kg and £207 and topped at £210.
Lead Grossing Hogg Averages:
CM Smith sold 8 (73kg) Average £248
JA&A Herbert sold 4 (65kg) Average £236
G Sedgewick sold 7 (56kg) Average £225
RE Dickson sold 17 (53kg) Average £217
JR Stead & Sons sold 51 (48kg) Average £209
Hoggs – Top prices ppk 471 458 436 428 426 425 418 411 410 403 JR Stead & Sons. 460 397 393 Winsbury Farm. 455 418 416 410 406 J Hicks. 454 438 426 404×2 383 374 TA Greensit & Sons. 446 JH&D Wise. 440×2 391 Ainsty Farms Direct. 431 430 429 420 408×2 398 CS Robinson. 428 420 J Murray. 426 422 J Atkinson. 418 411 386 375 RE Dickson. 413 Williamson. 401 G Sedgewick. 400 387 383 J&A Layfield. 400 W Wearmouth & Son.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £260 £236 CM Smith. £251 £230×2 £220 £218 £217 £214×2 £200 £196 JR Stead & Sons. £238 £206 £202×2 £200 £196 TA Greensit & Sons. £236 JA&A Herbert. £226 £220 £214 £201.50 RE Dickson. £225 G Sedgewick. £213 £208 £204 £203×2 £200 J&A Layfield. £210 £198 T Nesbitt & Son. £205 £199 J Hicks. £204 £203 £200 £194 £189 £185 CS Robinson. £196 £189 J Murray. £194 £188 Ainsty Farms Direct. £191 Winsbury Farm. £190 J Atkinson.
Cast Sheep (87) – Incredible scenes for the few ewes on offer, a wholesale average of a ridiculous £229.22. Top of the day at £360 was a pure Texel from Namens Leases Farm Ltd. Winsbury Farm Partners sold Texel’s to £334 with JA & A Herbert next at £320. The Herbert’s hit top spot in the Mule ewes with four at £224 followed by A Wilson, Calf Close at £220 and G Sedgewick, Ricknall Grange at £216. Swaledale ewes topped at £142 from W Wearmouth & Son, Rose Hill and a mention must go to a seldom seen Wiltshire Horn from A Wilson, Calf Close which impressed at £144.
Lead Grossing Cast sheep £360 £258 Namens Leases Farm. £334 £130×2 Winsbury Farm. £320 £295 £284 £282 £280×2 JA&A Herbert. £258 JK Gill & Son. £300 £288 £230 M Pickering. £264 £246 £238 £220 £190 £142 £140 £134 C Wise. £251 WR Wilson & Partners. £242 £167 Williamson. £242 £212 £190 Messrs Bell. £228 WR Wilson & Partners. £220 £166 £154 £144 A Wilson. £216 G Sedgewick. £204 £136 R Wood & Son. £202 £188 £182 AW Gray.
