Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 18th January 2023. Forward were 147 cattle and 1789 sheep.
40 Prime Bulls sold to 326ppk or £2462
24 Prime Steers sold to 349ppk or £2389
83 Prime Heifers sold to 370ppk or £2349
1458 Prime Hoggs sold to 388ppk or £200
331 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £250
Prime Bulls (40) – A very light show, best end bulls in short supply and a rather poor-quality bottom end, regardless of this trade appeared dearer on the week despite the average sliding on paper to 265ppk and £1800. A smart 733kg British Blonde from Stanley Gargett, Westwick Farm led the prices per kilo when he sold at 326 pence; half a dozen other bulls sold over 300 pence with a Charolais from Neil Brown, West Hartburn claiming second place at 313ppk and homebred Limousin’s from Tom Clark, Frankland Farm twice reaching 309ppk. Top gross value at £2462 belonged to one of the Frankland Farm Limousin’s, seventeen others sold over £2000 including a well finished Limousin from L R Welsh & Co, Spennymoor at £2455 and another brilliant Blonde from the Gargett trio at £2454. Pick of the Friesian bulls today came from regular sellers J M & S Walton, Brettanby Farm, Barton when their run topped at 242ppk and £1604. Below as always are some of the days top pen averages.
F & J S Gargett, Barnard Castle sold 3 to average 303ppk and £2355
T W Clark & Son, Durham sold 3 t5o average 302ppk and £2311
J H & M & N W Brown, Darlington sold 2 to average 299ppk and £1949
L R Welsh & Co, Spennymoor sold 4 to average 298ppk and £2249
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 326 300 287 F&JS Gargett. 313 289 JH&M&NW Brown. 309×2 290 TW Clark & Son. 305×2 292 291 LR Welsh & Co. 295 JK&CE Farming. 293 287 283 276 273 D Richardson & Co Ltd. 291 287 JR Knox & Son. 257 R Hall & Son. 257 255 JA&A Herbert. 250×2 JM Ramsay & Son.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £2462 £2329 £2143 TW Clark & Son. £2455 £2251 £2171 £2118 LR Welsh & Co. £2454 £2389 £2224 F&JS Gargett. £2390 £2209 £2147 £2017 £1935 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £2115 £1784 JH&M&NW Brown. £2057 £2054 JR Knox & Son. £1985 JK&CE Farming. £1832 £1733 JA&A Herbert. £1727 R Hall & Son. £1707 JM Ramsay & Son.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 242 226 JM&S Walton. 226 JK&CE Farming. 194 R Hall & Son.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £1604 £1455 JM&S Walton. £1459 JK&CE Farming. £1150 R Hall & Son.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 238 R Hall & Son.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2058 R Hall & Son.
Clean Cattle (107) – Clean cattle were off the clock, an absolute fairytale of a trade from start to finish, arguably the dearest they have ever been, without question the fastest January trade in history as hot heifers averaged a stunning 330 pence per kilo and the super steers an unprecedented 321ppk. Top of them all at 370ppk was a brilliant 598kg British Blue heifer from W J Scott Ltd, Low Leam Farm, West Woodburn; an outstanding twenty-two other heifers sold over 350 pence per kilo, eight of which surpassed 360 pence on a day which saw all weights, ages and shapes absolutely excel themselves. Top steer per kilo at an impressive 349 pence came from L D Laws, High Village Farm with a brilliant homebred 624kg Limousin; three other steers followed in the 340’s as another from High Village was joined by more brilliance from Low Leam, chasing them all the way were six steers in the 330’s with amazingly only three of the twenty-four failing to reach 300 pence. On to the gross values and needless to say some stunning returns were on offer, six separate vendors sold beast over £2200, over half the heifers and two thirds of the steers sold above £2000. Despite credible efforts and honourable mentions for Messrs Thompson, Laws, Hodgson, Walker and Callender ultimately nobody could live with the magnificence of the home bred British Blue crosses from W J Scott Ltd, Low Leam as they topped both the steers at £2389 and the heifers at £2349. The top weekly averages below may well cast the deadweight options available firmly in to the depths of Tartarus.
Steers
L D Laws, Leyburn sold 3 to average 343ppk and £2118
W J Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 6 to average 335ppk and £2195
W R Thompson, Etherley sold 3 to average 325ppk and £2239
Askwiths, Crook sold 3 to average 318ppk and £2077
Heifers
W J Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 4 to average 360ppk and £2245
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 to average 360ppk and £2088
B Walker, Dalton-on-Tees sold 3 to average 347ppk and £2185
J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery sold 5 to average 344ppk and £1980
J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse sold 12 to average 342ppk and £2096
T N Callender, Whinney Hill sold 2 to average 341ppk and £2017
Steers – Top prices ppk 349 344 338 LD Laws. 345×2 339 337×2 311 WJ Scott Ltd. 338 TN Callender. 335 320×2 WR Thompson. 328 316 312 Askwiths. 314 308 JH&M&NW Brown. 306 305 289 N Edmondson. 297 284 M Ord & Sons.
