Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 1st June 2023. Forward were 196 cattle and 1414 Sheep.
69 Prime Bulls sold to 340ppk or £2596
26 Prime Steers sold to 329ppk or £2382
101 Prime Heifers sold to 340ppk or £2192
713 New Season Lambs sold to 441ppk or £192
401 Prime Hoggs sold to 356ppk or £194
300 Cast Ewes & Rams sold to £168
Prime Bulls (69) – The bull trade started June in fine form, this week’s average a tasty 279ppk and £1916 which included eleven over 320 pence and a terrific top ten the right side of £2400 as the very best bulls look a flyer. Pick of the pack per kilo was a stunning 728kg British Blonde bull from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm, Easington when he sold for 340 pence. Two bulls followed at 335ppk which included a second smart sort from Hallfield Farm and also our top gross valued bull of the day (£2596) a fantastic 775kg Limousin from L S Staley, Bluestone House, Marwood. Four other bulls selling over £2500 included two from A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear and one apiece for W I Suddes & Son, Cornsay and G A Mackie, Drimmie Farm, Angus. Some thick flesh amongst the varied selection of dairy breeds today saw Fleckveih’s a stunning 262ppk and £2067; Montbeliarde’s to 259ppk and £1959; Friesian’s to 238ppk and £1492 and little was wrong with the Jersey trade reaching 216ppk and £1317. Below are the day’s top performers.
P Weightman & Sons, Easington sold 2 to average 337ppk and £2451
L S Staley, Marwood sold 2 to average 329ppk and £2567
W I Suddes & Son, Cornsay sold 4 to average 320ppk and £2288
A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear sold 3 to average 319ppk and £2523
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 340 335 P Weightman & sons. 335 325 LS Staley. 329 294 291 290 288×2 287×2 275 273 GA Mackie. 328 J&P Armstrong. 327 323 320 313 WI Suddes & Son. 325 JK&CE Farming. 322 319 318 AC Simpson & Son. 314 290 289 275 D Richardson & Co Ltd. 304 AG Watson & Sons. 296 295 272 PJ&ES Rogerson. 290 280 GS Dowson. 288 DW Hunphrey. 278 JK Gregory. 273 TF Bothroyd & Son. 270 JC&P Tallentire.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £2596 £2538 LS Staley. £2593 £2556 £2419 AC Simpson & Son. £2589 £1966 £1919 £1882 £1862 GA Mackie. £2579 £2303 £2239 £2031 WI Suddes & Son. £2475 £2428 P Weightman & Sons. £2402 £2238 £2184 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £2280 £2067 £2047 £1989 AG Watson & Sons. £2174 £2154 £1974 PJ&ES Rogerson. £2158 J&P Armstrong. £2141 JK&CE Farming. £2055 £1996 C Harle & Sons. £1967 £1857 J Richmond. £1938 £1932 SH Watson & Son.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 238 JK Gregory. 234 R Hall & Son. 230 JC&P Tallentire.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £1492 JK Gregory. £1458 JC Tallentire. £1448 R Hall & Son.
Native Breed Bulls – Top prices ppk 261 W&R Kemp & Son. 226 GS Dowson. 216 R Hall & Son.
Lead Grossing Native Breed Bulls £1416 £1349 W&R Kemp & Son. £1317 R Hall & Son. £1229 GS Dowson.
Clean Cattle (127) – Strong demand apparent for all classes again, a more mixed offering of quality than usual still saw heifers average 293ppk and steers 288ppk. No lack of quality at the top end saw 30 cattle sell over 320 pence per kilo and fifteen beyond £2000. Somewhat unfortunate today were the Hirst’s of Neasham Grange who three times sold heifers at 339ppk only to find themselves beaten to the top spot by a single penny, the beast responsible, a sweet 540kg Limousin heifer from P J & M P Gilhespy, Low House, Milbourne, Ponteland; the Ponteland princess was pleasingly bought here in the DfAM store ring from Alastair Ward, Frosterley. Top steer per kilo at 329 pence came from the expert feeding of I Marshall & Sons, Hope House Farm with another excellent product of our store ring, this one originated with Andy and Ruth Thompson, Moorsholm; the Askwiths of Crook challenged the Hope House run closest in the steer race per kilo as they twice sold over 320 pence. Some grand old gross values on offer today, in the heifers even more Hope House heroics reaching £2138 couldn’t stop the mighty Gerard Quinn of J E Suddes & Son, Rowley Farm, Cornsay Colliery with the pick of his pen a 712kg Limousin topping at £2192. Even more Hope House heartbreak was to follow in the steers as their fabulous four despite selling between £2273 and £2355 still failed to top the market due to a hefty 836kg Limousin from A Crowder, Butsfield reaching a whopping £2382. Below as always is a sample of our leading pen averages.
