Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock alongside their fortnightly sale of fodder on Monday 3rd February 2025. Forward were 344 cattle, 1308 sheep and 304 bales of fodder.
86 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 342ppk or £2601
3 Stock Bulls sold to 260ppk or £2735
6 In Calf Cows sold to £1850
1 Cow & Calf sold to £2180
37 Young Bulls sold to £1700
64 Store Steers sold to £2120
146 Store Heifers sold to £2520
1038 Store Hoggs sold to £158
270 Feeding Ewes/Rams sold to £224
304 Bales of Fodder sold to £41
Cast Cattle – It’s deadline day and all cow keepers, regardless of their current selling arrangements, would be well advised to request a transfer to Darlington with immediate effect, trade is absolutely flying. The sale averaged a splendiferous 243ppk and £1573 per head, included were twenty-five natives and twenty-one pure dairy cows, buyers aplenty for both feeding and slaughtering as the green market status remains essential to attain maximum values for your cows. Top per kilo was a tremendous Limousin OTM heifer from L Howley, Junction Farm when she sold at 342 pence; ten in total passed 300ppk including Broom Mill Farms, Dean Bank who followed with an Aberdeen Angus OTM at 338ppk ahead of M Robinson & Sons, East Alwent with a fleshy 4-year-old British Blue at 332ppk. A superb seventeen cattle went beyond £2000, five of the top six gross valued cows were native breeds, pick of them all at £2601 was a thumping Aberdeen Angus cow from R E Dickson, Stubdale Farm, the incredible Angus’s today saw thirteen offered to average £1966. British Blonde cows held the continental corner up and sold to £2460 from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm and Hereford’s sold to a top of £2409 from R Bradley & Son, North Crane Row. The finest Friesian of the week was an OTM heifer from G Thompson & Sons, Softley Farm at 286ppk and £2027 whilst older Friesian cows topped at an impressive 234ppk and £1689 from M E Robinson & Sons, Robin Hill. Finally, the breathless trade continued to the stock bulls as this week’s winner by some margin was a wonderful 10-year-old Limousin from D W Humphrey, Capon Hall at 260ppk and £2735.
Cast Cows/OTM Leading PPK- 342 316 x2 300 270 260 x2 L Howley. 338 Broom Mill Farms. 332 M Robinson & Sons. 328 260 P Weightman & Sons. 326 306 300 G Beadle. 290 268 Gerard Te-Lintelo. 286 G Thompson & Sons. 284 278 JP&R Ward. 280 JL&JA Sunter. 280 I&RA Watson. 276 HS Hutchinson. 276 264 R Bradley & Son. 276 MW Cook & Son. 272 270 268 266 x2 262 260 RE Dickson. 258 TW Clark & Son.
Stock Bulls Leading PPK- 260 DW Humphrey. 224 A Wilson. 214 D Barron.
Cast Cows/OTM Leading Gross- £2601 £2404 £2178 £2025 £2022 £1999 £1820 £1697 RE Dickson. £2460 £2077 P Weightman & Son. £2409 £1768 R Bradley & Son. £2288 K Hall. £2103 MW Cook & Son. £2095 J Richmond. £2055 I&RA Watson. £2032 £1822 £1746 JP&R Ward. £2027 G Thompson & Sons. £2004 £1893 Gerard Te-Lintelo. £1932 DW Humphrey. £1814 JL&JA Sunter. £1806 M Robinson & Sons. £1800 JC Thwaite & Son. £1790 TW Clark & Son. £1753 £1698 G Beadle. £1749 J Richmond. £1706 Broom Mill Farms. £1691 JJ Dowson & Son. £1689 ME Robinson & Sons.
Stock Bulls Leading Gross- £2735 DW Humphrey. £2063 A Wilson. £1801 D Barron.
Store and Breeding Cattle – The free-flowing cattle trade continues to motor forward; records tumble again as this week’s steers averaged £1574 whilst the hot heifers bettered them at £1583 and a brilliant bull trade averaged £1347. Breeders first, in calf cows sold to £1850 for a 10-year-old Hereford from Leslie Brown, Westholme Farm and the same good home then went on to sell one of the same description with a heifer calf at foot for £2180. Young bulls followed and hit the heights of £1700 for a shapely 11-month-old Limousin from C G Robinson, South View Farm; W Emerson, Landieu Farm followed twice at £1650 with yearling Limousin’s ahead of E Parsons, Newstead Farm with 9 to 11-month-old Charolais and Simmental bulls to £1620. Store cattle continue to defy gravity, none more so this week than a fabulous packet of forward heifers from the Askwith’s of Low Mown Meadows, Crook. Top from the picture-perfect pen was an excellent Limousin at £2520, British Blue’s followed twice at £2450 as the fifteen fabulous sorts produced seven more over £2000 and left with an all included average of £2148 apiece. Other vendors hitting the big numbers this week were G A Mackie, Drimmie Farm with a Limousin heifer at £2300 and our top steer from I W Cairns, Pesspool Hall Farm at £2120. Aberdeen Angus led the native breed brigade this week as steers topped at £1980 from Rose A Farms Ltd, Low Houselop whilst the under-year cattle bragging rights headed up Weardale as both H S Hutchinson, White House and J D Heavisides, The Bungalow sold to £1640.
In Calf Cows- £1850 £1280 Leslie Brown. £1450 £1400 £1350L Howley.
Cow & Calf- £2180 Leslie Brown.
