Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock on Monday 11th March 2024. Forward were 317 cattle and 873 sheep.
90 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 288ppk or £2142
79 Young Bulls sold to £1600
64 Store Steers sold to £1920
84 Store Heifers sold to £1840
791 Store Hoggs sold to £179
82 Store Ewes/Rams sold to £134
Cast Cattle – The insatiable demand for cow beef continues with a very similar, very sharp trade for all classes, this week’s sale including eighteen dairy breeds and twenty natives averaged an impressive 186ppk and £1261 per head. For the second week running the terrific Limousin’s of W I Suddes & Son, South Farm, Cornsay topped proceedings, today an outstanding 33-month-old heifer sold for 288pence and £2142. The same good home sold a pair of 6-year-old cows at £2050 and £1937 whilst impressive returns per kilo on the day also came from W A Wardman Ltd, Yearby at 248 pence and E R & G I Younger, Thropton at 246 pence. A fine run of thirty beef bred cows from Margaretting Hall Farms Ltd, Essex made the journey North very worthwhile as they led the native breed trade with a 5-year-old Longhorn at 212ppk and a thumping South Devon which sold for £1787. Holstein Friesian trade continues in solid form topping at 182ppk and £1370 for a 7-year-old from J & G Clark, Fleetshot Farm, Sheraton.
Cast Cows/OTM Leading PPK – 288 216 208 WI Suddes & Son. 248 240 230 216 WA Wardman LTD. 246 190 186 ER&GI Younger. 240 DR Smith. 218 JD Bentley & Son. 214 210 SH Watson & Son. 212 210 208 x3 206 202 200 198 196 194 x2 192 x5 190 x2 188 186 x2 184 Margaretting Hall Farms LTD. 206 B&L Wilkinson. 190 JJ Dowson & Son. 190 RN Armstrong. 190 JC&P Tallentire. 186 WM Bainbridge. 186 Beckwith. 186 W Denham. 182 W Swinbank & Sons.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading Gross- £2142 £2050 £1937 WI Suddes & Son. £1787 £1726 £1718 £1670 £1637 £1627 £1612 £1595 £1577 x2 £1544 £1527 £1506 £1493 £1483 £1428 £1418 £1415 £1413 £1365 £1363 £1347 £1339 £1319 £1318 £1308 Margaretting Hall Farms LTD. £1713 £1656 SH Watson & Son. £1671 £1646 £1460 £1262 WA Wardman LTD. £1493 B&L Wilkinson. £1473 £1336 W Denham. £1463 JC&P Tallentire. £1399 W Swinbank & Sons. £1370 J&G Clark. £1359 ER&GI Younger. £1356 JJ Dowson & Son. £1339 S&RT Lowson. £1261 WM Bainbridge.
Store Cattle – Another successful trip over the border for Stephen Allardyce of East Town Farm, Tarland who produced a wonderful lorry load of excellent Simmental, Charolais, Stabiliser, Shorthorn and Aberdeen Angus young bulls all 10-12 months old. Top bull of the day from the Scottish producer was a shapely Charolais at £1600, Aberdeen Angus from the same home peaked at £1570 with Simmental’s to £1500 as the sixty excellent bulls which travelled down from Aberdeenshire averaging a very healthy £1352. The store cattle followed suit and met with a ferocious trade once again, an excellent quartet of Limousin crosses from D W Dresser, Hall Farm, Greatham set the bar highest when selling steers to £1940 and heifers to £1860. Granted, nobody could match the Hall Farm heroics however mention must go to N Basey & Son, Hunwick who sold Limousin steers to a top of £1730 and also J P Phelan travelled up from Essex with Beef Shorthorn steers to a top of £1540. Of the yearling cattle on offer it was W A Wardman Ltd, Yearby setting the pace with a British Blue heifer selling at £1500, the same fine run sold Limousin heifers to £1340, British Blonde heifers to £1330 and Limousin steers to £1360; 12-month-old Limousin steers from R Potts, Newfield were also in the higher echelons of the yearling stores selling at £1380 and £1330.
