Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of Cast Cattle, Store & Breeding Stock on Monday 7th March 2022. Forward were 384 Cattle and 630 Sheep.
71 Cast Cows & OTM sold to 234ppk or £1791
7 Stock Bulls sold to 204ppk or £2399
11 Stirks sold to £320
7 Cows/Heifers & Calves sold to £1800
68 Young Bulls sold to £1405
86 Store Steers sold to £1500
127 Store Heifers sold to £1460
623 Store Hoggs sold to £129
7 Feeding Ewes sold to £148
Cast Cattle – Unbelievable scenes once again as the cast beef trade continues its upward trajectory, some 26 cattle sold beyond £1200, some of these sold way, way beyond and an incredible 11 cattle sold for at least 200 pence per kilo. Apologies for the number crunching which follows however the immensity of this trade is hard to project on paper, all breeds and creeds are represented here week in week out from near and far; the enormity of our trade of late seems perhaps too challenging for some to comprehend therefore this week it is broken down below.
This week’s sale average of 169ppk and £1112 included 17 Friesian’s plus 23 native breeds, the continental females average a staggering 178ppk and £1187, native breed cows average 167ppk and £1051 with the milk maids a pleasing 138ppk and £872. Top of everyone’s shopping list this week were a pair of stunning young (40 & 46 months) British Blonde cows from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm, Easington which set the ring alight; weighing 720kg and 779kg the terrific two sold for 234ppk £1684 and 230ppk £1791 respectively. Top of the natives were the Aberdeen Angus breed as they peaked at 228ppk for an OTM from A B P Wilsons, Langleydale and £1399 for a 4-year-old shown by A Stevenson, Coxhoe. A fabulous 5-year-old Friesian from R & W Todd, Toft Hill led the way when she amassed a gross value of £1341 whilst the top milker per kilo came from A & J E Smith, Riding Hill with a tremendous 3-year-old selling for a whopping 198 pence per kilo. Finally, to the bulls and some almost unimaginable returns, a nice 9-year-old Limousin from Lockerbie based D Holmes would ordinarily top a sale when selling for 204ppk and £1878 however an absolutely superb 10-year-old Charolais from W A Wardman, Thrushwood Farm, Yearby weighing 1263kg sold for a blistering 190ppk and £2399.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading PPK – 234 230 P Weightman & Sons. 228 180 ABP Wilsons. 212 208 A R George. 212 186 178 P M & F M Hill. 210 K B & S Roche. 210 K Thompson. 210 J Henry. 210 Copeland Farms. 198 194 J R & M Richardson. 198 A & E J Smith. 188 A & A G Moralee. 188 J V Hodgson & Son. 186 D Holmes. 184 178 R Simpson & Sons. 182 J B Luck. 180 W R Barron. 180(x2) A Stevenson. 180 R N Foord & Son.
Stock Bulls Leading PPK – 204 198 146 D Holmes. 198 R & W Todd. 190 W A Wardman Ltd. 140 A & J E Smith. 140 R & S Bradley.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading Gross – £1791 £1684 P Weightman & Sons. £1631 £1524 £1354 J R & M Richardson. £1558 P M & F M Hill. £1526 Copeland Farms. £1405 R N Foord & Son. £1405 £1294 R Simpson & Sons. £1399 £1268 £1233 £1213 A Stevenson. £1341 R & W Todd. £1304 J B Luck. £1304 A R George. £1267 £1192 ABP Wilsons. £1244 J V Hodgson & Son. £1236 J Curry. £1218 £1193 A & A G Moralee. £1212 J Brown. £1190 B Watson. £1187 J D & G Hugill.
Stock Bulls Leading Gross – £2399 W A Wardman Ltd. £1878 £1772 £1058 D Holmes. £1239 R & W Todd.
