Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their annual ‘Ladies Day’ show and sale of ewes, hoggs and lambs on Bank Holiday Monday 1st May 2023. Forward were 436 cattle and 1134 sheep.
254 Ewes with Lambs sold to £260
58 Shearlings with lambs sold to £355
124 Hoggs with Lambs sold to £260
32 Store Sheep sold to £120
81 Cast Cows & OTM sold to 294ppk or £2125
3 Stock Bulls sold to 242ppk or £1798
2 Breeding Bulls sold to £8000 *New Centre Record*
1 Cow & Calf sold for £1500
5 Bulling Heifers sold to £1490
5 Stirks sold to £805
53 Young Bulls sold to £1480
142 Store Steers sold to £1645
144 Store Heifers sold to £1660
Show Sheep
Thanks go to our generous sponsors and also to our expert judge James Thompson of Springwell Cottage Farm, Tow Law who undoubtedly carried out his duties expertly. Taking the Championship rosette were father and son team Tom and James Thompson of Lealholm Lawns Farm, Danby with an excellent pen of Texel hoggs and lambs; cries of Mayday Mayday would later be heard all the way from Walworth, not an observation of the date but more likely a distress signal as the prize winning hoggs went home with a most surprising and so often deep pocketed buyer. Taking the reserve championship were the first prize pen of ewes from T & R Dent, Craven Garth, Rosedale who produced five topping Texel’s suckling strong single Beltex sired lambs. Full show results below.
Hoggs & Lambs
1st T W Thompson, Danby (Texel 5&5) sold for £250 to C Binks & Son, Walworth
2nd A Newton, Rokeby (Texel 5&5) sold for £225 to S Coote, Speenymoor
3rd R N Kirby & Son, Northallerton (Mule 5&5) sold for £255 to L J Thompson, Willington
Ewes & Lambs
1st T & R Dent, Rosedale (Texel 5&5) sold for £230 to R Lawson & Son, Sedgefield
2nd C A & J G Skidmore, Toronto (Suffolk 5&10) sold for £280 to T Lawson & Son, Sedgefield
3rd T & R Dent, Rosedale (Texel 5&9) sold for £230 to R Lawson & Son, Sedgefield
Sale of Ewes, Hoggs & Lambs
Hogg and lamb vendors looked to have the trade of the day as they returned an excellent average of £107.10 per life, this figure sits down £12 on last year but given the slow spring and lack of grass just yet few could argue that the trade was buoyant. Whist the Texel’s took top honours in the show it was the North of England Mule’s which enjoyed the premium prices, best of all were a fine pen from the show winning Thompson family of Danby selling five with five for £260 whilst the Kirby’s of Northallerton and Messrs Reed, Frosterley also impressed. Top price on the day went to a fabulous Blue Texel shearling ewe with tremendous pure bred twin lambs at foot from Charlotte Newton, Tutta Beck Farm, Rokeby when she sold for a whopping £355. Older ewes sold best with strong lambs, none more so than some monstrous continental ewes with Aberfield lambs at foot from C & E Gaskin, Marwood which peaked at £260.
Hoggs & Lambs
Mule £260 T W Thompson. £255 £240(x2) R N Kirby & Son. £248 £240(x2) £232 £220 £210 M W Reed. £230 D Alderson. £215 G W Dobson & Son.
Continental £250 £235 T W Thompson. £240 £190 G W Dobson & Son. £240 M W Reed. £225 A Newton. £220 J P Floyd. £202 I Hedley. £200 £188 D R Smith.
Suffolk £200 D R Smith.
Shearlings & Lambs
£355 Charlotte Burnett. £280 £265 C A & J G Skidmore. £240 220 J Davis. £235 I Spedding. £235(x2) C & E Gaskin. £230 T & R Dent. £208 £190 T & H Agri. £180 J Wigham. £180 W J Readshaw.
Ewes & Lambs
£260 £245 C & E Gaskin. £240 C A & J G Skidmore. £232 £200 I Spedding. £230 T & R Dent. £230 J P Floyd. £222 D & J A Teasdale. £220 £202 S Hallam. £218 T & H Agri. £215 D R Smith. £215 £212 £210 C G Barraclough. £215 S Beeforth. £212 £200 S C Brown, £205 £200 W H Brown. £202 Tallentire. £200 T & C Smith.
Cast Cattle – A good turnout for the Bank Holiday and more terrific returns in the geld ring saw them average a massive 205ppk and £1385. A beautiful British Blue OTM heifer from A C Bentham, Fletcher Hill Farm set the bar highest when the 723kg superstar sold for 294 pence per kilo and a mighty £2125 on a remarkable day which saw nineteen the top side of 240ppk. Top of the native breeds today was an excellent Aberdeen Angus OTM from D A & M A M Brown, Agglethorpe selling for 242ppk whilst the leading gross value went to a fleshy 7-year-old Hereford from Leslie Brown, Winston at a credible 1884. Some thumping Holstein cows attended and despite a good sort from J T Parkin, Marwood reaching £1752 she was beaten by a terrific 928kg cow from Wilkinson & Son, Rushyford which sold for £1818; the twenty-two Holstein Fresians this week averaged 178ppk and over £1200 with a top per kilo of 202 from A R & C Booth, Bolton-on-Swale.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading PPK – 294 A C Bentham. 280 276 240(x2) Hughes Bros Farms. 274 270 268 266 258 242 D A & M A M Brown. 268 D G & P D Ayre. 266 260 B Watson. 262 A & M J Henshaw. 258 246 240 220 J R & G Walton & Sons. 246 238 220 W J Smith & Partners. 238(x2) 222 J Thompson & Sons. 236 J R P Vickers & Sons. 228 R A & S Darling Farms. 226 O J Kendall. 224 R C Bainbridge. 222 T Coulthard & Son.