Store Bulls- £1700 £1600 x2 £1540 x2 £1500 £1460 x2 CG Robinson. £1650 x2 W Emerson. £1620 x3 £1590 £1520 E Parsons. £1530 £1480 E Scott & Sons. £1480 £1340 x2 £1300 £1280 x2 RB Farming LTD. £1390 £1370 x3 £1200 x2 Wilkinson & Son. £1300 BJS Farms.
Store Heifers- £2520 £2450 x2 £2320 £2220 x4 £2120 £1970 £1950 x3 £1920 Askwiths. £2300 £1990 £1840 GA Mackie. £1980 £1930 LW Martin. £1940 TN Hodgson & Sons. £1910 x3 £1900 £1840 C Harle & Sons. £1900 JP&R Ward. £1890 DR Smith. £1840 M&RK McKenzie. £1840 IW Cairns.
Store Steers- £2120 £1670 IW Cairns. £1980 £1960 Rose A Farms LTD. £1980 £1800 Dinsdale. £1980 £1900 £1880 x2 DR Smith. £1960 £1790 CH&MC Phalp. £1920 £1660 x2 A Wilson. £1770 B&L Robson. £1720 x4 £1690 x2 BJS Farms. £1700 £1690 £1680 £1660 T Coulthard & Son. £1690 C&M Burnett. £1640 JD Heavisides. £1640 HS Hutchinson. £1600 W Emmerson.
Store Sheep – The excellent store sheep trade continues to move faster than Marcus Rashford’s estate agent, a seasonally varied show of hoggs still produced an average over £118. Top at £158 was a smart single Texel from ABP Wilsons, West Highwood; BJS Farms, Knavesmire checked in at £154 with a Charollais hogg as did A & B Herworth, Crake Scar with a Suffolk. Cheviots topped at £139 from L Bird, Mickle Hill with Mule’s to £130 from D R Smith, East Roughlea whilst the pick of the hill bred hoggs were Herdwick crosses at £105. Feeding ewes were flying to average £110, top price of £224 went to a pair of Beltex from S Bell, Lough Head; Texel’s sold to £204 whilst Cheviots sold to £152 from W Burton, West Common. Mule ewes sold to £151 from D R Smith, East Roughlea with Easycare’s to £128 from A W Sanderson, Blackface to £116 from W Burton and Swaledale’s to £110 from A Wilson, Calf Close. No less than nineteen tups today sold to average £132 and top twice at £178.
Store Hoggs-
Texel- £158 £140 £137 £136 ABP Wilsons. £151 LD Laws. £151 Angram Livestock LTD. £149 PJ Anderson & Son. £148 £140 P&AR Jopling. £147 £137 £136 CA&J Kipling. £145 W&J Herbert. £141 £139 A Tunstall. £141 DR Smith. £140 JF Harland. £139 A&R Thompson. £134 WH Brown. £133 F Johnson.
Continental- £154 £148 £147 £146 £138 BJS Farms. £147 F Hare & Sons. £141 JF Harland. £139 LD Laws. £131 CH&MC Phalp. £127 £119 £116 P Kirk. £125 £124 A Kelly. £124 £112 A Wilson. £120 £117 A&R Thompson. £118 AW Sanderson. £116 S Fenwick. £116 James Burns.
Suffolk- £154 A&B Herworth. £141 DR Smith. £123 GH Lister. £110 A Kelly.
Beltex- £147 £118 Hope Farming. £145 A Tunstall. £138 £126 £122 £116 J Lovegreen. £137 LD Laws. £128 S Beeforth.
Dutch Spotted- £120 BJS Farms.
Cheviot- £139 £106 L Bird. £130 £110 CH&MC Phalp. £118 £106 W Burton. £116 S Dodsworth. £100 A Wilson. £91 S Beeforth.
Mule- £130 DR Smith. £124 JR&JA Wharton. £120 F Johnson. £119 GH&RG Stobbs. £107 A Kelly. £102 W Burton.
Herdwick- £105 Hope Farming. £90 Brad Valks.
Black Face – £86 S Dodsworth. £80 S Beeforth.
Jacob- £86 £72 A Wilson. £74 Robyn Valks.
Goats- £40 A Wilson.
Feeding Ewes- £224 £212 £168 S Bell. £204 £170 £168 £136 JC Hope & Son. £180 £164 £154 £130 CA&J Kipling. £178 A&B Herworth. £178 £157 £147 DG&PD Ayre. £172 J Lovegreen. £170 £159 £136 A&R Thompson. £166 £149 £140 £129 WH Brown. £165 £145 £139 AP&E Procter. £156 £151 DR Smith. £153 £150 £139 IW Cairns. £152 £145 W Burton. £150 PJ Anderson & Son. £150 £146 JR&JA Wharton. £146 A Tunstall. £144 £74 DC Souter. £144 GH&RG Stobbs. £144 x2 £133 CH&MC Phalp. £141 GH Lister. £135 Staffords. £130 WJ Jade. £130 £126 A Kelly. £128 AW Sanderson. £128 JD&MS Mortimer. £120 GH&RG Stobbs. £110 S Beeforth.
Fodder – A flock of folk assembled for the fortnightly foray in to fodder. Top price of the day was £41 achieved for some 6-string Heston bales of wheat straw. Silage bales (4ft6”) sold at £36, barley straw was in demand as 4ft6” round bales sold at £35 and 4ft rounds reached £29 and £33 each. Excellent 4ft round bale hay sold at £34. A total of 304 bales of feed and straw changed hands, next sale is in two weeks’ time.
