Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of Prime Stock on Thursday 18th April 2024. Forward were 141 cattle and 2256 sheep.
51 Prime Bulls sold to 328ppk or £2747
24 Prime Steers sold to 334ppk or £2224
66 Prime Heifers sold to 344ppk or £2155
44 New Season Lambs sold to 444ppk or £212
1922 Prime Hoggs sold to 477ppk or £230
290 Cast Ewes & Rams sold to £252
Prime Bulls (51) – Numbers short of buyer requirement and a particular shortage of the best suckler bred bulls, trade remains sharp with this week’s averages of 273ppk and £1882 down a shade on paper but no less in real terms. The British Blonde’s ruled the roost today as they claimed the top price per kilo and the leading gross value; top of the first list at 328 pence was a shapely 679kg bull from F & J S Gargett, Westwick Farm, an excellent quintet of Limousin’s followed him over the line which included four from S & J Dent & Son and a cracker from W I Suddes & Son which sold at 327ppk. Top of the gross values was a thumping 919kg 2-year-old from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm which added up to a massive £2747; another Blonde from Westwick Farm followed at £2459 with a Simmental from G H Farms Ltd placing third on the list at £2309 on a day which saw twenty-one bulls over £2000. Friesian feeders were also in fine form, the consistent R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall led the way with a top of 262ppk and £1582. Below are some of the day’s top pen averages.
S & J Dent & Son, Darlington sold 4 to average 315ppk and £2053
F & J S Gargett, Barnard Castle sold 2 to average 306ppk and £2343
W I Suddes & Son, Cornsay sold 3 to average 304ppk and £1920
J Layfield, Willington sold 6 to average 293ppk and £2155
Continental Bulls- Top Prices PPK 328 290 F&JS Gargett. 327 298 292 WI Suddes & Son. 321 315 x2 311 S&J Dent & Son. 306 297 296 291 x2 279 J Layfield. 300 260 JJ Horn. 299 P Weightman & Sons. 295 252 GH Farms LTD. 287 JR Knox & Son. 285 275 LS Staley. 276 270 C Binks & Son. 275 267 266 TF Bothroyd & Son. 268 259 258 x2 JA&A Herbert. 266 264 J&K Woodward. 265 x2 260 JC&P Tallentire. 263 K Tallentire. 255 252 241 RW Welford & Sons.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls- £2747 P Weightman & Sons. £2459 £2227 F&JS Gargett. £2309 £1799 GH Farms LTD. £2274 £2016 £2015 £1906 S&J Dent & Son. £2244 £1918 JJ Horn. £2237 £291 £2174 £2126 £2120 £2080 J Layfield. £2181 JR Knox. £2167 £2124 £2021 RW Welford & Sons. £2057 £2015 LS Staley. £1967 £1878 £1800 TF Bothroyd & Son. £1950 £1919 £1892 WI Suddes & Son. £1818 £1734 J&K Woodward. £1773 £1702 C Binks & Son. £1677 £1650 £1554 JC&P Tallentire. £1675 £1617 £1541 £1480 JA&A Herbert.
Dairy Bulls- Top Prices PPK 262 260 237 R Hall & Son. 233 x2 229 221 JM&S Walton. 229 GW Dobson & Son. 219 JC&P Tallentire.
Lead Grossing Dairy Bulls- £1923 GW Dobson & Son. £1582 £1536 £1476 R Hall & Son. £1573 £1558 £1376 £1281 JM&S Walton. £1377 JC&P Tallentire.
Native Bulls- Top Prices PPK 263 JR Knox & Son.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls- £2027 JR Knox & Son.
Clean Cattle (90) – Dearer on the week, less forward were keenly bid for from top to bottom to see heifers average an excellent 307ppk whilst a below par offering of steers levelled at 276ppk. To find the top prices per kilo we head into Wayne’s world as Wayne Armstrong of Coxhoe led both the steers and the heifers at 334ppk and 344ppk respectively. Runner up spots on both pence per kilo lists went to the Askwiths of Crook whilst the other vendors at the business end of a sharp heifer trade were regular selling R Hirst and J V & J A Hodgson along with first time vendors R W Barker & Sons, The Pines Farm, Grantham. Top of the gross values this week was an expertly finished Limousin steer from R A & B A Ridley & Son Ltd, Dipton Foot Farm, Riding Mill selling at £2224; heading the heifer prices was James Gilson, Heugh Farm at £2155 with a thick fleshed shapely Limousin. As always below are some of the day’s top averages.
