Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock. Forward were 194 cattle and 1719 sheep.
70 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 290ppk or £2129
7 Stock Bulls sold to 262ppk or £2124
39 Young Bulls sold to £1740
30 Store Steers sold to £1435
48 Heifers sold to £1385
256 Shearling Ewes sold to £205
120 Breeding Ewes sold to £148
50 Ewe Lambs sold to £100
1098 Store Lambs sold to £120
195 Feeding Ewes sold to £116
Cast Cattle – A fairly average show of quality met with another very firm trade, given the moderate bottom end the average of 173ppk and over £1100 per head is a more than satisfactory return. OTM Limousin heifers claimed the top four spots per kilo selling between 266 and 290 pence; the top three of them all came from D W Humphrey, Capon Hall Farm, Upleatham. Topping the gross values for cows was an absolute tank of a Limousin from W Barron, Morrow Edge Farm, Burnhope when she tipped the scales to 910kg and sold for £2129, a strong girl from the Callender’s, Ox Eye Farm, Whinney Hill snapped at her heels reaching £2092. Friesian cows enjoyed a fast trade, a remarkable 13-year-old from C Bell, The Pry, Forest-in-Teesdale sold for 190ppk whilst the top gross value went to J & A & D A Horn, Manor Farm at a pleasing £1453. An eclectic mixture of bulls over the scale had one stand out winner, top per kilo at 262 pence and leading gross at £2124 was a superb 39-month-old British Blue from I R Appleton, Pudding Poke Farm, Elwick.
Cast Cows – Top prices ppk 290 276 270 DW Humphrey. 266 234 W Barron. 250 TN Callender. 246 218 C Parker. 206 IR Appleton. 190 186 LW Martin. 190 C Bell. 186 GL&M Steel. 184 FS Sturrock & Sons. 184 180×3 178×3 176×2 172 Skelton Farming Ltd. 180172 170 W&OM Jackson & Son. 180 G Scott. 180 178 GW&M Singleton & Sons. 178 A Wilson. 178 F Crawford. 176 G Bolton.
Lead Grossing Cast Cows £2129 £1851 W Barron. £2092 TN Callender. £1765 £1741 £1676 DW Humphrey. £1643 £1252 C Parker. £1453 J&A&DA Horn. £1446 £1362 £1337 £1315 £1242 £1221 Skelton Farming Ltd. £1415 IR Appleton. £1366 £1280 FS Sturrock. £1322 C Bell. £1265 LW Martin. £1236 £1127 JD&IW Sayer & Tallentire. £1219 F Crawford. £1193 G Bolton. £1179 A Harland & Son. £1173 G Scott. £1119 GW&M Singleton & Sons.
Cast Bulls – Top prices ppk 262 IR Appleton. 176 166 JM Bewley. 156 Skelton Farming Ltd. 152 H Chamley.
Lead Grossing Cast Bulls £2124 IR Appleton. £1745 Skelton Farming Ltd. £1462 H Chamley. £753 £730 JM Bewley.
Store Cattle – The hot streak continues both inside and out of the store cattle ring with both temperatures and prices seeming very high for the time of year. An absolutely wonderful top end to the young bulls today saw a stunning 15-month-old Limousin cross from D Dixon, Middle Heads Farm sell at a whopping £1740; his stablemate at just 11-months sold for £1700 with a pure Limousin from J & F Hartley & Sons, Low Shipley Farm not far behind at £1685. Staying with the bulls as an amazing dozen sold over £1500 mention must go to regular vendor E Parsons, Newstead Farm who sold a 10-month-old Charolais at £1600 and also Simmentals to £1590. Moving on to the clean and no let up from our beef hungry parliament of buyers, topping the steers at £1435 were a nice pair of British Blue steers from R Errington & Son, Lilly Hill, Brignall whilst a hot heifer trade was led by a strong Limousin from D A Gill, Marwood Grange at £1385. As we enter what looks like it might just be an Indian summer the temperature in the store ring looks hotter than it is in Mumbai, don’t hold them too long, entries close on a Wednesday lunchtime and numbers are way short of buyer requirements.
Store Bulls £1740 £1700 £1550 £1250 D Dixon. £1685 £1570 £1500 £1490 £1450 J&F Hartley & Sons. £1600 £1590 £1570×2 £1550 E Parsons. £1590 £1090 JM Dickeson. £1200 £1010 £955 £920 £885 £850 J Curry. £1180 A Young. £1130 £1020 £1000 CM Smith. £850×2 RN Foord & Son. £810 £760×2 £745×2 Northfield Farms. £790 £785 AP Taylor.
