Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock and also their fortnightly sale of fodder on Monday 9th December 2024. Forward were 328 Cattle and 1693 sheep.
131 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 290ppk or £2674
4 Cast Bulls sold to 214ppk or £1870
1 Cow & Calf sold for £2200
34 Young Bulls sold to £1600
63 Store Steers sold to £1750
94 Store Heifers sold to £1590
1398 Store Lambs sold to £141
295 Feeding Ewes sold to £160
248 Bales of Fodder/Straw sold to £26
Cast Cattle – The cow trade remains tremendous; some super sorts were well diluted by a host of older weathered cows yet still the sale averaged a very healthy 193ppk and £1243 per head. Grabbing the headlines today selling for a mighty £2674 was a fabulous 5-year-old Limousin cow from W Barron, Morrow Edge Farm, weighing 969kg she sold for a terrific 276 pence per kilo. Bidding per kilo topped this week at 290 pence as W & M Knaggs & Son, East Newbiggin produced a stunning 8-year-old Simmental; following the super Simmental was a tidy Aberdeen Angus OTM heifer from DA & MAM Brown, Agglethorpe Hall just ahead of a brilliant 6-year-old British Blue from J & MJ Walton, West Shotton Farm. Dairy breeds were again well represented as a total of thirty attended, none came close to a superb Montbeliarde OTM heifer from A Willey, Broomfield Farm when she sold for 270ppk and £1649.
Cast Cows – Top prices ppk 290 216 W&M Knaggs & Son. 288 240 238 236×2 234 228 218 DA&MAM Brown. 280 J&MJ Walton. 280 222 E Taylor & Son. 276 W Barron. 270 232 A Willey. 256 250 212 210 M Dowson. 250 JT&M Atkinson. 248 JC Johnson. 246 C Stafford. 244 242 238 220 216 WA Wardman Ltd. 244 BR Lawson. 236 JN Swinbank. 236 JJ Horn. 230 228 ER&GI Younger. 228 RE Dickson. 224 216 DW Dresser. 224 Stainton Hill Farms. 216 206 TT Hall & Son. 214 L Brown. 212 206 F Fabi. 208 R Bradley & Son. 206 MW Coverdale & Son. 202 A Wilson.
Lead Grossing Cast Cows £2674 W Barron. £2099 £1868 £1800 £1792 £1623 £1607 £1602 £1584 DA&MAM Brown. £2030 W&M Knaggs & Son. £2010 JT&M Atkinson. £1842 J&MJ Walton. £1810 JC Johnson. £1777 £1599 £1566 M Dowson. £1722 L Brown. £1698 £1668 £1663 £1544 WA Wardman Ltd. £1694 C Stafford. £1694 £1538 S&P Brogden. £1649 £1521 £1463 A Willey. £1598 MW Coverdale & Son. £1572 £1489 R Bradley & Son. £1559 Northfield Farms. £1534 JJ Horn. £1513 J Norman. £1478 G Te-Lintelo. £1464 F Fabi. £1453 DW Dresser. £1447 E Taylor & Son.
Cast Bulls – Top prices ppk 214 R Tookey & Son. 200 R Liddell. 194 GC&KJ White & Son. 188 J Norman.
Lead Grossing Cast Bulls £1870 R Tookey & Son. £1714 J Norman. £1612 R Liddell. £1420 GC&KJ White & Son.
Store & Breeding Cattle – It’s going to take more than storm Darragh to dampen the store cattle trade as they again reached remarkable levels. Kicking off proceedings was a lovely 6-year-old Limousin cow with a 1-month-old heifer calf at foot from W Ramsay & Sons, Blakeley Hill Farm which sold for a pleasing £2200. Young bulls followed and they remain in scintillating form, none more so than an excellent run of Limousin’s from J & F Hartley & Sons, Low Shipley Farm which saw the top four selling between £1500 and £1600. Aberdeen Angus flew the flag amongst the store cattle when a pair of steers from B & B Kitching & Son, Elstob Cottage Farm led the line at £1750 apiece. A smart Limousin steer from I Cairns, Pesspool Hall followed closely at £1740 whilst three other steers sold in the £1700’s and half a dozen more over £1600. Heifers topped twice at £1590 as a Salers from D R Smith, East Roughlea matched an Aberdeen Angus from I Oliver, Crook whilst mention must go to the Friesian and Montbeliarde steers from A Willey, Broomfield Farm which sat atop the dairy beed pile when selling at £1520.