Store & Breeding Cattle – Prices of commodities are soaring worldwide, the breeding and feeding cattle are thus far joining the party as another superb trade for all shapes and sizes occurred today. A nice run of Limousin X Friesian heifers with young Limousin sired calves at foot from J Brown & Sons, Monk Hesledon began the day and sold to a top of £1800 with others in close contention at £1750 and £1680. The prime bulls on a Thursday continue to sell better in Darlington than anywhere of late, the store trade then can only follow suit and it duly obliged today; more success on the day for Yearby’s W A Wardman Ltd as their cracking run peaked at £1405 for a shapely 12 month old Limousin, this good home shared the leading eight spots with a run of smart yearlings from D Dixon, Middleheads Farm, Rowley. The clean cattle vendors are now increasingly used to the better end having a realistic chance of achieving 300 pence per kilo when finished, little wonder then that despite the rising production costs the super stores continue to sell for some incredible returns. Top of the tree this week it was pleasing to see as a product of a previous DFAM store sale returning to lead the way, hats off to I W Cairns, Pesspool Hall, Haswell who turned out a strong 23-month-old Limousin steer which sold for £1500. Top of the heifers this week was long standing customer J G Wilkinson & Son, West Side Farm, Staindrop who produced a beautiful 24-month-old Charolais to sell for £1460. Of the yearling’s offered this week the shining lights came from J C Thwaite & Son, Cragg Hill Farm, Lartington with Aberdeen Angus selling steers to £1180 and heifers to £1155.
Cows / Heifers & Calves – £1800 £1750 £1680 £1500(x2) £1150 £1080 J Brown & Sons.
Young Bulls – £1405 £1400 £1395 £1380 £1295(x2) £1280 £1175(x2) £1080 W A Wardman Ltd. £1400 £1395 £1300 £1290 D Dixon. £1295 Copeland Farms. £1165(x2) £1100 £970 £960 J A & U M Fawcett. £1095(x2) £1050(x3) E Parsons. £990 W Emerson.
Store Steers – £1500 £1425 £1420 I W Cairns. £1385 £1195 L W Martin. £1375 D G & P D Ayre. £1335 £1160 N Basey & Son. £1275(x2) £1070(x4) J D & G Hugill. £1210(x4) G W & M Singleton & Sons. £1180 £1095 R N Foord & Son. £1180 £1065 J C Thwaite & Son. £1160(x2) G A Scott. £1100 I Newton & Son. £1095 BJS Farms. £1090(x3) J W Richardson. £1075 W Emerson. £1070(x2) D H & M Hodgson. £1065 J Walshaw & Son. £1065 R Potts. £1060 G Beadle.
Store Heifers – £1460 £1385 £1180 £1090(x2) J G Wilkinson & Son. £1400(x2) J D & M S Mortimer. £1370 £1230 R N Foord & Son. £1300 £1240 D G & P D Ayre. £1260 I W Cairns. £1220(x4) £1090(x2) ABP Wilsons. £1170 £1150 £1100 £1095 A & A G Moralee. £1170 D & H M Hodgson. £1155 J C Thwaite & Son. £1155(x2) G W & M Singleton & Sons. £1125 L W Martin. £1125(x3) £1095(x2) £1085 V Barker & Sons. £1080 G Beadle.
Store Sheep – The store hoggs keep coming as the fast trade draws them out, another mixed show with the good, the bad and the ugly all proportionately represented as can be expected in mid-March. Over 100 hoggs sold over £100 as those with either size, good health or good quality on their side are still certainly seeing high rewards. Top of the pile by quite a margin were a quartet of tremendous Texel tup hoggs from K O Stones, Nun Cote Nook, Marrick when they sold for £129; a dozen delightful Texel’s from C Dawson, Nunstainton followed at £113 apiece with a strong pen of 27 North Country Cheviot’s from the aforementioned Marrick based firm also selling for £113.
Store Hoggs – £129 £113 K O Stones. £113 £109 £91 C Dawson. £111 K & P J Garthwaite. £110 £109 £106 £101 £97 D F & M Littlefair. £103 C H & M C Phalp. £103 S Love. £100 W H & K L Wilson. £100 £97 D E Stones. £99 A Fox. £98 C E Smith. £96 C Orton. £93 Tom Bell. £93 W R Wilson & Partners. £91 £90 W L Robinson & Partners. £91 M J Hutchinson. £90(x2) Ivanhoe Livestock. £90 G H Lister.
Feeding Ewes – £148 £112 M J Hutchinson. £85 C E Smith. £61 G H Lister.