Store Steers £1435×2 £1395×2 £1245 R Errington. £1400 £1375 £1290×2 £1285 £1280 £1095 Alwent Farm Partnership. £1385 DA Gill. £1370 £1350 £1320 £1235 DR Smith. £1120 W Love Ltd. £990 JD Vipond. £980 M Churchyard. £860 A Wilson. £820×3 G Bolton.
Store Heifers £1385 DA Gill. £1370 £1285 £1275 Alwent Farm Partnership. £1295 £1260 £1170 JS Wiper. £1295 £1255 £1190 DR Smith. £1260×2 £1110×2 £10510 W Walker & Sons. £1170 £1000 £960 JD Vipond. £1155 M Churchyard. £1120 £1000 W Love Ltd. £1105×3 £1095×2 JE&S Ward. £1090×5 £1080 R&W Todd. £1050 £930 JM Dickeson.
Breeding Sheep – As we dipped our toes into the breeding ewe pool ahead of our main sale on the 19th September the signs looked promising. Fifty Suffolk’s out of Mule’s from T & C Smith, Thorsgill were the only gimmer lambs present and sold well reaching £100. Topping the shearling trade were a pair of black Zwartbles crossed Blue Faced Leicesters from Julia Dent, Newton Ketton Farm, Brafferton selling for £205 apiece. The black sheep succeeded again when D & M Buck, Quarry Grange sold Dutch Spotted crosses to £200 with Olivia Dent’s pure Zwartbles checking in at the same price. Cheviot Mule shearlings sold to £195 from K Wilkinson, The Bothy with English Mule’s to £185 from Dyson Farming, Nocton; P Tindale of Preston Tilery led the prices for both Texel crosses and Scotch Halfbred shearlings with pens of each at £190, the same farm topped the warranted ewes at £148 with a pen of Texel bred ewes.
Gimmer Lambs- £100 x3 T&C Smith.
Shearlings- £205 Julia Dent. £200 £195 x2 D&M Buck. £200 Olivia Dent. £195 K Wilkinson. £190 x4 £185 £178 PJ Tindale. £185 £184 £180 x2 £178 £174 £170 £168 £167 £166 Dyson Farming LTD. £165 £140 GW Whittington Livestock.
Ewes- £148 PJ Tindale. £142 £132 £127 £120 £118 £117 £108 £106 £97 £90 GW Whittington Livestock.
Store Lambs – Another sharp trade, smaller long keep lambs probably dearer on the week whilst the short keepers although still a fair tariff look the source of value if there is such a thing. Terrific Texel crosses from T E Dobson, Unthank Farm led the trade selling to £120, the same good home topped the Mule lamb trade at £88.50. The other vendor this week North of £100 was J R & J Crowe, Bishops Close with their Texel lambs selling to a top of £107. Feeding ewe trade was electric and way out in front of the current killing prices, top went to continentals from K Buckle, Brooklyn Farm at £116 however it was the healthy but lean Mule ewes trading £60 to £80 which certainly enjoyed the trade of the week.
Continental – £120 £98.50 TE Dobson. £97 £84.50 D&M Buck. £93 £88 £85.50 M Whorlton. £89 D&JA Teasdale. £83.50 S Beeforth.
Texel – £107 £100 £94 JR&J Crowe. £94.50 £85.50 £83 £81.50 WH Brown. £94.50 £92.50 £89.50 P Turnbull. £89.50 £89 £82 GE Raw. £89 N Back. £87 HS Hutchinson. £87 £86 £83 LJ Daley. £85.50 £84 WK Wilkinson & Sons. £84.50 £83.50 D Rutter. £84 J Kelly. £81 D&JA Teasdale. £81 T&C Smith. £81 S Beeforth.
Suffolk – £94.50 LJ Daley. £91.50 £89 WM Bainbridge. £90 £86 £83.50 T&C Smith.
Beltex – £94 £81 M Radford. £90 LJ Daley.
Mule – £88.50 TE Dobson. £80 J Featherstone. £79 £77.50 WH Brown. £75 James Burns. £73 JJM Lonsdale.
Feeding Ewes – £116 £86 £80 £75 £67 £58 K Buckle. £100 £84 £71 £66.50 £57 A Rooke & Sons. £97 £87.50 £78 £67 T Allanson & Son. £86 M Radford. £85.50 £74 £59 James Burns. £74 D&M Buck. £68 LJ Daley.