Cows & Calves £2200 W Ramsay & Sons.
Store Bulls £1600 £1520 £1500×2 £1450 £1340 J&F Hartley & Sons. £1400 W Barron. £1270 JN Swinbank. £1270×2 £1150 E Taylor & Son. £1210 £1200 £1190 £1100 WT Hall. £1000×2 £980×2 £900 £850×2 JW Richardson. £940×2 £890×2 £800×3 G Beadle.
Store Steers £1750×2 £1690×2 B&B Kitching & Son. £1740 £1650 IW Cairns. £1730×2 £1580 £1500 £1460 £1420 I Oliver. £1710 £1550 £1470 T Coulthard. £1650 £1620 £1600 £1590 DR Smith. £1590 £1580 £1520×4 £1410 £1400 A Willey. £1580 R Valks. £1490 £1410×2 £1390 £1380 G Beadle. £1360 E Peacock. £1340×4 BJS Farms.
Store Heifers £1590 DR Smith. £1590 £1400 I Oliver. £1550×2 £1520 £1450×3 B&B Kitching & Son. £1550 £1420 WB Rutter & Sons. £1550 GH&RG Stobbs. £1540×4 D Walker. £1460×2 F Fabi. £1450 AC Walton. £1410 IW Cairns. £1400 I Oliver. £1400 DR Smith. £1400 £1380×4 £1360×6 BJS Farms. £1390×6 P Leese. £1370 W&JM Clifford.
Store Sheep – The store trade continues shooting for the moon and at the rate they are going they might well reach it as another excellent trade materialised. Top of the day was a super Suffolk from G Sedgewick, Ricknall Grange at £141, the same price was also achieved by thirteen thumping continental crosses from A Smith, Plantation Avenue. Stacks of the stronger sorts followed between £130 and £140 with the healthy long term continental projects sailing comfortably over £100. Ninety-nine Mule lambs this week averaged a pleasing £100 to a top of £119 whilst Cheviots averaged £104 and topped at £125. Feeding ewes also look ferocious, tops this week went to five Texel ewes from S J Love, Low Doctor Pasture which reached £160 whilst well over one hundred Mule’s sold to a top of £134 and averaged £99.
Store Lambs-
Suffolk- £141 £134 £127 G&JA Sedgewick. £127 A Kelly. £109 K Buckle.
Continental- £141 £112 A Smith. £140 A Wilson. £129 £124.50 TM&A Bellas & Son. £127 £121 WA Armstrong. £124 £115 M Whorlton. £121 W Wearmouth & Son. £115 A Kelly. £112 Adam Mason. £109 K Buckle. £108 J Waters. £108 Jack Brittain. £107 T&AE Miller. £104 Staffords. £104 D&JA Teasdale.
Texel- £140 £103 SJ love. £138 £130 £128 £107.50 M Dawson. £133 KO Stones. £132 £115 TB Walton. £132 x2 £125 £123 £112 £101 LD Laws. £131 AF Smith. £130 £118 W Wearmouth & Son. £130 KA&V Armstrong. £127 J Waters. £122 £111 K Buckle. £120 £116 JD&MS Mortimer. £117 £108 R Bell. £116 GE Raw. £114 Adam Mason. £113 R&J Myers. £113 £112 BR Lawson.
Charollais- £134 £131.50 W Wearmouth & Son.
Beltex- £127 M Dawson. £114 N Demuschamp.
Cheviot- £125 £108 Rebecca Appleton. £115 KO Stones. £115 Jack Brittain.
Mule- £119 W Wearmouth & Son. £117 D Alderson.
Feeding Ewes- £160 £128 £120 £112 £98 SJ Love. £159 £118 £85 J Waters. £141 £119 £94 A Kelly. £138 £130 R Bell. £135 £118 £117 £104 K&RE Robson. £134 JD&MS Mortimer. £132 x3 £128 KA&V Armstrong. £124 AF Smith. £124 £120 £116 £112 £86 A&B Herworth. £119 £107 Petch Farms. £118 Rebecca Appleton. £107 A Gregg. £100 T&AE Miller. £91 L Fowler. £88 A Elliot.
Fodder
Plenty of movement in the fodder section this week; 4ft round bales of wheat straw sold to a top of £26 whilst conventional straw bales sold at £3.50 and round silage bales reached £17. All classes of fodder can be sold to vendor advantage with a host of potential buyers in situ.
