Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 24th October 2024. Forward were 201 cattle and 1780 sheep.
79 Prime Bulls sold to 336ppk or £2685
15 Prime Steers sold to 345ppk or £2183
107 Prime Heifers sold to 385ppk or £2366
1536 Prime Lambs sold to 354ppk or £195
244 Cast Ewes & Rams sold to £251
Prime Bulls (79) – Trade sharper again to see the bulls all in level at 282ppk and £1963 per head. The top eight bulls sold over 320ppk this week, a smashing pair of 720kg Limousin’s from W M Fleming, Moss Tower, Kelso led the charge when they sold at 336ppk and 330ppk; the charging Chantrell’s of Flash Farm, Leicestershire followed closely at 329ppk and making their own luck were J B Luck & Son, Bowes at the same price. With the top eleven bulls over £2300 it was a competitive race however ultimately it was another border reiver who climbed to the top of the gross value list; our leading three bulls were all tremendous Limousin’s from Robert Neill & Partners, Upper Nisbet Farm selling between £2535 and £2685. Hereford bulls proved to be the pick of a larger show of native breeds as W & R Kemp & Son, Wigdon Walls sold to 283ppk and C H & S E Armstrong, Middle Moor Farm to £2019. Despite plenty of first crosses only a handful of pure Freisians appeared, they duly topped from G W Dobson & Son, Wood Close at 230ppk and J K & C E Farming, Blue House Farm at £1668. See below some of the day’s top averages and prices.
W M Fleming, Kelso sold 2 to average 333ppk and £2399
J B Luck & Son, Bowes sold 2 to average 322ppk and £2470
M & G Chantrell Ltd, Leicester sold 6 to average 317ppk and £1914
D Richardson & Co, Melsonby sold 4 to average 312ppk and £2316
P I Harker, Worsall sold 2 to average 311ppk and £2298
GK, KN & GJ Hird, Richmond sold 3 to average 309ppk and £1978
Robert Neill & Partners, Jedburgh sold 3 to average 285ppk and £2609
Continental Bulls Per Kilo – 336 330 W M Fleming. 329 326 317 316(x2) 304 M & G Chantrell Ltd. 329 316 J B Luck & Son. 327 318 GK, KN & GJ Hird. 324 M Robinson & Sons. 322 315(x2) 297 D Richardson & Co. 315 307 292 T W Clark & Son. 315 300 290 L R Welsh & Co. 314 309 P I Harker. 306 J J Horn. 291 290 Robert Neill & Partners.
Continental Bulls Gross Value – £2685 £2607 £2535 Robert Neill & Partners. £2499 £2441 J B Luck & Son. £2479 £2344 £2242 £2198 D Richardson & Co. £2419 £2379 W M Fleming. £2383 £2056 J J Horn. £2323 £2273 P I Harker. £2189 £2145 L R Welsh & Co. £2179 £2134 £2008 T W Clark & Son. £2122 £2084 £2083 £2075 £2074 C H & S E Armstrong. £2039 J E & B Morgan & Sons.
Native breed Bulls Per Kilo – 283 252 249 241 W & R Kemp & Son. 268 266 263 255 240 C H & S E Armstrong. 262 261 253 248 242 J A & A Herbert. 260 R Hall & Son.
Native Breed bulls Gross Value – £2019 £1943 £1902 £1867 £1718 C H & S E Armstrong. £1874 £1768 £1703 £1423 W & R Kemp & Son. £1679 R Hall & Son. £1662 £1599 £1566 £1512 £1454 J A & A Herbert.
Friesian Bulls Per Kilo – 230(x2) G W Dobson & Son. 228 J K & C E Farming.
Friesian Bulls Gross Value – £1668 J K & C E Farming. £1628 £1527 G W Dobson & Son.
Clean Cattle (122) – The butchers beast with thick loins remain a superb trade, truly excellent for late October with the mouth-watering prospect of a Christmas price increase now just around the corner, who knows where we might end up? Heifers today averaged 336ppk whilst a light in weight and in number show of steers averaged 307ppk. Top per kilo at an excellent 385 pence was a marvellous 547kg Limousin heifer from J Layfield, Nackshivan Farm, Willington selling to Taylors Butchers, Darlington; she was followed by a cracker from the regular selling R Hirst, Neasham Grange at 382ppk ahead of ten in the 370’s and twenty-three more north of 350ppk. Top steer of the day on both lists went to the in-form Robert Neill & Partners down from Jedburgh with a superb 633kg Limousin reaching 345ppk and £2183, it must be said though that the steers were totally outdone on the gross values today by a plethora of fantastic heifers. Pick of the pack was another Scottish superstar, a 663kg Limousin heifer from W M Fleming, Kelso amounting to a marvellous £2366; behind her no less than ten heifers sold over £2200 including a strong challenge from A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm who sold three between £2268 and £2297. See below the pick of this week’s pen averages.
Heifers
J Layfield, Willington sold 6 to average 370ppk and £2090
W M Fleming, Kelso sold 8 to average 361ppk and £2201
W Swinbank & Sons, Caldwell sold 5 to average 355ppk and £2113
Robert Neill & Partners, Jedburgh sold 5 to average 353ppk and £2062
J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery sold 4 to average 349ppk and £1932
J B Luck & Son, Bowes sold 2 to average 347ppk and £2130
R Hirst, Neasham sold 11 to average 346ppk and £1979
A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear sold 4 to average 338ppk and £2234
Steers
Robert Neill & Partners, Jedburgh sold 2 to average 334ppk and £2144
M Robinson & Sons, Staindrop sold 2 to average 320ppk and £1883
M & G Chantrell, Leicester sold 6 to average 316ppk and £1811
G & J Y Marshall, Kirkbymoorside sold 2 to average 310ppk and £1936
Steers Per Kilo – 345 324 Robert Neill & Partners. 329 314 M Robinson & Sons. 337 324 321 310 308 299 M & G Chantrell Ltd. 325 295 G & J Y Marshall. 310 J V & J A Hodgson.
