Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their special Bank Holiday ‘Ladies Day’ show and sale of breeding sheep in conjunction with their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock on Monday 6th May 2024. Forward were 287 cattle, 1388 sheep and 7 pigs.
42 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 280ppk or £1950
3 Stock Bulls sold to 238ppk or £2116
68 Breeding Cattle sold to £2800
33 Young Bulls sold to £1760
61 Store Steers sold to £1700
80 Store Heifers sold to £2010
151 Hoggs & Lambs sold to £355
351 Ewes & Lambs sold to £340
118 Store Hoggs sold to £178
69 Feeding Ewes sold to £210
7 Store Pigs sold to £100
Show of Hogg’s and Ewes with Lambs at Foot
Thanks must go to Steven Greensit of Kirkby Fleetham for kindly undertaking the judging duties today, an excellent show assembled for his consideration. Taking the Champion rosette back in to Weardale were Darren Fletcher and Donna Coates of Short Thorns Farm with their winning pen of Cheviot crossed Texel two shear ewes with fabulous single Beltex sired lambs at foot. Reserve Champion went to an excellent pen of Mule hoggs with strong Texel lambs at foot from R N Kirkby & Son, Ainderby Steeple whilst the Thompson family of Danby were the other firm leaving with a red rosette with their successful pen of Texel crossed hoggs.
Champion
Fletcher & Coates, Short Thorns sold for £340 to T A Greensit & Son, Kirkby Fleetham
Reserve Champion
R N Kirby & Son, Barstow Hall sold for £300 to J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery
Best pen of Mule Hoggs & Lambs
1st R N Kirby & Son, Barstow Hall sold for £300 to J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery
2nd T W Thompson, Lealholm Lawns sold for £288 to W K Stubbs, Northallerton
3rd R N Kirkby & Son, Barstow Hall sold for £288 to J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery
Best pen of AOB Hoggs & Lambs
1st T W Thompson, Lealholm Lawns sold for £290 to G & D M Howsam, Lincs
2nd T W Thompson, Lealholm Lawns sold for £285 to C J & H Dove, Northallerton
3rd J Thompson, Startforth sold for £252 to B Knox, Heighington
Best Pen of Ewes & Lambs
1st Fletcher & Coates, Short Thorns sold for £340 to T A Greensit & Son, Kirkby Fleetham
2nd I Spedding, Harelaw sold for £265 to W F Dove & Sons, Bishop Middleham
3rd R G & G Rutter, High House sold for £300 to K Porteous, Richmond
Sale of Breeding Sheep
The hogg and lamb trade lifted £20 on the year to level at £127 per life whilst the ewe and lamb vendors enjoyed a good day across the board to average £90 per life as the Spring grass has finally appeared. Top price of the day went to a tremendous Dutch Spotted Texel hogg suckling twins from L O Stephenson, Frosterley, Weardale which sold for £355. The aforementioned Champion pen of five with singles followed at £340 with the on-form Fletcher & Coates selling another pen at £330. More joy for Weardale when Ian Spedding of Wolsingham sold eight Suffolk Mule’s with twins at £322 with W & C Iceton’s Texel ewe with twins next at £315 just ahead of some terrific Suffolk ewes and twin Texel lambs from Sam Crossland, Nottinghamshire at £310. A dozen excellent Texel ewes with twenty-two lambs from Richard Rutter, Hamsterley impressed at £300 as did the pick of the weekly run from T W Brown & Sons, Hudswell and the top Mule hoggs from R N Kirkby & Son.
Hoggs & Lambs:
Dutch Spotted Texel – £355 £270 LO Stephenson.
Mule – £300 £288 £282 RN Kirby & Son. £288 TW Thompson. £262×2 £260×2 MW Reed. £260 C Redshaw. £248 £230 J Thompson. £245 £235 £218 WM Reed & Sons. £238 £222 GW Dobson & Son. £222 JJM Lonsdale.
Continental – £290 £288 £285 TW Thompson. £265 £250 £242 MW Reed. £252 J Thompson. £235 GW Dobson & Son.
Texel – £270 £244 £220 C&R Metcalf. £230 J Thompson.
Suffolk – £240 GW Dobson & Son.
