Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held a special sale of rearing calves in conjunction with their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock on Monday 26th February 2023. Forward were 415 cattle and 657 sheep.
103 Rearing Calves sold to £610
90 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 284ppk or £2276
7 Stock Bulls sold to 228ppk or £2255
2 Stirks sold to £400
6 Breeding Cattle sold to £1440
77 Young Bulls sold to £1940
62 Store Steers sold to £1940
68 Store Heifers sold to £2000
12 In Lamb Ewes sold to £175
588 Store Hoggs sold to £171
67 Feeding Ewes sold to £141
Calves – A large crowd assembled for the first calf sale in Darlington for many years, with such a packed ringside trade couldn’t really help but be brisk and the sale duly achieved 100% clearance and a healthy average of £364.81. The top two calves of the day were excellent 12-week-old British Blue heifers from Deerness Valley Dairy, Tow Law which sold for £610 and £600; behind these some superb 8-week-old British Blue’s from Messrs Wilkinson, Carrsides Farm impressed reaching £565 for bulls and £500 for heifers. Top of the black and whites at £480 was a superb bull calf from Messrs Shuttleworth of Dumfries and Galloway. All classes were in high demand as twenty active buyers were pushed along by a host of unsuccessful bidders meaning that many more could have sold to vendor’s advantage. The next sale of calves will take place on Monday 25th March 2024.
Calves Leading Prices –
Heifers:
British Blues- £610 £600 Deerness Valley Dairy. £500 £480 £470 £460 £435 £400 Wilkinson & Son. £390 £290 Baysleap Dairy.
Shorthorn- £450 SM Temple.
Salers – £460 £430 £410 £400 £390 £380×2 £340 £310 £300 WD Richardson.
Hereford- £390 £360 £350×2 £280 £260 DA Shuttleworth.
Aberdeen Angus- £370×2 £360×2 ME Robinson & Sons. £310 DA Shuttleworth. £220 Low Three Mark.
Bulls:
British Blues- £570 £520 £510 Deerness Valley Dairy. £565 £500 £490 £480 £470 £460 £440 Wilkinson & Son. £430 DA Shuttleworth.
Salers- £470 £460 £455 £430 £400 £390 £310 £300 WD Richardson.
Holstein Friesian- £480 £270 DA Shuttleworth. £445 £400 £375 £340 £220 Deerness Valley Dairy.
Montbeliarde- £460 x2 £380 x2 £360 x2 £320 DA Shuttleworth.
Hereford- £380 £375 x2 £355 x3 £315 £310 x2 £220 DA Shuttleworth.
Aberdeen Angus- £375 £370 x3 £310 x3 £205 x2 £195 x3 Low Three Mark. £350 £345 £240 £215 £200×2 JT Forster & Son.
Steers:
Shorthorn- £310 Baysleap Dairy.
Blues- £410 Baysleap Dairy.
Normandy- £340 £300 £290 Baysleap Dairy.
Cast Cattle – The colossal cow trade continues as this week’s gathering averaged 183ppk and £1174 per head. Top per kilo at 284 pence was an excellent Limousin OTM heifer from J L & J A Sunter, Downholme. Top gross value was also an OTM heifer, a special sort from W I Suddes & Son, Cornsay Limousin’s reached a whopping £2276. Older cows peaked at 240ppk for another super Cornsay Limousin or £1850 for a hefty 12-year-old British Blue from D & J Hunnam & Son, Burnt Houses. Tow Law based Deerness Valley Dairy continued their impressive day with the top Friesian OTM heifer reaching 218ppk and £1212, Friesian steers sold to 232ppk and £1241 from G Bolton, Pea Flatts with older Friesian cows selling to highs of 178ppk from A R & C Booth, Village Farm and £1405 from J & G Clark, Fleetshott Farm. The stock bull trade stays strong, top of the day per kilo went to a young Friesian from R W Raper & Sons, High Mulberry Farm at 228 pence with the top gross by some margin a superb Limousin from A & A G Moralee, Lowfield Farm at a marvellous £2255.
Cast Cows – Top prices ppk 284 204 JL&JA Sunter. 278 JRP Vickers & Sons. 272 208 206 TW Clark & Son. 266 240 222 WI Suddes & Son. 248 232 JP&R Ward. 228 Northfield Farms. 222 196 A Crowder. 218 Deerness Valley Dairy. 216 188 JR Addison & Son. 214 E Scott & Sons. 212 G Beadle. 208 194 182 DW Humphrey. 206 WJ Smith & Partners. 200 D&J Hunnam & Son. 200 R&W Todd. 194 178 WA Richardson Ltd. 190 D&B Harding. 188 Juaul Farms. 188 G Beadle. 186 J Norman.
Lead Grossing Cast Cows £2276 £1761 £1716 WI Suddes & Son. £1850 D&J Hunnam & Son. £1784 £1332 A Crowder. £1754 JRP Vickers & Sons. £1709 JL&JA Sunter. £1659 £1541 £1419 TW Clark & Son. £1626 £1436 JR Addison & Son. £1620 £1517 DW Humphrey. £1568 Northfield Farms. £1437 £1367 WA Richardson Ltd. £1435 J Norman. £1406 £1385 JP&R Ward. £1405 J&G Clark. £1370 AR&C Booth. £1349 J Richmond. £1307 RA&SL Wearmouth. £1300 Little Newsham Farms.
