Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 10th September 2026. Forward were 166 cattle and 1562 sheep.
67 Prime Bulls sold to 413ppk or £3570
27 Prime Steers sold to 456ppk or £3114
70 Prime Heifers sold to 494ppk or £3233
1398 Prime Lambs sold to 436ppk or £240
164 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £292
Prime Bulls (67) – Bulls a touch sharper, the best half a dozen over 400ppk, eight more in the 390’s and eleven over £3000 to see them average 352ppk and £2507. The crème de la crème are ten pence up on last week, a super Limousin bull from WM Fleming, Moss Tower, Kelso led the way at 413 pence per kilo; following the Kelso cracker were three great bulls from GK, KN & GJ Hird, Meadow View between 407ppk and 412ppk. Powerful Limousin’s from AC Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm topped the gross value list, the pick of them a hefty 897kg bull reached £3570. Others over £3000 included another from McNeil, three from JB Luck & Son, Milestone House, a fabulous five from the flying Fleming’s and one from C Binks & Son, Walworth. Native bred bulls topped at an excellent 361ppk and £2454 for a fleshy 680kg Aberdeen Angus from CH & SE Armstrong, Middle Moor and Friesians sold to 317ppk and £2154 from MA & PD Foster, Smithy House.
A few of today’s top bull averages:
AC Simpson & Son sold 3 (799kg) average 395ppk & £3160
JB Luck & Son sold 3 (816kg) average 381ppk & £3111
WM Fleming sold 8 (766kg) average 392ppk & £3005
GK KN & GJ Hird sold 3 (712kg) average 409ppk & £2912
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 413 404 396 390×2 385×2 377 WM Fleming. 412 408 407 GK KN & GJ Hird. 400 393 383 380 358 355 354 CH&SE Armstrong. 399 398 390 AC Simpson & Son. 392 C Binks & Son. 388 G Corner. 382 381 380 JB Luck & Son. 363 334 JM Smith. 362 361 360 359 355 JM Shotton. 354 JC Thwaite. 345 WH Clarke Partnership.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £3570 £3248 AC Simpson & son. £3173 £3151 £3009 JB Luck & Son. £3156 £3035 £3013 £3006 £3003 £2952 £2949 £2929 WM Fleming. £3045 C Binks & Son. £2980 £2836 £2658 JM Smith. £2966 £2900 £2869 GK KN & GJ Hird. £2816 £2660 £2563 £2559 £2422 JM Shotton. £2801 G Corner. £2656 £2623 £2587 CH&SE Armstrong.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 361 CH&SE Armstrong. 342 334 314 R Hall & Son. 328 311 308 W&R Kemp & Son. 305 BJ Haigh. 300 GW Dobson & Son.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2454 CH&SE Armstrong. £2423 £2248 £2124 W&R Kemp & Son. £2307 £2236 £1997 R Hall & Son. £2263 BJ Haigh. £2217 GW Dobson & Son.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 318 BJ Haigh. 317 310 296 MA&PD Foster. 306 GW Dobson & Son.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £2154 £2136 £2024 MA&PD Foster. £2047 GW Dobson & Son.