Steers
I Marshall & Sons, Bishop Middleham sold 4 to average 317ppk and £2325
Askwiths, Crook sold 3 to average 314ppk and £1950
A Crowder, Butsfield sold 2 to average 290ppk and £2092
J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery sold 2 to average 290ppk and £1819
Heifers
P J & M P Gilhespy, Ponteland sold 5 to average 328ppk and £1839
R Hirst, Neasham sold 15 to average 323ppk and £1852
I Marshall & Sons, Bishop Middleham sold 4 to average 320ppk and £2060
P & J H Davison, Morley sold 5 to average 319ppk and £1803
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 to average 316ppk and £1767
T W Clark & Son, Durham sold 4 to average 311ppk and £1778
Steers – Top prices ppk 329 318 316 308 I Marshall & Sons. 325 324 295 Askwiths. 311 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 307 295 285 277 276 270 260 WA Wardman Ltd. 300 281 JE Suddes & Son. 297 285 A Crowder. 293 259 J&R Hutchinson & Sons. 260 258 255AJ Marr & Son.
Lead Grossing Steers £2382 £1802 A Crowder. £2355 £2350 £2322 £2273 I Marshall & Sons. £2018 £1943 £1890 Askwiths. £1940 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £1841 £1731 £1683 £1607 WA Wardman Ltd. £1824 £1815 JE Suddes & Son. £1696 £1687 JR Hutchinson & Sons. £1584 £1565 ££1515 £1512 AJ Marr & Son.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 340 335 330 321 317 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 339×3 336×2 335 334 327 324 318 315×2 307 305 R Hirst. 337 330 328 305 P&JH Davison. 336 333 318 314 312×2 309 JV&JA Hodgson. 333 317 308 TW Clark. 329×2 313 310 I Marshall & Sons. 326 325 321×2 305 J Layfield. 323 309 Askwiths. 317 A Crowder. 315 300 JR Tiplady. 313 GH Farms Ltd. 309 308 JE Suddes & Son. 308 303 JR Hutchinson & Sons. 305 C Binks & Son. 300 DW Humphrey.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2192 JE Suddes & Son. £2138 £2052 £2028 £2023 I Marshall & Sons. £2037 £2030 £1992 £1987 £1952 £1949 £1947 £1929 R Hirst. £2019 A Crowder. £2006 £1899 £1860 P&JH Davison. £1982 £1964 £1962 £1955 £1931 JV&JA Hodgson. £1919 £1881 £1836 £1820 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £1871 £1826 TW Clark & Son. £1857 Askwiths. £1843 M Shepherd. £1835 £1806 J&R Hutchinson & Sons. £1828 JR Tiplady. £1814 W&M Knaggs & Son.
New Season Lambs (713) – Perhaps a smidgen easier on the week but few complaints surely as a far plainer show on the whole still averaged a weighed straight 352 pence per kilo. Over 100 lambs sold over 400 pence, the top price per kilo at 441 this week went to a terrific trio of Beltex lambs from P Tindale, Paradise Farm, Shadforth with William Simpson of Caldwell a credible second place at 431ppk with his superb 41kg Texel. A first draw of the year for Richard Bailes of Cole Hill Farm, Elwick saw his excellent run of seventeen Texels average £182.94 and duly include our top two gross values at an impressive £192 and £191, John Simpson of Caldwell chased the Cole Hill corkers closest reaching £185 with W A Wardman, Yearby next best at £182 on a pleasing day which saw well over 100 lambs sell the top side of £170.