R W Barker & Sons, Grantham sold 2 heifers to average 340ppk and £2000
R Hirst, Neasham sold 10 heifers to average 326ppk and £1912
J R & B Anderson, Manfield sold 2 heifers to average 325ppk and £1869
Askwiths, Crook sold 3 heifers to average 320ppk and £1785
J J Kemp & Sons, Stillington sold 4 heifers to average 320ppk and £1706
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 steers to average 307ppk and £1943
Steers- Top Prices PPK 334 WA Armstrong. 309 305 Askwiths. 299 JE Suddes & Son. 287 281 280 270 265 253 RA&BA Ridley & Son. 286 x2 284 282 JA Gilson Agricultural Contractors. 286 RW Barker & Sons. 266 251 246 x2 J Henderson. 264 K Tallentire. 263 250 Anthony Swinbank & Son. 261 JR&B Anderson & Son.
Lead Grossing Steers- £2224 £2089 £2074 £2020 £1926 £1844 RA&BA Ridley & Son. £2107 £1924 £1880 £1793 JA Gilson Agricultural Contractors. £1943 £1942 Askwiths. £1844 JE Suddes & Son. £1761 RW Barker & Sons. £1755 K Tallentire. £1738 JR&B Anderson & Son. £1736 WA Armstrong. £1662 £1502 Anthony Swinbank & Son. £1569 £1384 £1380 £1157 J Henderson.
Heifers- Top Prices PPK 344 326 324 318 310 304 300 WA Armstrong. 342 340 Askwiths. 341 339 RW Barker & Sons. 339 334 331 326 313 309 304 x2 303 297 JV&JA Hodgson. 337 336 329 x2 328 327 x2 320 319 313 R Hirst. 334 320 319 308 JJ Kemp & Son. 330 302 299 WF Hustwit. 327 297 x2 JE Suddes & Son. 327 323 JR&B Anderson & Son. 325 320 306 303 294 W Swinbank & Son. 306 JA Gilson Agricultural Contractors. 301 James Gilson.
Lead Grossing Heifers- £2155 James Gilson. £2128 £1995 £1993 £1985 £1848 £1770 WA Armstrong. £2090 £x2 £2037 £2027 £2017 £1986 £1965 £1942 £1918 £1851 £1847 JV&JA Hodgson. £2083 £1964 £1917 £1913 W Swinbank & Sons. £2022 £1951 £1899 JE Suddes & Son. £2019 £2007 £1987 £1968 £1938 £1881 £1865 £1854 £1849 £1755 R Hirst. £2010 £1991 RW Barker & Sons. £1962 £1776 JR&B Anderson & Son. £1874 £1793 £1740 £1726 £1716 WF Hustwit. £1863 £1776 £1716 Askwiths. £1848 JA Gilson Agricultural Contractors. £1824 Anthony Swinbank & Son. £1733 JJ Kemp & Son.
New Season Lambs (44) – Still very early days for any real number of springers to spring to life in this area, an eclectic mix forward to say the least averaged 388ppk with an SQQ of 405ppk. Girl power led the way as the top per kilo were two tidy 41kg Texel’s from Anna Herbert, West Shaws at 444 pence whilst the top gross value went to a thumping Charollais from Deborah Whitcher of Foulrice Farm at £212.
Spring Lambs- Top Prices PPK 444 414 391 Anna Herbert. 434 x2 433 427 x2 425 411 321 D Whitcher. 410 404 378 ACM Spalding. 370 325 A&R Breeze.
Lead Grossing Spring Lambs- £212 £210 £208 £205 £204 x2 £201 £200 D Whitcher. £182 £176 £170 Anna Herbert. £182 £160 £155 ACM Spalding. £153 £152 £140 A&R Breeze.