Cast Bulls – Top prices ppk 232 222 216 G Bolton. 228 RW Raper & Sons. 198 A&AG Moralee. 192 HG Lynas & Son. 176 RW Ridley. 150 JC Thwaite & Son.
Lead Grossing Cast Bulls £2255 A&AG Moralee. £1908 JC Thwaite & Son. £1513 RW Raper & Sons. £1356 RW Ridley. £1241 £978 £959 G Bolton.
Store Cattle – An absolutely exceptional run of bulls down from Stephen Allardyce, East Town, Tarland dominated the early part of the sale; fifty-eight bulls averaged a stunning £1490 from this good home. Top of them all at £1940 was a thumping Aberdeen Angus, Simmental’s sold to £1860, Charolais to £1655 twice and Beef Shorthorn’s topped at £1510 as the awesome Aberdeen run followed the Scot’s Calcutta cup win on Saturday and landed all the bragging rights in the bull section. Store cattle were once again flying, in particular the short keep beast are gaining themselves some remarkable returns. Top priced steer at £1940 went to the consistent Limousin crosses of D W Dresser, Hall Farm, Greatham just ahead of an excellent sort from A & A G Moralee, Lowfield Farm, Willington at £1880. The magical run from the Dresser’s reached £1990 with their top heifer and yet didn’t produce the day’s top female; a brilliant two-year-old Limousin from Northfield Farms, South Thornberry made it all the way to £2000.
Breeding Cattle – In Calf Cows £1440 JS Lynas.
Cows & Calves – £1000 SM Rigg.
Stirks – £400×2 Raby Home Farm.
Store Bulls £1940 £1860 £1690 £1655 £1630 £1625 £1600×3 £1580×2 £1575×3 £1560×3 £1540×3 £1535×2 £1530×2 £1510×4 S Allardyce. £1460 £1410 T Common & Son. £1370 £1345×4 JK Gregory. £1000×4 Wilkinson & Son. £975×2 FA&A Gilchrist. £970×2 WSI Anderson. £955 TT Hall & Son.
Store Steers £1940 DW Dresser. £1880 £1370 A&AG Moralee. £1600 £1440×2 £1380 D Walker. £1550 S Bolton. £1510×2 GW&L Marsay. £1475 £1420 GW&M Singleton & Sons. £1460 £1365×2 £1350 PT Stephenson & Son. £1400×2 GL&M Steel. £1380×4 £1365×3 Mill Pond Farm. £1345 £1330 £1280 T Coulthard & Son. £1295×2 W Emerson.
Store Heifers £2000 Northfield Farms. £1990 £1980 £1860 DW Dresser. £1520 £1470 £1380 £1295 JG Wilkinson & Son. £1500 GW&L Marsay. £1475 £1450 B Watson. £1440 G Beadle. £1435×9 ABP Wilsons. £1430×2 £1380×4 Wilkinson & Son. £1405 JP Phelan. £1400 £1350 GW&M Singleton & Sons.
Store Sheep – Fireworks in the sheep ring as a scintillating trade occurred, the store hoggs averaged a mind-blowing £119.88. Top of the day at a ridiculous £171 were a brilliant duo of Beltex hoggs from W Ramsay & Sons, Blakeley Hill Farm; plenty of other sheep sold £140 to £160 as the hogg happiness extended across allcomers. Mule hoggs averaged £117.80 whilst some Seventy-three Swaledale hoggs this week averaged a wonderful £96.88 and topped at £107.50 for twenty-seven good sorts from Northfield Farms, South Thornbrerry. Feeding ewe trade also brisk, a mixy show mattered little with all classes keenly bid for to top at £141 for the Texel’s of M Hogg, The Brae.
Store Hoggs – Beltex £171 £161×2 W Ramsay & Sons. £165 £152×2 £147 £141 £140 Northfield Farms. £136 DR Smith.
Texel – £161 £157 £129 W Ramsay & Sons. £160 £146 £140 J&F Hartley & Sons. £149 DE Stones. £141 £133 £125 CE Smith. £141 RA Patterson & Son. £140 RP Watson & Sons. £140 £132 £117×2 R Errington. £139.50 £137 £118 M Madrell. £135 £126 WH Brown. £132 DE Stones. £127 G Williamson. £120.50 DR Smith. £118 SC Brown. £118 RA Patterson & son.
Suffolk – £143 RA Patterson & Son. £139 DR Smith. £137 Northfield Farms. £113 D E Stones.
Continental – £136 £124 T Bell.
Cheviot – £125 WH Brown. £97 S Dodsworth.
Mule – £121 DR Smith. £120 WH Brown. £119 £114.50 Moss Kennels Farm. £113 R Errington & Son.
Swaledale – £107.50 £98 Northfield Farms. £91.50 D Alderson. £80 J D Teasdale.
In Lamb Ewes – Beltex £175 £150 £120 £95 SG Dent.
Continental – £160 £140 SG Dent.
Suffolk – £150 SG Dent.
Blue Face Leicester – £102 R Peart.
Feeding Ewes £141 £140 M Hogg. £140 £99 £79 R Peart. £115 £99 B&J Bainbridge. £111 Northfield Farms. £108 £100×2 £86 A Peart & Son. £80 Raby Home Farm. £79 HS Hutchinson. £70 L Fowler.