Zwarbtles £235 £228 I Hedley.
Ewes & Lambs:
Texel – £340 £330 £238 Fletcher & Coates. £315 £298 £248 £240 £230 £215 W&C Iceton. £270 £268 £240 S Crossland. £265 £215 A&B Herworth. £258 W Burton. £222 TW Brown & Sons. £218 A Newton.
Suffolk – £322 £265 I Spedding. £310 £290 £280 £278 S Crossland. £300 £285 £238 TW Brown & Sons.
Continental – £300 RG&G Rutter. £292 £268 WH Brown. £290 £285 £245 £238 £228 SC Brown. £280 W Burton. £275 £260 TW Brown & sons. £275 I Spedding. £260 £258 £255 £235 S Crossland. £235 Josh Burton.
Beltex – £282 Fletcher & Coates.
Mule – £278 £258 £250 WH Brown. £272 JJM Lonsdale. £255 A&B Herworth. £240 £220 C Redshaw. £240 RL Carter. £212 A Wilson.
Dutch Spotted Texel – £268 £238 TW Brown & Sons.
Cheviot – £240 S Crossland.
Cast Cattle – A typically light show for a Bank Holiday Monday, trade sharper to see them average 185ppk and £1193 with just an average show containing a few stars at top which were well diluted by the bottom end. Top per kilo at 280 pence was a tidy Limousin OTM heifer from M Robinson & Sons, East Alwent. Top gross valued female by a country mile this week was a fabulous British Blonde cow from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm when she sold for £1950. The Native breeds were again well represented with tops of 216ppk for an Aberdeen Angus cow from F Fabi, Broad Lea Farm or £1551 for an excellent Beef Shorthorn from A Rickaby, Richmond. An OTM heifer from A R & C Booth, Village Farm led the Friesian charge when she sold for 196ppk and £1334 whilst three old stock bulls are all worthy of mention with a British Blue to 238ppk and £2099 from J Dixon, Stainton Manor; a Beef Shorthorn to 188ppk and £2116 from J Vickers, Hillside and a Limousin to 226ppk and £1925 from T & D I Allen & Son, Chatterley Farm.
Cast Cows – Top prices ppk 280 242 M robinson & Sons. 242 208 200 JA&UM Fawcett. 218 196 192 188 184 JR Fell. 216 P weightman. 216 F Fabi. 212 182 Allison Devereux Farms. 204 Northfield Farms. 204 JW Richardson. 200 168 C&M Burnett. 198 180 Reed & Hill. 198 184 E Scott. 196 162 AR&C Booth. 194 AW Sanderson. 192 A Rickaby. 190 Tarn. 186 R Valks. 174 ABM Farms. 162 HS Hutchinson.
Lead Grossing Cast Cows £1950 P Weightman & Sons. £1551 A Rickaby. £1520 £1095 C&M Burnett. £1506 £1116 E Scott. £1468 JW Richardson. £1434 Northfield Farms. £1417 £1340 £1255 £1230 £1059 JR Fell. £1369 £1312 Allison Devereux Farms. £1338 £1118 M Robinson & Sons. £1334 £1216 £1112 AR&C Booth. £1236 £1156 JA&UM Fawcett. £1207 F Fabi. £1176 £1112 Reed & Hill. £1143 R Valks. £1128 Tarn. £1059 AW Sanderson.
Cast Bulls – Top prices ppk 238 J Dixon. 226 T&DI Allen & Son. 188 J Vickers.
Lead Grossing Cast Bulls £2116 J Vickers. £2099 J Dixon. £1975 T&DI Allen & Son.
Breeding Cattle – A good number forward for the ‘Ladies Day’ Bank Holiday sale; trade was led by some exceptional Simmental cows and calves from J W Fieldson, Poplar Farm, Lincolnshire who sold to a top of £2800 for a cracking six-year-old cow with a month-old bull calf. The successful trip North for the Fieldson’s saw them sell eight outfits to average £2281.
Breeding Cattle – Cows & Calves £2800 £2700 £2400 £2300 £2150 £2100 £2000 £1800 JW Fieldson. £1980 £1850 £1820 £1800 L Booton. £1920 £1720 RC Raper & Daughters. £1200 SE Harrison & Son.