Lead Grossing Steers £2389 £2373 £2210 £2190 £2114 WJ Scott Ltd. £2314 £2259 £2144 WR Thompson. £2187 £2060 £1984 Askwiths. £2177 £2146 £2031 LD Laws. £2084 £1866 JH&M&NW Brown. £2051 TN Callender. £1894 £1888 M Ord & Sons. £1820 £1811 N Edmondson.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 370 364 363 348 WJ Scott Ltd. 368 358 356×2 354 351 350 WJ Scott Ltd. 367 355 Askwiths. 367 363 359 355×2 346 344×2 JV&JA Hodgson. 365 304 LD Laws. 361 355 348 348 340 339 338 R Hirst. 359 345 SW Thompson. 358 344 342 B Walker. 357 348 340 339×2 JE Suddes & Son. 344 334 328×2 326 322×2 WF Hustwit. 343 JJ Kemp & Son. 342 340 TN Callender. 340 322 AJ Marr & Son. 339 WR Thompson. 336 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2349 £2312 £2212 £2107 WJ Scott Ltd. £2270 LD Laws. £2257 £2212 £2088 B Walker. £2257 TN Callender. £2250 £2190 £2176 £2149 £2144 £2123 £2115 £2094 JV&JA Hodgson. £2176 £2094 £2055 AJ Marr & Son. £2176 £2161 £2067 £2061 R Hirst. £2174 £2068 WA Armstrong. £2146 SW Thompson. £2133 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £2060 £2032 JJ Kemp & Son. £2057 £2029 WF Hustwit. £2053 £2044 JE Suddes & Son. £2033 Askwiths.
Prime Hoggs (1458) – Following a bouncing beef trade the happy hoggs followed suit with at least a £10 lift on what (at the time) looked a straight shot last week, weighed absolutely straight as always and still a trade to match anywhere in Britain, the sale averaged £141.52 or 303ppk throughout with an SQQ of 308ppk. Top per kilo at 388.9ppk were a perfect pen of ten 45kg Beltex hoggs from W Ramsay & Sons, Blakeley Hill Farm which sold for £175. Beltex again, five this time and also 45kg from W A Wardman Ltd, Thrushwood Farm followed closely behind at 377ppk (£170) with nine super 50kg hoggs from first time vendors D R & R L Burns, Lodge Farm, Leicestershire impressing at 370ppk and £185. On to the gross values and a thumping 85kg pure Texel from B & J Bainbridge, Cockfield Hall Farm sold for an impressive £200, behind him at £195 (68kg) comes the second mention for the Burns of Leicestershire who also shared third place at £185 with no less than three pens from Messrs Ramsay of Blakely Hill. A great day in the hogg ring as some 165 hoggs sold for at least £165 and over 200 sold beyond 330ppk. As is customary with the cattle, below are just some of the day’s most impressive runs and averages.
D R & R L Burns, Leicestershire sold 15 to average 330ppk and £180
W Ramsay & Sons, Station Town sold 18 to average 351ppk and £179
A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear sold 62 to average 282ppk and £163
R O Gilson, Spennymoor sold 30 to average 300ppk and £159
W A Wardman Ltd, Yearby sold 169 to average 307ppk and £158
R E & L Frank, Stokesley sold 21 to average 330ppk and £154
P R Weaver, Nottinghamshire sold 120 to average 324ppk and £154
K & P M Lough, Wolsingham sold 10 to average 329ppk and £149
R Atkinson, Scorton sold 144 to average 329ppk and £140
Hoggs – Top prices ppk 388 336 324 W Ramsay & Sons. 377 368 362 357 353 349 346 341 340 336 331 329 325 323 322 WA Wardman Ltd. 370 DR&L Burns. 358 W Denham. 354 330 322 RO Gilson. 352 328 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 351 337 330 RE&L Frank. 347 333 332 327 326 325 R Atkinson. 346 343 337×2 325 324 322 320 PR Weaver. 343 329 325 K&PM Lough. 340 S Thompson & Son. 337 T Duckitt. 326 Whittington. 320 IM Maughan.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £200 B&J Bainbridge. £195 £185 £169 DR&RL Burns. £185×3 £175 W Ramsay & Sons. £177 £174 £171×2 £170 £169 £168×3 £166 £165×4 £164 £163×2 WA Wardman Ltd. £175 JR Knox & Son. £173 £165×2 £164 PR Weaver. £171 £169 £168 £167×2 £165.50×3 £164 AC Simpson & Son. £170 Whittington. £170 R Raw. £168 £164 R Wood & Son. £166 £165.50 £165 £163 RO Gilson. £165 W Denham. £165 RE&L Frank. £165 R Dresser.
Cast Ewes & Rams (331) – A cracking ewe trade ensured a full house of flyers across all sections today; the 325 ewes average £111 with half a dozen old tups levelling up at a staggering £184. A pair of marauding Midlanders took the top spots with some super Texel ewes; Leicestershire’s D R & R L Burns claimed the bragging rights on the trip back down the motorway selling a trio for £250 apiece with Nottinghamshire’s P R Weaver coming a very credible silver medallist with a quartet making £230. Ponteland’s P J & M P Gilhespy followed with fit continental ewes selling to £212 whilst Skelton Farming Ltd, Saltburn topped the tups at £203 and £202. Mule ewes were also dearer with eighty-three forward averaging £96 to a top of £118; in the hill ewes thirty-six Blackface ewes today averaged £76 and forty-six Swaledale averaged £51 to round off an excellent day’s trading.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £250 £199 £158 £155 £140 £130 DR&RL Burns. £230 £193 £186 £181 £172 £171 £151×2 £135 PR Weaver. £212 £152 £149 £146 £141 £126 £121 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £203 £202 £156 £141 £134 £125 Skelton Farming Ltd. £166 £157 £142 £118 W Tindale. £158 £149 £129×2 AC Simpson & Son. £143 F Shield. £140 P Tindale. £131 W Denham. £131 £130 Whittington. £126 £120 £118 DM McClurg.
