Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their ‘Special Backend’ show and sale of suckled calves in conjunction with their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock on Monday 13th November 2023. Forward were 554 cattle and 2054 sheep.
76 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 250ppk or £1745
2 Stock Bulls sold to 168ppk or £1683
16 Breeding Cattle sold to £1400
70 Young Bulls sold to £1540
203 Store Steers sold to £1590
187 Store Heifers sold to £1560
1741 Store Lambs sold to £123
313 Feeding Ewes/Rams sold to £133
Show Cattle – Thanks go to our dedicated sponsors who make these events possible, mention must go therefore to the following; Dots Café, H.H.Smith & Son, Brockhills of Yorkshire, Vicky Anderson Training, NFU Mutual Durham Districts, Swale Vets, S&A Fabrications, Stokesley Show, David Chapman Property & Garden Maintenance, Allflex Livestock Intelligence, Thornton Breakers, Dugdale Nutrition, C&A Embroidery, Vickers & Barrass Chartered Surveyors, Grahams Logs, Stoneygate Farm Shop & Café, Agrisource Farm Machinery, East Oakley Servicing & Repairs, Bennison Groundworks, Hutchinson Sheep Shearing.
Judging duties at this year’s special backend show and sale fell upon Master William Swinbank of Greystones, Caldwell; the capable young man found both his Champion and Reserve from the excellent pen of calves shown by the Stones Family, Nun Cote Nook Farm, Marrick. The winning steer took the plaudits with the heifer class winner close behind, both were tremendous March born Haltcliffe Favori sired calves. Local producers E Scott & Sons, Middridge Grange claimed a clean sweep of the bull class with a terrific run of home bred March and April born Limousin calves. Full results below.
Champion
K O Stones, Nun Cote Nook sold to N C Wilson, Ripon for £1380
Reserve Champion
K O Stones, Nun Cote Nook sold to T N Callender, Whinney Hill for £1220
Best Steer Calf
1st K O Stones, Nun Cote Nook sold to N C Wilson, Ripon for £1380
2nd K O Stones, Nun Cote Nook sold to N C Wilson, Ripon for £1250
3rd A F Smith, Stocks Home House sold to Askwiths, Crook for £990
Best Heifer Calf
1st K O Stones, Nun Cote Nook sold to T N Callender, Whinney Hill for £1220
2nd A F Smith, Stocks Home House sold to E & M Townley, Lancaster for £1100
3rd R A Patterson & Son, White House Farm sold to J Dods, Gainford for £885
Best Bull Calf
1st E Scott & Sons, Middridge Grange sold to L R Welsh & Co, Spennymoor for £1100
2nd E Scott & Sons, Middridge Grange sold to S Beachell, Driffield for £1210
3rd E Scott & Sons, Middridge Grange sold to S Beachell, Driffield for £1210
Sale of Suckled Calves & Store Cattle – The excellent trade continues as a remarkable sixty-seven accounts were in operation at the store cattle ringside today.
Young Bulls – The sale average of £1062 was a wonderful £159 up on the year (8 less sold) as a super show found fast bidding throughout; top of the pile was a strong 15-month-old Aberdeen Angus from S Jackson, Tuthill at £1540, just behind him at £1535 came the best of a stunning run of 7-8-month-old Limousin and British Blue bulls from first time vendor Garrowby Farm Estate, Bugthorpe. Fifteen excellent calves from Garrowby averaged a pleasing £1387 with eight excellent Angus from Tuthill levelled at an impressive £1380.
Steers & Heifers – The healthy Autumn trade continues as all classes remain nicely in front on the year. Steers today averaged £1030 (+£26 with 45 more sold) and heifers averaged £934 (+35 with 12 less sold). A thumping run of twenty-month-old Aberdeen Angus from B & B Kitching & Son, Elstob Cottage Farm, Great Stainton grabbed the headlines when selling a trio of steers at £1590 and also the days top heifer at £1560. Top of the suckled calf section was our worthy show Champion from Nun Cote Nook at £1380 with an impressive run of 7/8 month old Limousin’s from A & R Thompson, Dimmingdale Farm, Moorsholm also featuring high up the leader board selling steers to £1300 and heifers to £1260.
Leading Prices
In Calf Cows – £1000(x2) H Watson & Son.
Cows & Calves – £1400 £1350 A F Smith. £1400 R A & S Darling Farms. £1280(x2) £1250 £1200 J H Johnson.
Young Bulls – £1540 £1530 £1360 £1330(x4) £1290 S Jackson. £1535 £1495(x2) £1480(x2) £1475 £1420(x3) £1360(x3) £1350 £1080(x2) Garrowby Farm Estate. £1445 £1280 W A Armastrong. £1210(x2) £1100 £1000(x3) £990(x2) E Scott & Sons. £1040 B Taylor. £990 D L Brown.
Steers – £1590(x3) B & B Kitching & Son. £1500 £1485(x3) £1450(x5) £1390(x2) £1380 £1375(x2) £1340(x2) J H Johnson. £1480 £1310 G L & M Steel. £1470 J S Foster & Son. £1370 £1350 J S Brougham. £1365 J C Thwaite & Son. £1355 L Claughan. £1300(x6) A & R Thompson. £1300 Wilsons.