Heifers & Calves £1920 £1850×2 £1820×2 £1780 £1750×4 £1700 £1680 £1650 £1600×2 P Prudom & Son Ltd.
Bulling Heifers £1400 TW&G Corner.
Breeding Bulls – British Blonde £1980 £1880 TW&G Corner.
Store Cattle – Some steam on in the store ring this week to say the very least, trade for all classes absolutely exceptional. Top of the day at £2010 was a quite exceptional two-year-old Limousin heifer from W A Dinsdale & Son, Harkerside Farm; top steer went to regular Cumbrian visitors A P & E Procter of Hillcrest with a Limousin reaching £1700. Earlier in the day two vendors between them sold the top twenty young bulls, all aged between 9 and 14 months the great runs came from J R Fell, North Oxen Le Fields and Hughes Bros Farms, Sockburn Hall; the fantastic Fell’s came out on top with a divine Limousin reaching £1760.
Store Bulls £1760 £1710 £1670 £1660 £1650×2 £1590 £1580 £1560 £1490 JR Fell. £1630 £1555 £1470 £1460 £1450 £1420 £1400×2 £1290 £1240 £1200 £1125 £1000 Hughes Bros Farms. £1350 £1310×2 £1090 JL&M Wilkinson & Son. £680 PA Thompson. £675×2 £600 AW Sanderson.
Store Steers £1700 £1600 £1160 AP&E Procter. £1680 Rose Farms Ltd. £1640 £1490 J&MJ Walton. £1630 £1470×2 £1370 £1350 £1330×4 £1190 AJ Gibson Farming. £1560 £1470×2 GT&MA Wearmouth. £1540×4 W&J Herbert. £1530×4 £1470×3 GW&M Singleton & Sons. £1430 £1310 £1245 £1170 S&P Brogden. £1430 £1125 £1030 D Robson & Sons. £1325 £1205×2 £1100 £1090 Tennant. £1300 Jack Sewell.
Store Heifers £2010 £1680 WA Dinsdale & Son. £1440 GW&M Singleton & Sons. £1390 £1380 £1320×2 TH Robson & Sons. £1320×4 £1065×3 D Robson & Sons. £1310AP&E Procter. £1310 £1090 JS Wiper. £1300 GT&MA Wearmouth. £1295 £1025 £940 £930 I Newton. £1250 J&MJ Walton. £1230 BR Lawson. £1160×4 £1120 B Watson. £1115 £1050 S Crossland. £1070×3 £1055 W Love Ltd. £1060×3 GW Chapman.
Store Sheep – Still they come forward and the marvellous trade just keeps on going. Top of the hoggs today were a quality quintet of black sheep from Nottinghamshire native Sam Crossland at £178; Charollais hoggs from C Parker, Newsham Grange followed closest at £174. Feeding ewe trade looked very sharp this week, top of the day at £210 went to J E Stobbs & Son, Killerby Hall.
Store Hoggs – Continental £178 £150 S Crossland. £160 £130 £99 C Parker. £150 J Walker. £136 PA Thompson. £120 E Wilson. £90 A Wilson.
Charollais £156 C Parker.
Texel £142 E Wilson. £140 RL Carter. £130 J Walker.
Suffolk £135 S Crossland.
Beltex £132 RL Carter.
Cheviot £122 S Crossland.
Mule £116 S Crossland. £82 RL Carter.
Jacob £76 High Harbour Farms. £60 L Daley.
Swaledale £58 L Daley.
Herdwick £40 HG Spensley & Son.
Feeding Ewes £210 £178 JE Stobbs & Son. £184 F Stobbs. £174 £140 M Hogg. £144 £120 £80 T James. £142 L Daley. £106 A&D Heyes. £102 £98 C Parker. £78 B Edmondson. £78×2 GH&RG Stobbs. £71 S Crossland.
Store Pigs – A pig is not just for Christmas, crank up the Bank Holiday barbecue and sling on a sausage this evening; it’s no secret that all of us here in DfAM think a pig is far better on a plate than it is in a pen.
Prices
£100(x3) £35(x4) A Dixon Towers.
