Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of Cast Cattle, Store and Breeding Stock on Monday 23rd May 2022. Forward were 344 Cattle, 390 Sheep and 16 pigs.
72 Cast Cows & OTM sold to 228ppk or £2156
10 Cast Bulls sold to 216ppk or £2064
30 Calves sold to £350
11 Breeding Cattle sold to £2950
18 Young Bulls sold to £1090
64 Store Steers sold to £1500
139 Store Heifers sold to £1335
66 Hoggs & Lambs sold to £275
85 Ewes & Lambs sold to £235
18 Store Hoggs sold to £103
16 Store Pigs sold to £40
Cast Cattle – Trade sharper on the week, by no means a high-quality show averaged a very pleasing 175ppk, the better fleshed cows certainly enjoyed life this week as the wholesalers and their agents came out firing strong. Bravo to the British Blondes as they led proceedings by some margin and turned out the top three gross valued cows; J C & P Tallentire, Richmond on any normal week with their 12 year old cow reaching £1691 could have topped the sale however a pair of absolute machines from renowned Blonde breeders P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm, Easington shone brightest, a fabulous five year old at 860kg and 228ppk reached £1960 and her amazing twelve year old compatriot weighed 954kg and sold for 226ppk and £2156. Top priced OTM was also 228ppk as A Spence, Leadgate produced a sharp Limousin whilst winning in the dairy breeds were Deerness Valley Dairy peaking at £1436 and 218ppk. Of today’s ten bulls we welcomed four Herefords, three Shorthorns and one apiece for the Aberdeen Angus, Dexter and Simmental breeds, with 993kg separating heaviest to lightest then the sublime average of £1350 was incredible, top slot of 216ppk went twice to Heferords from D Blake, Rowley whilst the top gross value at £2064 was a Jurassic sized Aberdeen Angus weighing 1454kg from W A Jewson & Son, Knitsley.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading PPK – 228 226 P Weightman & Sons. 228 A Spence. 224 210 W J Smith & Partners. 222 200 188 A Willey. 218 J C & P Tallentire. 218 184 182 Deerness Valley Dairy. 198 F Hare & Sons. 198 R Peart. 196 J T & M Atkinson. 190 188 N White. 190 D Blake. 190(x2) G A Rogerson & Son. 190 188 C Parker. 188 Messrs Heathcote. 186 T H Richardson & Sons. 184 R J & R Greenbank. 182 J Parker. 180 L W Martin.
Cast Bulls Leading PPK – 216(x2) 194(x2) D Blake. 208 196 G A Rogerson & Son. 180 Messrs Heathcote. 164 D F & M Littlefair. 142 W A Jewson & Son. 130 N Howard.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading Gross – £2156 £1960 P Weightman & Sons. £1691 J C & P Tallentire. £1540 J T & M Atkinson. £1536 £1392 W J Smith & Partners. £1536 J M Greensit & Son. £1474 £1451 £1362 A Willey. £1436 £1240 £1208 Deerness Valley Dairy. £1415 £1166 A Spence. £1388 K Hall. £1378 R A Chapman. £1320 N White. £1319 £1274 C Parker. £1240 W Denham. £1198 F Hare & Sons. £1195 J E Holliday & Son. £1192 R J & R Greenbank. £1181 D Blake. £1178 H S Hutchinson.
Cast Bulls Leading Gross – £2064 W A Jewson & Son. £2019 Messrs Heathcote. £1708 D F & M Littlefair. £1404 £1388 £1259 £944 D Blake. £1069 £903 G A Rogerson & Son. £742 N Howard.
Calves & Breeding Cattle – Slightly unusual for DFAM today as thirty 5-week-old bucket reared dairy bred calves were offered, of these bright, healthy sorts all the way from Dumfries & Galloway 22 were Hereford’s and the other 8 were British Blues; unsurprisingly the Blue calves led the way with bulls to £350 and heifers to £320, the 30 averaged a very healthy £270 per head. A scattering of cows and calves were joined today by a lovely 7-year-old Limousin bull, the proven pedigree bull Sandyleas Jai drew plenty of interest and went on to sell for £2950.