Prime Hoggs (1922) – The hogg trade has just boiled over and trade looks easier than witnessed in the previous few excellent weeks trading, few would have foreseen 6 months ago that a drop in price would result in a weighed straight average of 371ppk with an SQQ of 374ppk. Top of the day per kilo at 477 pence were an excellent quintet of 44kg clipped hoggs from the regular selling R Atkinson, Scorton, the same good home followed with fifteen 47kg Texel’s at 468ppk with Easinton’s A Wilson next in line with a 43kg Beltex at 467ppk. The men from the Midlands took the top gross value spoils as eleven superb Texel tup hoggs from P R Weaver led at £230 ahead of a pair from Ian Kirk at £221; three vendors followed at £220 including R Atkinson twice plus local feeders M W Barker & Son and Whitby raiders R & D Harland.
R Atkinson, Scorton sold 199 to average 428ppk
A P & R A Dunn, York sold 23 to average 417ppk
T N Callender, Stockton sold 28 to average 402ppk
P R Weaver, Notts sold 28 to average £205
R Atkinson, Scorton sold 199 to average £204
Hoggs- Top Prices PPK 477 468 456 448 439 x2 435 434 425 404 R Atkinson. 467 429 A Wilson. 465 410 T&A Walton. 448 444 409 TN Callender. 443 409 GW Whittington Livestock. 440 427 414 409 400 395 R&D Harland. 440 431 427 x3 425 413 AP&RA Dunn. 425 J Pallister & Sons. 420 395 x2 PJ Tindale. 416 CK&D Muir LTD. 414 395 TW Clark & Son. 412 JR Knox & Son. 409 EJ Fleming Livestock. 406 Ian Kirk. 405 400 MR Madrell. 404 x2 400 395 x2 PR&V Barlow & Son. 402 400 MW Barker & Son. 182 William Swinbank. 395 WKMM Lamb. 395 JA Gilson Agriculture Contractors. 394 RG&G Rutter. 394 CS Robinson.
Lead Grossing Hoggs- £230 £210 £200 PR Weaver. £221 £202 Ian Kirk. £220 x2 £211 £210 x2 £204.50 £202 x2 £200 x2 R Atkinson. £220 205 £204 R&D Harland. £220 £205 £200 MW Barker & Son. £210 £203 £200 IE&AC Teasdale. £210 £202 £201 £200 x3 A Wilson. £210 £201 £200 T&A Walton. £206 JR Knox & Son. £205 £201 £200 AP&RA Dunn. £205 £203 £200 DL&D Lovegreen. £204 J Pallister & Sons. £203 Ian Kirk. £202 £200 x2 TN Callender. £202 PJ Tindale. £200 £195 x2 J&A Layfield. £200 PD Shepherd Farm. £200 H Haywood & Son LTD. £200 EJ Flemming Livestock. £200 CK&D Muir LTD. £200 D&PH Brown. £200 EW Grieves. £200 Ainsty Farms Direct.
Cast Ewes & Rams (290) – The ewe trade took no notice of the sliding hoggs and came out all guns blazing to see them average £139 with the rams levelling at £154. Top of the day was a brilliant Texel from J C Thwaite & Son, Crag Hill Farm which sold for £252, plenty of other lowland ewes followed well beyond £200. Three vendors topped the Mule ewes at £160 with the breed average an excellent £131 including various victims of the ongoing tough lambing time. Horned sheep were hot, none more so than those from Peter Turnbull, Kildale who sold Blackies to £142 and Swaledale’s to £138 whilst A Wilson of Easington sold Jacob’s to £134. All in all the ewe trade looked excellent for all shapes and sizes.
Lead Grossing Ewes- £252 £218 £178 £160 JC Thwaite & Son. £236 £178 G Thompson & Sons. £234 £200 JK&CE Farming. £228 £224 £214 £198 A&R Breeze. £214 IE&AC Teasdale. £214 CS Robinson. £210 x2 £186 £184 £176 £170 H Haywood & Son LTD. £200 £194 £188 £170 £160 William Tindale. £200 Anna Herbert. £196 JV Hodgson & Son. £192 Wytherstone Farm. £190 RG&G Rutter. £188 SR Teasdale & Sons. £187 GP&A Carter. £186 x2 PR Weaver. £182 £170 £160 GW Dobson & Son. £180 S Tickner. £176 £174 DR Smith. £176 £166 F Johnson. £176 £164 TW Clark & Son. £174 RW Dalton. £174 £162 P Turnbull. £170 S Fenwick. £170 DL&D Lovegreen. £166 JR Mann. £160 I Curry.