Young Bulls – £1600 £1570(x2) £1550 £1540 £1500(x3) £1490(x3) £1480 £1470 £1450 £1440 £1420(x3) £1410(x2) £1400(x2) £1390(x2) £1380(x3) Stephen Allardyce. £1450 W Denham. £1410 W M Bainbridge. £1390 D W Humphrey.
Store Steers – £1920 D W Dresser. £1730 £1590 N Basey & Son. £1540(x3) £1470(x5) J P Phelan. £1450 £1400 G & E M Nixon. £1410(x2) G W & M Singleton & Sons. £1380 £1330 £1275 R Potts. £1360 £1350 £1285(x2) W A Wardman Ltd. £1295(x2) P T Stephenson. £1280 D G & P D Ayre. £1280(x2) W & C Iceton. £1280 J & E M Lawson. £1270 T Coulthard & Son. £1265 L W Martin.
Store Heifers – £1860 £1720 £1680 D W Dresser. £1500 £1340 £1330(x2) £1305 £1300 W A Wardman Ltd. £1440(x2) G & E M Nixon. £1440 £1410 J & E M Lawson. £1440 £1360 L W Martin. £1435(x2) T & D I Allen & Son. £1370 G L & M Steel. ££1365(x2) W & C Iceton. £1355(x2) G W & M Singleton & Sons. £1350 £1330 W B Rutter & Sons. £1310 D R Smith. £1295(x2) J F Harland. £1280(x3) M J Hutchinson.
Store Sheep – The store hoggs continue to sail willingly in to unchartered waters, never before have we consistently seen such high returns. A fabulous Texel from Northfield Farms stole the show selling for £179, a pen of seventeen Texel’s from P & J Martin, Stockton-on-Tees impressed at £164 as did five super sorts from K O Stones, Marrick at £163. Beltex hoggs topped at £161 for a super pen of sixteen from F Hare & Sons, Brignall with nineteen terrific North Country Cheviot tup hoggs at £160 gaining a second mention for the Marrick based Stones Family. Some stunning statistics throughout, none more eye-catching than the ninety-one Swaledale hoggs forward which topped at £125 for a pen of twenty-four from Northfiled Farms and returned a breed average of £104.63; elsewhere Ryeland’s sold to £128, Mule’s to £136 and Herdwick’s to £95.
Store Sheep-
Texel- £179 £143 Northfield Farms. £164 £147 P&J Martin. £163 KO Stones. £159 £140 ABP Wilsons. £158 £110 N Medd & Son. £155 £112 £103 GS Dixon. £153 G Bolton. £151 RW Ridley. £146 £111 D Smith. £137 £136 WH Brown. £135 J Swale & MJ Milner. £125 £115 CA&J Kipling. £122 M Collingwood. £99 GH&RG Stobbs.
Beltex- £161 £148 F Hare. £156 CA&J Kipling. £96 P Wilson.
North Country Cheviot- £160 £153 £124 KO Stones.
Suffolk- £154 £139 N Gill. £150 M Collingwood. £98 GH Lister.
Continental- £150 J&HM Jenkins. £136 £135 £126 £110 £105 £90 Raby Home Farm. £132 £101 £99 NB&R Hird. £107 £84 JP&R Ward. £106 I Appleton. £105 N Gill. £99 WH Brown. £87 A Hindmoor. £83 GH&RG Stobbs.
Mule- £136 £67 GS Dixon. £132 £99 NB&R Hird. £103 WH Brown. £70 RB Watson.
Swale- £125 £103 Northfield farm. £111 CA&J Kipling. £94 S Harrison. £93 N Gill. £82 GA&C Jopling.
Charollais- £100 £89 J Swale & MJ Milner.
Herdwick- £95 S Harrison.
Ryeland – £128 DS Muir.
Ewes & Rams- £134 Northfield Farms. £124 £100 £87 JP&R Ward. £116 P&J Martin. £89 £78 M Collingwood. £82 £76 GH&RG Stobbs. £82 S Hallam.
