Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock on Monday 3rd July 2023. Forward were 222 cattle and 32 pigs.
48 Cast Cows & OTM sold to 246ppk or £1787
1 Stock Bull sold to 216ppk and £1786
4 Cows & Calves sold to £1580
18 Young Bulls sold to £1300
64 Store Steers sold to £1560
83 Store Heifers sold to £1610
15 Prime Pigs sold to 170ppk or £132
17 Store Pigs sold to £54
Cast Cattle – Cow trade remains solid, arguably a penny or two less on the week but still with an average beyond £1200 few can argue with proceedings when their old girls reach the end of the road. Top per kilo at 246 pence was a smart 42-month-old Limousin from S & J Dent & Son, Great Burdon Farm, just tuppence adrift came another lovely Limousin, this one just over 4-years-old hailed from D & M Lowes, Wilson House. Top of the gross value list today was a superb 876kg Beef Shorthorn cow from A C M Spalding, Hedgeholme Farm when she sold for £1787 whilst the best native breeds per kilo were also Beef Shorthorn’s as both W Denham, Dent Gate and N & A Hunter, Woodlands Hall Farm topped at 212 pence. Top of the milking cows today was an excellent 6-year-old Holstein Friesian from J D & I W Sayer & Tallantire, Town Farm when she sold for 194ppk and a very healthy £1666. Just one stock bull forward, a smart 9-year-old Limousin from I W Cairns, Pesspool Hall Farm sold for a pleasing 216ppk and £1786.
Cast Cows & OTM – Leading PPK – 246 S & J Dent & Son. 244 210 D & M Lowes. 228 226 Crooks Altar Farming. 218 J R & B Anderson & Son. 216 L Booton. 212 W Denham. 212 N & A Hunter. 208 206 196 G P Addison. 206 198 188 M Shepherd. 204 A C M Spalding. 196 S & R T Lowson. 194 188 J D & I W Sayer & Tallantire. 194 Tarn Bros. 194 188 G W Dobson & Son. 190 O J Kendall. 188(x2) J D & M S Mortimer. 186 D E Stones.
Stock Bull PPK – 216 I W Cairns.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading Gross – £1787 A C M Spalding. £1666 £1280 J D & I W Sayer & Tallantire. £1625 £1361 D & M Lowes. £1584 £1517 £1380 G P Addison. £1530 S & R T Lowson. £1526 J R & B Anderson & Son. £1509 Tarn Bros. £1490 L Booton. £1458 W Denham. £1424 £1375 £1253 A R & C Booth. £1406 G W Dobson & Son. £1355 £1271 M Shepherd. £1344 N & A Hunter. £1343 S & J Dent & Son. £1316 D E Stones. £1297 £1242 Crooks Altar Farming. £1279 J C Thwaite & Son.
Stock Bull Leading Gross – £1786 I W Cairns.
Store & Breeding Cattle – Some good quality beasts about for the time of year and trade remaining excellent for all shapes and sizes. A smart 7-year-old Limousin cow with 2-month-old heifer calf at foot from I W Cairns, Pesspool Hall led the breeders when she sold for £1580. The young bulls followed and twice topped at £1300 as a Limousin from G W & L Marsay, Manor Farm shared the spoils with a Charolais cross from W T Hall, Humber Hill Farm, next in line were a tidy packet of Limousin’s just 8-months-old from W Wearmouth & Son, Rose Hill Farm which sold to a top of £1095. The clean store cattle had a high-quality top end, vendors had to form a queue behind the Q as Tom Quinn of Quarry House, Quebec led the sale with an exceptional 2-year-old Limousin heifer selling for an impressive £1610. Steers sold well throughout, the best a cracking Limousin from G H & R G Stobbs, High Wiserley Farm reached £1560 afore a shared second place of £1480 heading home with a Limousin from D R Smith, Ferryhill and a British Blue from R J Bradshaw, Ellerby. More success amongst the heifers followed late in the sale as a fine pen of 14-month-old Limousin’s from S & J Dent & Son, Darlington impressed when topping at £1440. Top of the Friesian’s proved to be another cracking steer from Messrs Bradshaw when selling for £1330 with the native bred charge bringing more success for the Smith’s of Ferryhill when selling a strong Aberdeen Angus heifer for £1350.
Cows & Calves – £1580 I W Cains. £1320 J W & J Collin. £1280 £1220 B Kenny.
Young Bulls – £1300 £840 G W & L Marsay. £1300 £850 £770 £725 W T Hall. £1095 £1080 £1000 £930 W Wearmouth & Son. £900 C N Whitaker. £730(x5) £700 R W Raper & Sons.
Store Steers – £1560 £1440 £1400 £1310 G H & R G Stobbs. £1480 £1410(x2) £1355 £1330 £1275 £1200(x2) £1135 £1120 £1100 R J Bradshaw. £1480 D R Smith. £1300 A W Gray. £1260 £1160 £1105 I Newton & Son. £1240(x2) £1200 £1175(x2) R & W Todd. £1185 D G & P D Ayre. £1180 F Ward. £1175 £1155 R W Ridley. £1140 W B Rutter & Sons. £1100 W Love Ltd.
Store Heifers – £1610 T & R Quinn & Son. £1440 £1400 £1320(x2) S & J Dent & Son. £1350 £1340 £1295 D R Smith. £1340(x2) £1305 £1265 £1250 £1230 £1195 F Ward. £1310 £1200 L & B M Kidd & Son. £1255 £1200(x2) M V N & D Cutler. £1240 W B Rutter & Sons. £1225 G W & M Singleton & Sons. £1225 M J Hutchinson. £1220 N & A Hunter. £1190 I Newton & Son.
Pigs – The massive Danish exporters will surely be growing concerned as we saw yet more evidence today that Darlington is fast becoming a major player in world pig production; a whopping thirty-two in attendance. Prime pigs spilled over from last Thursday due to logistics met an improved trade with our chief buyer in uncharacteristically generous form. Alas, no repeating our monumental trade gained by the previous offering of store pigs, prices far less exciting today; the dulcet tones of our pig expert, the Cumbrian conductor, therefore keep him king of the pigs for now.
Prime Pigs Leading PPK – 170 150 J Mitchell & Son
Prime Pigs Leading Gross – £132 £117 J Mitchell & Son.
Store Pigs – £54 £50 £40 £24 A Dixon. £40(x2) J Mullarkey.