Heifers – £1560 £1395(x2) £1340(x4) B & B Kitching & Son. £1480 L Claughan. £1350(x3) £1270 £1110 Wilsons. £1270 £1140(x5) £1130(x2) Wilkinson & Son. £1260(x5) A & R Thompson. £1260 B Storey. £1220 K O Stones. £1195 G & J H Tomlinson & Son. £1190 £1180 £1150 Northfield Farms. £1180 B Watson. £1180 R A & S L Wearmouth.
Cast Cattle – Cows dearer on the week, a good top end was joined by a somewhat weathered show further down the rankings but still averaged a pleasing 162ppk and £1097 per head. An Aberdeen Angus OTM heifer from B & B Kitching & Son, Elstob Cottage Farm led the way when she sold for 250 pence per kilo, a Limousin OTM from Wilsons, Throstlenest Farm followed closest at 236ppk whilst the top older cow per kilo at 214 pence was also a Limousin, this one hailed from F Stobart & Sons, Stotley Hall. The top three gross valued cows were all well fed Limousin’s from the prolific A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm; pick of the bunch a superb 831kg cow sold for £1745. Dairy cattle topped at 200 pence per kilo for an excellent OTM Freisian heifer from G Thompson & Sons, Softley Farm or an impressive £1438 for a remarkable ten-year-old from W K Wilkinson & Sons, Mains House Farm. Just two stock bulls this week, the pick of them a tremendous Limousin from F W Hodgson & Son, Burton House sold for 168ppk and £1683.
Cast Cows/OTM Leading PPK – 250 B & B Kitching & Son. 236 Wilsons. 214 F Stobart & Sons. 212 210 198 186 184 178 168 Hughes Bros Farms. 210 196 194 182 A C Simpson & Son. 200 190 G Thompson & Sons. 198 G & J H Tomlinson & Son. 186 G K, K N & G J Hird. 178 R E & B J Potter. 176 A & R Thompson. 176 H S Hutchinson. 170 168 Skelton Farming Ltd. 168 A Wilson. 168 J G & E M Welford.
Stock Bulls Leading PPK – 168 F W Hodgson & Son. 130 T W & K Hutchinson.
Cast Cows/OTM Leading Gross – £1745 £1691 £1599 £1386 A C Simpson & Son. £1562 £1453 £1439 £1214 £1183 Hughes Bros Farms. £1461 G E Raw. £1438 £1242 W K Wilkinson & Sons. £1387 B & B Kitching & Son. £1384 F Stobart & Sons. £1356 J Jimminson. £1352 R A Patterson & Son. £1316 G & J H Tomlinson & Son. £1307 J Mitchell & Son. £1256 J G & E M Welford. £1246 A Wilson. £1233 A & R Thompson. £1220 Wilsons. £1218 G K, K N & G J Hird. £1209 H S Hutchinson. £1198 G Thompson & Sons.
Stock Bulls Leading Gross – £1683 F W Hodgson & Son. £1190 T W & K Hutchinson.
Store Sheep – Another 2000 plus sheep day as the very strong store trade continues to bring numbers forward, strong lambs remain a sharp trade whilst the runners probably even dearer than last time left this week’s lamb average at a marvellous £88.56. Top price of £123 went to P J Anderson & Son, Lydgate Avenue with Thirlby’s S Fenwick; Langleydale’s N Gill and Brancepth’s S Carman all close behind in the £120’s. Mule lambs averaged an excellent £82.68 with a top of £88 from M Metcalfe, West Gate Farm whilst horned lambs topped at £58 for a pen of Blackface from R M Guy, Warren Wood. Feeding ewes are still good to sell as Texel’s topped at £133 from A & R Thompson, Morrsholm; Mule ewes sold up to £81 from J Jopling, Stanhope and horned ewes topped at £55.50 from B & R Dixon, Stainsacre.
Store Lambs
Texel – £123 £115 P J Anderson. £122 £120 £113 S Fenwick. £120 £118 N Gill. £116 £111.50 £107 J D Spensley. £115 £112 £110 E Cruddas & Son. £114 D Clarke. £114 £111 M Gallon. £114 £108 J & F Hartley. £112 T Addison. £112 J Davis.
Continental – £121 £117 S Carman. £113 £102 £98.50 G W Dobson & Son. £106 £100 A & R Thompson. £99.50 B & J Bainbridge. £98(x2) A W Sanderson. £96 T Lawson & Son.
Beltex – £114 M Hogg. £106 S & D Ferrie. £97 C & M Burnett. £92.50 J R Mann.
Mule – £88 £78 M Metcalfe. £86 £79 D Alderson. £85.50 Petch Farms. £84 W B Rutter & Sons.
Horned – £58 £43 R M Guy. £57 K Sayer. £49 B & R Dixon.
Feeding Ewes – £133 A & R Thompson. £118 £81 J Jopling. £105 £90 E Cruddas & Son. £100 C & M Burnett. £99 W B Rutter & Sons. £96 Pear Tree Projects. £92 £80 B & R Dixon. £90 AWSM Farms. £82 P & S Wood.
