Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock on Monday 31st July 2023. Forward were 165 Cattle and 616 Sheep.
39 Cast Cows & OTM sold to 234ppk or £1810
8 Stock Bulls sold to 194ppk or £2087
4 Breeding Cattle sold to £1120
3 Stirks sold to £330
8 Young Bulls sold to £980
54 Store Steers sold to £1395
49 Heifers sold to £1375
577 Store Lambs sold to £126
39 Feeding Ewes sold to £85
Cast Cattle – Cow trade perhaps a shade dearer on the week however remains much easier than the dizzy heights we have become accustomed to in the first half of 2023. This week’s sale saw the females average 158ppk with an unusually large show of stock bulls for the time of year levelling at 173ppk, the whole shebang returned a gross average of over £1100. Top per kilo at 234 pence was a sweet British Blue OTM heifer from D R Smith, East Roughlea Farm, Ferryhill, hot on her heels was our top cow of the day, an excellent 5-year-old Limousin from K O Stones, Nun Cote Nook Farm, Marrick which sold for 230ppk and £1810. Aberdeen Angus cows led the native breed trade when twice selling to 188ppk from both W & J Herbert, Woodwell House and D A & M A M Brown, Agglethorpe Hall; top gross valued native was a fleshy Hereford from regular sellers W & R Kemp & Son, Wigdon Walls selling for £1407. The bull trade proved to be a tale of the Thompson’s as top per kilo at 194 pence (£2062) was an Aberdeen Angus from G Thompson & Sons, Softley Farm with the top gross value a Limousin at £2087 (192ppk) consigned by W R Thompson, Sloshes Farm.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading PPK – 234 178 DR Smith. 230 214 KO Stones. 206 J&C Barker. 200 AP&E Proctor. 200 188 184 DA&MAM Brown. 194 G Thompson & Sons. 192 WR Thompson. 192 188 170 152 140 PM&FM Hill. 188 152 140 W&J Herbert. 186 J Elliott. 186 168 W&R Kemp & Son. 162 154 146 J Bennison. 160 WSI Anderson. 160 JJ Horn. 158 150 B&L Robson. 148 140 R Valks. 144 R&W Todd. 144 138 136 CN&P Penk. 140 136 TT Hall & Son.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading Gross – £2087 WR Thompson. £2062 G Thompson & Sons. £1984 J Elliott. £1925 PM&FM Hill. £1810 £1530 KO Stones. £1672 J&C Barker. £1451 R&W Todd. £1407 £1309 W&R Kemp & Son. £1385 WSI Anderson. £1382 JJ Horn. £1359 £1332 £1203 DA&MAM Brown. £1246 £1106 £910 PM&FM Hill. £1205 £1024 B&L Robson. £1156 £1075 W&J Herbert. £1127 £986 DR Smith. £1026 AP&E Proctor. £1009 £987 J Bennison. £994 £954 CN&P Penk.
Store Cattle – The trade for feeding cattle remains remarkably good given the sliding price of the finished article. A delightful day for the indigenous breeds amongst the steers today as eight of the top ten were natives, Hereford’s took the spoils when G L & M Steel, Bunker Hill Farm sold the topper at £1395 with J Smith, Liverton just behind at £1380; three vendors with strong Aberdeen Angus completed the top five bullocks of the week. M J Hutchinson, Red Gap Farm, Wolviston led the troops in the heifer battle when selling a Simmental for £1375, behind her a strong run of Limousin’s bred from the dairy cows of W Walker & Sons, High Copelaw Farm sandwiched a fit Friesian from Deerness Valley Dairy at the top of the leader board. Six of the eight young bulls offered were young Holstein Friesian’s which left the gate open for a Luing bull from Cumbrian raiders A P & E Procter, Hillcrest to top the section when selling for £980.
Cows & Calves £1120 D&JA Teasdale.
In Calf Cows £1100 £1000 Pear Tree Projects Ltd.
Store Bulls £980 AP&E Procter. £630 K Wilson. £450×2 £350×2 RW Raper & Sons. £340×2 JD Teasdale.
Store Steers £1395 £1160 £1110 GL&M Steel. £1380 £1115 £1085 £955 J Smith. £1365 MH Hodgson. £1350 £980 £920 W&J Herbert. £1250 GA&C Jopling. £1200 £1050 £1030×2 £1020 JN Swinbank. £1185×3 W&C Iceton. £1165×5 WH Brown. £1150 WB Rutter & Sons. £1145 £1030×2 DG&PD Ayre. £1125×2 £1070 £1050 L Claughan. £1125 Deerness Valley Dairy. £1090 £1050 AJ Lawson. £1070 W Love Ltd. £1040 K Wilson.
Store Heifers £1375 MJ Hutchinson. £1355×2 £1290×2 W Walker & Sons. £1295 £970×2 Deerness Valley Dairy. £1225 £1195 £1175 DR Smith. £1190×2 £1130 £1120×2 Wilkinson & Son. £1160 £1110 £990 WB Rutter & Sons. £1150 MH Hodgson. £1080×2 £1030×2 R&W Todd. £1060 W Love Ltd. £995×3 £940×2 TR Dennis & Son. £930 AJ Lawson.
Store Lambs – A superb show and a superb trade to match as the lambs averaged a staggering £92.01 across the board. Top of the tree was a brilliant strong Suffolk lamb from W Burton, West Common Top Farm, Ettersgill which sold for £126; over fifty lambs from six other happy vendors surpassed £110 with the next hundred plus lambs all selling in to three figures. Some great runs of sheep throughout saw excellent returns, four vendors averaging over £100 are honourably mentioned below.
J D & M S Mortimer, Woodland sold 19 to average £110
W Wearmouth & Son, Eastgate sold 21 to average £106
J W & B Firby, Brafferton sold 64 to average £102
G H Lister, Wolsingham sold 51 to average £102
Store Lambs:
Suffolk – £126 £107 £106 W Burton. £104 JW&B Firby. £103 GH Lister. £99.50 D&M Buck.
Texel – £120.50 £111 £108 JD&MS Mortimer. £115 £98 W Wearmouth & Son. £114.50 £103 £95 GH Lister. £114 £105.50 £104 £102 £100 £94 JW&B Firby. £101 £96 £95 JH Johnson. £98.50 WB Rutter & Sons.
Beltex – £116 £114 £100 J Wigham. £111 £93 JR Mann. £107 JD&MS Mortimer. £96 J Kelly.
Feeding Ewes – £85 £76 JV Hodgson & Son. £66 S Pybourne.