Steers Gross Value – £2183 £2106 Robert Neill & Partners. £2083 £1790 G & J Y Marshall. £1997 £1770 M Robinson & Sons. £1965 J V & J A Hodgson. £1924 £1832 £1796 £1776 £1771 £1770 M & G Chantrell Ltd. £1872 £1842 M Ord & Sons.
Heifers Per Kilo – 385 379 370 369 367 357 J Layfield. 382 360 358 355 353 R Hirst. 379 J E Suddes & Son. 378 377 365 360 356 CT Farmers Ltd. 372 370(x4) 358 357 W M Fleming. 365 M Robinson & Sons. 364 360 359 W Swinbank & Sons. 363 360 Robert Neill & Partners. 358 J B Luck & Son. 356 J V & J A Hodgson. 356 355 350 M & G Chantrell Ltd.
Heifers Gross Value – £2366 £2264 £2245 £2194 £2176 £2164 £2115 £2083 W M Fleming. £2297 £2278 £2268 £2094 A C Simpson & Son. £2275 Robert Neill & Partners. £2260 £2258 £2113 £2111 W Swinbank & Sons. £2225 £2199 £2182 £2128 £2084 CT Farmers Ltd. £2174 £2106 £2105 2092 £2065 J Layfield. £2155 £2105 J B Luck & Son. £2101 £2098 £2058 £2052 R Hirst. £2053 J V & J A Hodgson.
Prime Lambs (1536) – Lambs are a shade easier across the country, no excuses that’s the way the job is; not disastrous however as still they sit 25-30ppk ahead of this week last year to average weighed straight today at an SQQ of 275ppk. For the first time in a long while the export weights look to be in the highest demand with heavy lambs aplenty and the top quality types few and far between, thus said regardless of weight they still need good thick loins on them or the super store ring prices will continue as the better bet. A superb pair of 55kg Texel lambs from D K Barker, Little Ketton Farm stole a march on everything else today when they sold for £195 (354ppk). Chasing the Little Ketton superstars per kilo were eight 41kg Beltex bred lambs from J C Hope & Son, Cornhow Farm, Cockermouth at 353ppk and five fabulous sorts from AWSM Farms, Hutton Magna at 40kg and 350ppk. Aside from the top pair the better of the heavy lambs largely sold in the £150’s including some terrific types from J Layfield, Nackshivan which twice sold to £158.
Lambs Leading PPK – 354 D K Barker. 353 340 331(x2) 324(x2) 300 J C Hope & Son. 350 313 302 291 AWSM Farms. 323 316 309 304 J Layfield. 321 300 P & C M Graham. 315 311(x2) 306 DG & PD Ayre. 309 WKMM Lamb. 307 297 A W Sanderson. 304 J Musgrave. 300 P & C M Graham. 300(x2) 290 J A & A Herbert. 300 G Thompson & Sons. 300 295 R Valks. 300(x2) R Errington & Son. 298 291 W A Wardman Ltd. 295 Messrs Bell. 294 I & A Holmes. 291 B & J Bainbridge. 290 J J Horn.
Lambs Gross Values – £195 £155 £152 £150(x2) D K Barker. £158(x2) £152(x2) £149 £146.50 £143 J Layfield. £155 £152 £140.40 W A Wardman Ltd. £153 £141 F T Gibbon & Son. £152 £144 K & M M Henderson. £150 £140 J Musgrave. £150 £140 £139 £138 AWSM Farms. £150 £144 £143 £140 Anna Herbert. £148 M & A Gaskin. £147 JK & CE Farming. £145 £139 J C Hope & Son. £142 Emma Marriot. £140(x2) R Wood & Son. £140 R Errington & Son. £139 T Lawson & Son. £138 C N Whitaker. £138 J C Thwaite & Son. £138 DG & PD Ayre.
Cast Sheep (244) – Ewes a sharp trade to all in average £100, the posh sorts were very, very good to sell as the top half a dozen pens climbed over £200. Leading the sale at £251 were a phenomenal pair of Texel ewes from top tup producers J C Thwaite & Son, Cragg Hill Farm. Second place went to Paul Brown of Swale Hall with a cracking Texel ewe, realising £235 she alone left PB just £61,765 shy of our pre-sale aspirations. A great run of Beltex and Texel ewes from W A Wardman Ltd, Thrushwood Farm were the others to join the £200 plus club. Mule ewes were also easily sold and regularly over £100 to a top of £121 from R Errington & Son, Lily Hill whereas a largely plain show of horned ewes sold between £30 and £50 on the whole.
Cast Sheep Prices – £251 £144 J C Thwaite & Son. £235 £150 W H Brown. ££231 £212 £202 £182 £175(x2) £152 £140 W A Wardman Ltd. £155 £147 £130 J J Horn. £152 £129 £124 JK & CE Farming. £151 J A Gilson. £150 B & J Bainbridge. £149 £120(x2) K & M M Henderson. £149 £133 GC & JC Pullan. £145 Emma Marriot. £139 £130 Messrs Bell. £134 J Musgrave. £133 £127 R Herbert. £124 J Layfield. £121(x2) R Errington & Son. £120 P Hutchinson.