Calves – £350(x3) £320(x2) £305(x3) £280(x4) £270(x4) £260(x4) £245(x2) £235(x2) £230(x3) £210(x3) Low Three Mark.
Breeding Bull – £2950 Wilkinson & Son.
Cows & Calves £1580 Wilkinson & Son. £1520 £1380 A Spence. £1180 £900 F Gilchrist.
Store Cattle & Feeding Bulls – Little doubt that the spiralling feed costs are just squeezing the brake pedal of the feeding beast market, a solid trade remains for all classes but we are not at the dizzy heights witnessed earlier in the year. A show of predominantly younger bulls began proceedings, buyers understandably quickly calculate the £6-800 barley bill to finish them and thus we suppose there is little wonder that no records are being broken, best of the day was a 12-month-old Aberdeen Angus from K Hall, West Butsfield when he sold for £1090. The steers and heifers remain less afflicted by the feed costs, the grass bound beast which will dodge the trough for a while yet are thus far completely immune. Top marks today go to D W Dresser of Hall Farm, Greatham who provided both size and quality with their 20-month-old Limousin steer which sold for the leading price of £1500. At last Thursday’s Limousin prime stock show one of the judge’s favourites was a super heifer originally hailing from D & M Lowes, Wilson House, Barningham; perhaps then it was of little surprise that a 22-month-old Limousin heifer of matching origin led the females at today’s sale when she sold for £1335.
Young Bulls – £1090 £965 K Hall. £995 £885 £875 M R Madrell. £870 £800(x2) £770 W Emerson. £795 £725 £715 W T Hall. £750 R J & R Greenbank.
Store Steers – £1500 £1460 £1190 £1180 D W Dresser. £1405 Low Three Mark. £1320 G S Bainbridge. £1300 £1210 £1145 T E Dobson. £1265 W H Brown. £1260 D Emerson. £1140 £1135(x2) £1105 M V, N & D Cutler. £1140 £1045 G T & M A Wearmouth. £1100 £1045 D & M Lowes. £1070(x2) £1020 J G Wall & Sons. £1025(x2) T W & G Corner. £1020(x2) D & H M Hodgson. £1020 G A & C Jopling.
Store Heifers – £1335 £1260 £1240 D & M Lowes. £1330 W Love Ltd. £1320 £1310 £1300 £1160 S & J Dent & Son. £1295(x2) £1270 £1215(x2) W H Brown. £1270 £1195 £1170 £1150 G S Bainbridge. £1250 £1125 W Denham. £1200 Low Three Mark. £1160 T E Dobson. £1150 J T & M Atkinson. £1135 J G Wall & Sons. £1130 M R Madrell. £1130(x2) G A & C Jopling. £1125 D Emerson. £1120 B Storey.
Store & Breeding Sheep – Ewes and lambs were certainly easier to buy this week, the hogg and lamb trade remains very healthy. Top price of the day came from P J Tindale, Paradise Farm, Shadforth whose excellent Texel hoggs with single lambs at foot sold for £275, close behind were more super sorts from the ongoing great Gaskin dispersal as Colin and Liz had hoggs with singles reach £270 and ewes to £235.
Hoggs & Lambs – £275 £240 £215 P J Tindale. £270 £260(x2) C & E Gaskin. £200(x3) F Hickson & Sons. £200 M W Reed.
Ewes & Lambs – £235 £230 £218 £215(x2) C & E Gaskin. £225 £195 £182 £140 W Wearmouth & Son. £190(x2) D Robson & Sons. £155 £130 W & V Burton.
Store Hoggs – £103 £70.50 £42 J C Scurr.
Store Pigs – With grain costs ferocious the prospect of buying store pigs to feed is about as appealing as a trip the dentist, needless to say the trade proved pretty pitiful.
Store Pig Prices – £40 £20 £5 M Day.