Lambs – Top prices ppk 441 425 410×2 362 P Tindale. 431 W Simpson. 421 419 409 406 404 402 400 390×2 386 370 JC Simpson. 404 402 390 Anna Herbert. 395 W Kirk & Sons. 395 373 JA&A Herbert. 395 392 BR&R Routledge. 388 369 365 W&M Knaggs & Son. 386 361 355 CJ&J Simpson. 386 355 M Barley. 371 B Fisk. 371 J Hird. 370 354 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 368 353 TW&PT Moss Ltd. 364 WA Wardman Ltd. 363 353 SM Donaldson. 356 JW&DW Laing. 356 354 352 T Duckitt. 356 352 MW Cook & Son. 355 P Medd & M Dowson. 351 R Lawson & Son.
Lead Grossing Lambs £192 £191 £185 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £185 £180 £177 £176 £172 £170.50 £170 £166 £160×2 £152 JC Simpson. £182 WA Wardman Ltd. £177 W Simpson. £177 £174 £160 Anna Herbert. £175 £150×2 Thoresby Livestock. £174 £152 CJ&J Simpson. £173 TW&PT Moss Ltd. £172 £166 £156×2 P Tindale. £171 T Duckitt. £170 £167 £150 J Hird. £166 W Kirk & Sons. £166 £153 JA&A Herbert. £166 M Barley. £165 £162 BR&R Routledge. £164 JW&DW Laing. £163 £159 £157 W&M Knaggs & Son. £160 P Bisby. £156 B Fisk. £156 AW Sanderson. £155 MW Cook & Son.
Prime Hoggs (401) – Holy hogg trade! A typically eclectic June mix sold at fabulous levels. Four times the in-form Callender family of Whinney Hill sold 41kg Beltex to 356 pence per kilo as their excellent run of fifty-eight averaged a weighed straight 346ppk. Big was beautiful for the Blue Texel’s of Emma Watson, Ponteland when topping the gross values at £194 (64kg) and £190 (62kg). Mule hoggs topped at £167 and horned hoggs £138, on both occasions from D & B Harding, Commondale.
Hoggs – Top prices ppk 356×4 348 347 346 340 317×2 TN Callender. 327 302 288 287 MW&M Skidmore. 324 317 JP&R Ward. 322 306 303 Emma Watson. 320 309 307 300 D&B Harding. 320 W Kirk & Sons. 319×2 292 GC&JC Pullan. 319 N White. 319 295 292 DA Gill. 315 M Barley. 309 T&DI Allen. 308 304 300 295 M Madrell. 306 J Grant. 303 WA Wardman Ltd. 300 East Newbiggin Farm. 300×2 RA Patterson & Son. 298 286 J Norman. 295 N&A Hunter.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £194 £190 £174 Emma Watson. £189 £170 £152 J Norman. £184 Tallentire. £177×2 £170 WA Wardman Ltd. £176 Pear Tree Project. £170 £167 £166 £164 £138 D&B Harding. £157 T Watson. £156×2 RA Patterson & Son. £150 £146×5 £143 £142 TN Callender. £150 £144 DA Gill. £150 £145 £141 N&A Hunter. £150 T Walton. £147×2 GC&JC Pullan. £146×2 JP&R Ward. £146 Thoresby Livestock. £145 M Barley. £143 £139 £135 M Madrell. £140 £138 JK&CE Farming. £140×2 J&P Armstrong.
Cast Ewes & Rams (300) – Dearer, the upcoming Qurbani festival is beginning to light the mutton trade up. A two-tier show as those that were good were very, very good and those that were bad were horrid still saw ewes average £113 and rams £133. Top of the pile at £168 was a hefty Texel ram from W & M Knaggs & Son, Sadberge with strong ewes from the same home taking the lion’s share of the other leading prices. Best of the Mules were a pen of nine from B & S M Rutherford & Son, Old Cassop at £140 with Blackface to £90 from the Harding’s of Commondale, Swaledale to £87 from Whitby’s S Harrison; despite all this probably the trade of the day went to half a dozen fleshy little Greyfaced Dartmoor tups from Thoresby Livestock, Newark at an incredible £129.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £168 £167 £160×2£151 £150 £148 £146 £140 £139 £130 W&M Knaggs & Son. £164 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £160 £146 J&P Armstrong. £159 £132 C Wise. £158 Pear Tree Project. £152 WR Thompson. £151 MW&M Skidmore. £150 £141 Emma Watson. £150 RA Patterson & Son. £149 £145×2 £138 WA Wardman Ltd. £149 £144 £143 £140 £136 B&SM Rutherford & Son. £147 £146 £137×2 T Watson. £146 T Walton.
