Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle and store stock on Monday 5th August 2024. Forward were 156 cattle, 584 sheep and 7 pigs.
18 Cast Cattle sold to 258ppk or £1852
13 Young Bulls sold to £1535
34 Store Steers sold to £1675
91 Store Heifers sold to £1615
511 Store Lambs sold to £154
73 Feeding Ewes/Rams sold to £170
7 Pigs sold to £150
Cast Cattle – A very light show enjoyed a tremendous trade across the board, a mixture of quality today averaged 180ppk and £1117. One superstar stood out, a four-year-old Limousin cow from I Marshall & Sons, Hope House Farm led the way when she sold for 258ppk and £1852. Native breeds topped at 174ppk and £1281 for Aberdeen Angus cows from A N Greenwell, Lanchester whilst Holstein’s topped the dairy cows at 138ppk and £1160 from Cowclose Farm Ltd. Just the one stock bull offered this week which was a 12-year-old Limousin from Tarn Bros, Toft House Farm which sold for 208ppk and £1730.
Leading Grossing Cast Cows- £1852 I Marshall & Sons. £1419 £1182 Tarn Bros. £1402 £1347 £1328 £1250 ER&GI Younger. £1353 RB Watson. £1281 £1049 AN Greenwell. £1160 Cowclose Farm LTD.
Cast Cows- Top Prices PPK 258 I Marshall & Sons. 224 202 200 x2 ER&GI Younger. 202 RB Watson. 200 198 Tarn Bros. 174 170 138 AN Greenwell. 170 C Parker. 138 Cowclose Farm LTD. 116 DW Ewin.
Store Cattle – If selling feeding cattle were an Olympic discipline, today’s vendors surely breezed through the heats and flew straight in to the gold medal position. Unprecedented demand for all classes saw just a normal show of quality result in the young bulls averaging £1177, heifers £1210 and the steers £1301. A smart Limousin from W Walker & Son, High Copelaw Farm led the bull trade when he sold for £1535 with the silver medal going to Morpeth based E R & G I Younger at £1500 and the bronze to S G Horn, Trimdon at £1485. Two spots on the heifer podium went to J & E M Lawson, Harpington Hill with their 16–18-month-old Limousin heifers selling for £1615 and £1575 therefore sandwiching G S Bainbridge, Ketton Lodge with a Limousin at £1585. A fabulous steer trade saw the Aberdeen Angus of Easington based A Wilson, Calf Close Farm claim four of the top five spots as they four times went beyond £1600, no one however could catch a thumping Limousin from M H Hodgson, East Greystones which sold for £1675.
Store Bulls- £1500 £1460 £1410 ER&GI Younger. £1485 £975 SG Horn. £1365 £1000 W Walker & Sons. £1315 £1115 GH Heron. £985 Duell Partners.
Store Steers- £1675 MH Hodgson. £1635 £1605 x3 £1495 x3 £1255 x3 £1015 A Wilson. £1565 £1555 £1515 £1275 GS Bainbridge. £1555 WA Wardman LTD. £1385 £1275 x2 J&EM Lawson. £1295 WB Rutter & Sons. £1235 x2 £1195 £1035 BJS Farms. £1195 JD Teasdale. £1185 x3 Humbleton Farm. £1145 W Love LTD. £1065 £1025 I Newton & Son.
Store Heifers- £1615 £1575 J&EM Lawson. £1585 £1575 £1405 £1315 GS Bainbridge. £1535 £1485 x2 £1445 DR Smith. £1535 £1505 £1485 £1415 £1315 WA Wardman LTD. £1495 £1485 £1455 MH Hodgson. £1425 £1335 x3 £1325 I Oliver. £1365 x2 £1355 x4 £1245 JP Phelan. £1295 x2 A Wilson. £1265 £1255 £1235 x2 Humbleton Farm. £1245 x3 WB Rutter & Sons.
Store Sheep – The sheep trade has more punching power than the Algerian women’s Olympic boxing team; the unthinkable happened and the already flying prices went up another gear, they really do have to be seen to be believed. This week’s sale averaged £103 and was predominantly made up of long keep running lambs. Texel’s ruled the roost from G H Lister, Holebeck House, Wolsingham who produced 56 crackers to average £126 with a top of £154 and others to £140 and £135. Top of the Suffolk lambs at £137 were seven super sorts from K Liversedge, Toft Hill whilst the annual early run of 250 hill bred Cheviot and Texel lambs from J P Richardson, Rosedale lifted almost £20 on the year to average £88. Top pen average for lambs despite the remarkable returns already mentioned went to W Wilkinson & Sons, Mains House Farm, Barnard Castle with their thirty-one split two ways all selling for £131 per head.
If the lambs looked on top of the world then the feeding ewe trade was on another planet, Texel ewes to £170 from J J M Lonsdale, Smailes Burn, the same good home sold Blue Faced Leicester ewes to £152 and Swaledales to £92 whilst R M Guy, Warren Wood reached £152 with a Texel tup and a stunning £132 with a Blackface.
Store Lambs-
Texel- £154 £140 £135 £128 £126 £124 £106 GH Lister. £134 £119 J Kelly. £131 x2 WK Wilkinson & Sons. £130 £121 D Alderson. £120 W Love LTD. £117 £110 C&M Burnett. £111 £110 £100 £93 x2 £92 £91 JP Richardson. £103.50 £101 J Curry. £102 £93 GH&RG Stobbs.
Suffolk- £137 K Liversedge. £124 D Alderson. £81 J Burbury.
Beltex- £116 £114 RW Dalton.
Feeding Ewes- £170 £152 £122 £92 JJM Lonsdale. £152 £132 RM Guy. £142 £112 J Wigham. £140 J Burbury. £128 £111 D Alderson. £114 FJ Dodsworth. £106 £82 JP Richardson.
Pigs – £150 £135 £130 C Weightman.
