Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock on Monday 17th April 2023. Forward were 404 Cattle and 298 Sheep.
88 Cast Cows & OTM sold to 284ppk or £1894
6 Stock Bulls sold to 272ppk or £2255
2 Cows & Calves sold to £1780
33 Young Bulls sold to £1460
102 Store Steers sold to £1700
170 Store Heifers sold to £1920
153 Store Hoggs sold to £143
25 Feeding Ewes sold to £148
42 Ewes & Lambs sold to £245
Cast Cattle – Not a pretty show by any stretch met a similar trade, perhaps a penny or two less although given the bag of dolly mixtures forward the sale average of 193ppk and £1237 still looks a royal return for the cow vendors. Some nice sorts at the top end were led home by a smart British Blonde OTM heifer from C Everitt, Jollybody Farm when she sold for 284ppk, three other OTM’s separated her from the top older cow per kilo which was also a British Blonde, this one a 9-year-old from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm reaching 240 pence. The top three gross valued cows had an average age of over 11 years and all sold beyond £1850; the aforementioned cow from Messrs Weightman at £1884 sat between a pair of hefty Limousin’s with the best a well fleshed old girl from M Shepherd, Fulthorpe Farm selling for £1894. Top of the native breeds this week was a super Aberdeen Angus heifer from W Wearmouth & Son, Rose Hill Farm when she sold for 248ppk whilst the best gross value not for the first time went to a fleshy Hereford cow from W & R Kemp & Son, Wigdon Walls Farm when they topped at £1637. Over one quarter of those forward this week were dairy breeds, impressing most was a Friesian steer from G Bolton, Pea Flatts which sold for 242ppk with the best of the milk cows coming from G Thompson & Sons, Softley Farm reaching £1449 and a real old fashioned 6-year-old Friesian from R & W Todd, High Toft Hill Farm sold for 200ppk. Final mention to the blistering bull trade which remains outstanding, top per kilo at 272 pence was a tidy Limousin rounding off a good day for M Shepherd, Fulthorpe however pipping him to the top gross value was a superb 917kg Beef Shorthorn from M R Souter, Bail Hill which sold for an impressive £2255.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading PPK – 284 236 C Everitt. 270 234 230 228 212 Hughes Bros Farms. 248 W Wearmouth & Son. 242 218 G Bolton. 240 P Weightman & Sons. 236 J C Thwaite & Son. 234 210 H S Hutchinson. 226 P M & F M Hill. 220 218(x2) M W Reed. 220 D & B Harding. 218 208 206 M Shepherd. 216 J J Dowson & Son. 216 F J Forrest. 214 T T Hall & Son. 214 A Crowder. 212 R E Dickson. 210 W & R Kemp & Son. 208 F E Pinkney. 208 E Parsons. 204 A J Gibson Farming. 200 R & W Todd.
Stock Bulls Leading PPK – 272 M Shepherd. 254 E Parsons. 246 M R Souter. 176 A J Gibson Farming.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading Gross Value – £1894 £1759 £1512 M Shepherd. £1884 P Weightman & Sons. £1851 £1469 A Crowder. £1848 F E Pinkney. £1681 £1444 C Everitt. £1680 £1529 J C Thwaite & Son. £1637 £1572 W & R Kemp & Son. £1609 F J Forrest. £1582 R Lawson & J Farley. £1574 A & A G Moralee. £1495 F E Pinkney. £1488 £1437 R E Dickson. £1484 £1469 M W Reed. £1483 A J Gibson Farming. £1478 H S Hutchinson. £1449 G Thompson & Sons. £1432 J J Dowson & Son. £1430 D & P H Brown. £1421 R Lawson & J Farley. £1416 £1412 Hughes Bros Farms. £1412 J Curry. £1403 P M & F M Hill.
Stock Bulls Leading Gross Value – £2255 M R Souter. £2238 M Shepherd. £2048 A J Gibson Farming. £2001 E Parsons.