Stock Bulls Leading PPK – 242 E A & N Thompson. 182 A J Hunter. 152 Juaul Farms.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading Gross – £2125 A C Bentham. £1964 £1836 J R P Vickers & Sons. £1921 £1742 £1621 W J Smith & Partners. £1884 £1562 Leslie Brown. £1881 R A & S Darling Farms. £1834 £1711 £1616 J R & G Walton & Sons. £1829 £1807 £1693(x2) £1641 £1526 D A & M A M Brown. £1818 Wilkinson & Son. £1774 O J Kendall. £1761 £1694 £1631 J Thompson & Sons. £1752 J T Parkin. £1682 Hughes Bros Farms. £1632 B Watson. £1624 M G & W D Burton. £1622 A & P A Jopling. £1611 S G Horn. £1541 J Norman.
Stock Bulls Leading Gross – £1798 A J Hunter. £1635 Juaul Farms. £1522 E A & N Thompson & Son.
Breeding Cattle – It might be a week to soon but forget the forthcoming royal party as we need look (or indeed Luck) no further for DfAM’s newly coronated King of the ring as the centre record fell. A fabulous homebred pure but not registered Limousin bull from Brian and Gary Luck of J B Luck & Son, Milestone House, Bowes sold for a stunning £8000. The brilliant January 2020 born son of Cowin Norenzo (a Mereside Lorenzo son) is out of a homebred Glangwden Van Gough sired cow and took the eye of a packed ringside, the successful purchaser Alaistair Ward, Rogerley Hall, Frosterley is a frequent and successful store cattle producer here in DfAM and we certainly now look forward to seeing the offspring. A handsome cross bred bull from Ian Kirk, Nottinghamshire headed to Ian & Ailsa Teasdale of Beadlam Rigg, North Yorkshire at £2700 whilst strong Parthenais cross Holstein Friesian bulling heifers from Carrsides Farm peaked at £1490.
Leading Prices
Cow & Calf- £1500 Hughes Bros Farms LTD.
Bulling Heifers- £1490 £1320 x2 £1220 £1210 Wilkinson & Son.
Breeding Bulls- £8000 JB Luck & Son. £2700 Ian Kirk.
Store Cattle – The insatiable hunger for feeding bulls and store cattle continues without fault, another excellent trade throughout. The business end of a furious young bull section was all about the Aberdeen Angus as the top five were all of that breeding, a strong pair from G W & M Singleton & Sons, Farlington ran a close race when selling for £1470 however going one bid better at £1480 was a fine sort from T T Hall & Son, Evenwood. Having secured the future of their exceptional herd earlier the Ward family of Rogerley Hall, Frosterley now turned their attention to the present and did so admirably by topping the store cattle sale with a fabulous British Blue crossed heifer selling for £1660, sixteen cracking stores from this good home averaged over £1300. Top of the steers was a real powerhouse of a Beef Shorthorn from Keith Metcalfe, Lands Lane Farm at £1645, others from this good home saw Freisian’s sell to £1385 as the Metcalfe thirty also averaged beyond £1300 on the day.
Store Bulls- £1480 T Hall & Son. £1470 x2 £1330 £1280 GW&M Singleton & Sons. £1270 £1210 £980 x2 £940 Hughes Bros Farms LTD. £1220 £1100 £1000 x2 £980 £970 RN Foord & Son. £1110 £1085 £1040 £1020 x2 £1005 x2 £980 x2 £925 x2 WO Alderson. £1050 £1010 £910 WB Rutter & Sons. £970 JH&C LTD. £940 WT Hall.
Store Steers- £1645 £1605 £1580 £1545 x2 £1530 £1505 £1485 £1455 £1385 £1380 £1365 x2 £1355 x2 K Metcalfe. £1640 £1520 £1440 £1410 £1370 £1310 RM Reed & Son. £1590 PRE Marwood. £1575 B&B Kitching & Son. £1480 £1370 T&DI Allen & Son. £1450 J&MJ Walton. £1400 £1370 x2 £1330 F Ward. £1395 £1325 I Newton & Son. £1380 £1335 S Crossland. £1380 SJ Love. £1360 x3 N&AD Brass & Son. £1340 R&W Todd. £1310 J Thompson & Sons.
Store Heifers- £1660 £1465 £1300 x2 £1230 £1190 £1180 x2 F Ward. £1550 £1125 B Watson. £1540 £1455 £1395 PRE Marwood. £1450 £1420 £1250 £1195 ME&TD Tailford. £1420 £1160 Hughes Bros Farms LTD. £1360 £1340 x2 £1150 RM Reed & Son. £1320 SJ Love. £1285 x2 G&EM Nixon. £1285 x2 £1260 S Crossland. £1270 £1140 T Coulthard & Son. £1250 £1135 J&MJ Walton. £1240 £1175 JG Wilkinson & Son. £1170 J Walton. £1155 x3 DM McClurg.