Clean Cattle (97) – Absolutely incredible as the clean beef jumped forty pence per kilo on paper in a week; a better show no doubt but be under no illusion the DfAM clean cattle ring this week is light years ahead of all the other available options. Heifers averaged a mind boggling 446ppk (+37ppk on the week) and £2742 (+£219) whilst the steers levelled at an unbelievable 411ppk (+45ppk) and £2838 (+£397). Three heifers sold over 490ppk, twelve sold in the 480’s and fourteen in the 470’s plus three steers over 440ppk and fourteen clean cattle sold over £3000. Willie Miller of High Aketon is away home to Wigton with another top price per kilo in the bag, a sweet 541kg Limousin heifer sold for 494 pence. Two heifers sold at 490ppk, another from the wandering Wigtonian and a beauty from Cole Hill Farm Ltd, Elwick; those in the 480’s included four from the regular selling R Hirst, Neasham Grange, three more from High Aketon, four more from Cole Hill and one from JE Suddes & Son, Rowley Farm. Three heavy heifers sold over £3200, a feat fairly rare in recent times; top of them all was a marvellous 668kg British Blue from Cole Hill Farm Ltd which edged out two terrific sorts from JV & JA Hodgson, The Grange and W Swinbank & Sons, Greystones. More meaty sorts from the aforementioned Hodgson, Suddes and Swinbank pens joined one from HW & J Birkbeck, Castle Hill, Soulby to complete the £3k plus line up of females. The five fantastic steers over £3000 included three from the on-song Cole Hill Farm Ltd; the Cole Hill trio, despite a best of £3114.10 narrowly missed the top as they found themselves sandwiched in between two perfectly fed Limousin’s from RA & BA Ridley & Son, Dipton Foot who led the bullocks on the day by the smallest of margins to top at £3114.55.
Clean Cattle – Top averages ppk:
W Miller sold 8 (551kg) average 479ppk
R Hirst sold 10 (586kg) average 473ppk
JV&JA Hodgson sold 5 (641kg) average 472ppk
W Swinbank & Sons sold 5 (651kg) average 470ppk
Lead Grossing Clean Cattle Averages:
W Swinbank & Sons sold 5 (651kg) average £3063
JV&JA Hodgson sold 5 (641kg) average £3031
JE Suddes & Son Sold 4 (684kg) average £2987
RA&BA Ridley & Son sold 5 (774kg) average £2914
Steers – Top prices ppk 456 440 431 427 411 408 407 406 TW&PT Moss Ltd. 448 436 429 428 424 415 P&SA Nelson. 426×2 423 418 416 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 420 J Davis. 400 378 373 370 361 RA&BA Ridley & Son Ltd. 388 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 374 JE Suddes & Son.
Lead Grossing Steers £3114 £3004 £2944 £2794 £2715 RA&BA Ridley & Son Ltd. £3114 £3084 £3049 £2999 £2783 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £2983 £2907 £2897 £2808 £2672 £2634 TW&PT Moss Ltd. £2982 £2913 £2880×2 £2870 £2751 P&SA Nelson. £2760 JE Suddes & Son. £2723 PJ&MP Gilhespy.
Heifers – Top prices ppk494 490 485 482 480 477 468 462 W Miller. 490 484×2 482×2 478 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 485×2 484 480 477 474 472 464 R Miller. 480 452 450 JE Suddes & Son. 479 NE Dyson. 478 476 475 469 466 JV&JA Hodgson. 476 472 471 470 463 W Swinbank & Sons. 470 HW&J Birkbeck. 467 456 A Swinbank & Sons. 458 434 FW Hodgson & Son. 452 449 424 DH Lawson. 444 440 PJ&MP Gilhespy.
Lead Grossing Heifers £3233 £2887 £2841 Cole Hill Farm. £3211 £3193 £2954 £2935 £2863 JV&JA Hodgson. £3207 £3153 £3069 £2955 £2931 W Swinbank & Sons. £3177 £3114 £2899 JE Suddes & Son. £3059 HW&J Birkbeck. £2987 £2970 £2850 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £2945 £2876 A Swinbank & Son. £2922 £2865TW&PT Moss Ltd. £2851 £2835 FW Hodgson. £2865 £2836 £2827 £2825 £2822 R Hirst. £2816 NE Dyson.