Store Cattle – Warmer weather and the promise of grass growth has somehow galvanised what was already a superb store cattle trade, forward sorts remain a pleasure to sell whilst some of the tidy grazers look without question the dearest they have ever been. Starting with the bulls and it was no surprise after last Thursday’s bull barnstormer that the feeding buyers were extra keen to step on, the thirty-three offered today levelled well over £1000 with an average age of just 10 months; best of all were a quality quintet of 8–10-month-old Simmental bulls from regular consignor E Parsons, Newstead Farm which sold for a wonderful £1460 per head. A good show of store beast today also enjoyed a smoking hot trade, a stunning 2-year-old British Blue heifer from Northfield Farms, Bowes led the way when she sold for £1920 whilst the top steer of the week was a strong dairy bred British Blue from N & A D Brass & Son, Ox Close Farm selling for £1700. An increased offering of younger beast naturally appears in April and today was no exception, the pick of the under-year cattle saw top prices for steers of £1280 and a very fiery grazing heifer trade saw them regularly sail beyond £1400. Beef Shorthorn’s led the trade for native breeds as steers sold to £1590 from Messrs Tennant, Stoneygate Farm and heifers to £1560 from J Pallister & Sons, Stobb House meanwhile six superb Friesians from R & W Todd, High Toft Hill Farm sold for a sublime £1275.
Cows & Calves – £1780 £1680 I Newton & Son.
Young Bulls – £1460(x5) E Parsons. £1390 £1340 £1025 £1000 J J Horn. £1320 £1215(x2) £1110 £1080 Hughes Bros Farms. £1200 A Newton. £1060 G H Lister. £1055 £970 £900 C G Robinson. £1040(x2) £990 W B Rutter & Sons.
Store Steers – £1700 £1660 £1620(x2) N & A D Brass & Son. £1590 Tennant. £1480 T Coulthard & Son. £1480 £1380 £1340 £1335(x2) £1290(x3) £1285 £1280 £1275(x4) J A Weighell. £1460(x2) G W & M Singleton & Sons. £1430 £1390 G E Raw. £1395 R N Foord & Son. £1380 I W Cairns. £1335 D & H M Hodgson. £1290(x3) D L Brown. £1280(x3) H S Hutchinson. £1275(x6) R & W Todd. £1275 D G & P D Ayre.
Store Heifers – £1920 £1790 £1660 £1570 £1530 £1400 Northfield Farms. £1610(x2) £1600 N & A D Brass & Son. £1565 £1520 £1480(x2) £1280 T Coulthard & Son. £1560 £1460 J Pallister & Sons. £1490 £1380(x2) I W Cairns. £1440 D G & P D Ayre. £1440 £1410 £1400 £1390 £1280(x2) Hill Top Farms. £1400 I Newton & Son. £1370(x2) G W & M Singleton & Sons. £1330 £1290(x2) £1275(x4) Wilkinson & Son. £1320 R N Foord & Son. £1295 J R & J Crowe. £1285 £1280 D & H M Hodgson.
Store & Breeding Sheep – The store hoggs still appear and the trade continues in mesmerising form, the top three prices came from Northfield Farms, Bowes with their excellent Texel’s selling over £130 to a top of £143. In the pursuing pack were two vendors at £130 as P M & F M Hill, Old Hall Farm and also J J Horn, Bushy Park both rang the bell at £130. Feeding ewes also look well sold during the week which will end with the Muslim Eid al-Fitr celebrations, best of the day a pair of Blue Texel’s from M Lindley, Willowdene sold for £148 apiece.
After a cold soggy March the warmer weather is finally forecast and thus immediately slaps a good £10-£15 per life on the ewes and lambs. Top of the week a pen of seventeen Mule ewes with twin lambs at foot from E Scott & Sons, Middridge Grange Farm which sold for £245 per family.
Store Hoggs – £143 £141 £133 £128 £127 £122 Northfield Farms. £130 £123 £122 £106 P M & F M Hill. £130 £90 J J Horn. £126 £113 J E Braithwaite & Sons. £109 £96 £89 G Bolton. £108 M Dowson. £93 I Peadon. £88 J H Johnson.
Feeding Ewes – £148 £128 M Lindley. £102 W J Readshaw. £100 Petch Farms. £99 J H Johnson. £94 £93 K & R E Robson.
Ewes & Lambs – £245 E Scott & Sons. £240 £235 D & M Buck. £200 £170 £130 £120 F & H L Jackson & Son. £88 J H Johnson.