Prime Lambs (1398) – Lambs up another gear, rising £7 per head and 18ppk on what appeared at the time to be a great trade seven days ago. Once again, the heavies grabbed the limelight and some excellent feeding ensured that the weight required was available before the buyers in attendance. Thus said, the tidy export weights are also in more demand, especially the hard fed and well fleshed sorts, all included the weighed straight sale today averaged 356ppk and £165.22 per head. Top per kilo today was an absolute beauty of a Beltex from S Lamb, Doe Park; the fantastic 50kg sort sold for 436 pence per kilo (£218). Plenty of lambs sold over 400ppk, at 427ppk were a pen of nine nice 44kg Beltex from DR Smith, East Roughlea which sold at £188 and half a dozen smart 50kg lambs from J&S Barnes, Skip Bridge Inn reached 418ppk (£209). Of the 164 lambs selling at £200 or more, only one weighed under 50kg. Top per head for the second week running was a thumping Texel from T Lawson & Son, Sands Farm; this week’s star lamb weighed 63kg and sold for £240. The same home sold a 60kg continental lamb at £237 and also a 61kg Suffolk at £219, with the other vendor in the higher ranks being JJ Horn, Bushy Park with a pen of 58kg Texels at £224. Recognition must go this week to K Hall of North Farm, West Butsfield who produced a terrific run of heavy Texel’s out of Mule ewes; averaging 53.75kg, every one of the consignments seventy-two lambs sold at £200 or more, great feeding and breeding.
A few of today’s lead grossing lamb prices:
T Lawson & Son sold 16 (56kg) average £211
K Hall sold 72 (53kg) average £205
G Thompson & Sons sold 48 (54kg) average £203
C Binks & Son sold 10 (51kg) average £198
JJ Horn sold 50 (51kg) average £196
Today’s top lamb averages ppk:
A Tindale sold 2 (51kg) average 407ppk
K&PM Lough sold 12 (46kg) average 395ppk
R Atkinson sold 63 (46kg) average 388ppk
J&S Barnes sold 24 (49kg) average 388ppk
C Binks & Son sold 10 (51kg) average 385ppk
Lambs – Top prices ppk 436 379 W.K M.M Lamb. 427 DR Smith. 418 410 J&S Barnes. 416 381 NG Beveridge. 411 381 G&E Walton. 407 A Tindale. 407 N&LL Brown & Son. 409 389 K&PM Lough. 402 393 380 R Atkinson. 400 391×2 DG&PD Ayre. 398 395 T Lawson & Son. 398 394 388 K Hall. 397 PJ Tindale. 397 395 JA&A Herbert. 493 JC Thwaite & son. 388 386 383 382×2 JJ Horn. 388 384 C Binks & Son. 387 381 K Raine. 383 CN Whitaker. 383×2 Ainsty Farms Direct.
Lead Grossing Lambs £240 £237 £219 £215 £210 £205 £200 T Lawson & Son. £224 £214 £199×2 JJ Horn. £218 W.K M.M Lamb. £217 £209 £207×2 £206 £203 £200 K Hall. £211 DR Smith. £210 £202×2 G&E Walton. £210 £203 JR Knox & Son. £209 £197 J&S Barnes. £209 £203 £197 G Thompson & Sons. £208 A Tindale. £207 £200 NG Beveridge. £205 £201 JC Thwaite & Son. £200 £194 C Binks & Son. £200 ABP Wilsons. £199×2 Ainsty Farms Direct. £195 K&PM Lough.
Cast Sheep (164) – The massive momentum of last week’s ewe trade continued, an absolute flyer for the fleshy types, still some lean sheep would be better marketed on a Monday however. All in the sale averaged £150.26. Top at £292 was a gigantic Teeswater tup from G Horner, How Wath Farn, Danby, Top of the ewes at £244 was a tidy Texel from G & E Walton, The Meadow and the fit Mules look a roaring trade, top of £200 from CN Whitaker, Low House Farm with thirteen from R & D Elders, Grove Farm next of the Mules at £194.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £292 G Horner. £244 £200 £174 G&E Walton. £238 £228 £200 CN Whitaker. £236 JC Thwaite & Son. £236×2 £232 £178 J Hird. £230 C Moffett. £212 £190 JK&CE Farming. £208 £182 JK Gill & Son. £200 R Errington & Son. £200 Petch Farms. £194 RD&D Elders & Son. £192 TP&RL Swinbank. £192 TA&J Swinbank. £186 £180 BR&RI Routledge. £186 AG Williamson. £180 £170 DG&PD Ayre. £178 J Pallister & Sons.
