Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their opening sale of store lambs alongside their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock on Monday 21st July 2025. Forward were 323 cattle and 1339 sheep.
63 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 380ppk or £2778
6 Stock Bulls sold to 278ppk or £2822
3 Stirks sold to £690
18 Breeding Cattle sold to £2260
9 Young Bulls sold to £1910
119 Store Steers sold to £2340
105 Store Heifers sold to £2440
1202 Store Lambs sold to £160
137 Feeding Ewes/Rams sold to £180
Cast Cattle – The cow trade rolls along nicely as the well fleshed remain in demand for the wholesale butcher trade and the green market status enables the feeding cows to flourish with a full compliment of buyers for all classes in attendance weekly. This week the sale included a plain bottom end and achieved an all in average of 255ppk and £1661 per head. Top of the sale per kilo at 380 pence was a wonderful 38-month-old Limousin heifer from T N Callender, Ox Eye Farm, following at 372ppk was a superb 6-year-old British Blue cow from B R Lawson, Buddle House Farm with the Callender’s leading the chasing dozen in the 300’s with another OTM at 360ppk. The brilliant Blue from Buddle House claimed the top gross value for a cow when she totalled £2778 with the Callender’s close by at £2728 and also K O Stones, Nun Cote Nook with a good cow at £2665. A remarkable 12-year-old Hereford cow from B Cave, Whitehall Farm led the native breed charge when she sold at 300ppk and £2553, her strongest challenge was a tidy Aberdeen Angus OTM from E A & N Thompson & Son, Bromley Green at 302ppk. The bull business was down to two Jersey’s, two Holstein’s, a Hereford and a Beef Shorthorn, the best would be the 1138kg Shorthorn from Jual Farms, Great Ayton at £2822 and the fleshy Hereford from John Archer, Walworth Gate at £2691.
Cast Cows- Top Prices PPK 380 360 TN Callender. 372 328 BR Lawson. 355 292 286 266 ER&GI Younger. 348 316 274 KO Stones. 328 262 P Leese. 322 300 B Watson. 310 K&MM Henderson. 304 276 274 270 254 E Scott & Sons. 302 EA&N Thompson & Son. 300 B Cave. 296 T&R Quinn & Son. 282 278 JJ Dowson & Son. 280 B&JD Beadle. 276 A Wilson. 270 JM Greensit & Son LTD. 1846 F Hare & Sons. 268 JP Murray. 260 P Prudom & Son LTD. 252 E Peacock.
Lead Grossing Cast Cows- £2822 Juaul Farms. £2778 £2542 BR Lawson. £2728 £2652 TN Callender. £2691 John Archer. £2665 £2016 £1893 KO Stones. £2553 B Cave. £2421 £2415 B Watson. £2270 £2179 £1758 JM Greensit & Son LTD. £2243 £1868 E Scott & Sons. £2154 £1747 ER&GI Younger. £2077 P Prudom & Son LTD. £2045 T&R Quinn & Son. £2043 £1716 P Leese. £2001 £1990 A Wilson. £1985 B&JD Beadle. £1928 £1859 JJ Dowson & Son. £1908 EA&N Thompson & Son. £1889 JP Murray. £1846 F Hare & Sons. £1793 J&A&DA Horn. £1675 E Peacock.
Stock Bulls- Top Prices PPK 278 G Bolton. 270 244 John Archer. 248 Juaul Farms.
Lead Grossing Stock Bulls- £2822 Juaul Farms. £2691 £1320 John Archer. £1573 G Bolton.
Store & Breeding Cattle – The excellent cattle trade continues as another marvellous day transpired in the store and breeding ring, arguably all classes dearer again, remarkable. Beginning with the breeders and a stunning 28-month-old Limousin bulling heifer from J & F Hartley & Sons, Low Shipley set the pace when she sold for £2260. A small offering of feeding bulls followed and sold to a top of £1910 for a nice duo of British Blue bulls from J J Kemp & Son, Elstob Hill. The clean store cattle went off with a bang as a plethora of buyers bid freely for all classes. It was lovely to see three generations of the Horn family from Bushy Park in attendance to enjoy what turned out to be a sale topping day with their excellent 15-month-old Limousin heifer selling for a brilliant £2440. Top of the steers this week was a stretchy 23-month-old Aberdeen Angus from R J Bradshaw, Hawthorne Farm at £2340, the same good home followed with another Angus at £2280 which matched the price of a lovely 15-month-old Limousin from G Beadle, Primrose Hill. Oodles of life in the trade again with the strong sorts consistently £1900 to £2200 and the yearlings £1600 plus time and time again. Numbers are needed weekly to satisfy an ever-growing demand.
Cows & Calves £1680 £1500 £1040 JB&LM Knight. £1600 £1520 C Bewley.
Bulling Heifers £2260 £2160 £2120 £1560 J&F Hartley & Sons.
Stirks £690 £650 P Prudom & Son Ltd. £630 C Bewley.
Store Bulls £1910×2 £1720 £1700×2 JJ Kemp & Son. £1820 £1520 AP Taylor.
Store Steers £2340 £2280 £2160×3 £2080 £2040 £1900 RJ Bradshaw. £2280 £2000 £1940 £1900 G Beadle. £2200 £2150 £2120×3 £2080 £2060×2 £2040×5 £2000 £1980 £1960 £1920 KM Norman. £2000 £1980 £1960×3 £1940×3 £1900 £1860×2 F Ward. £1980×2 PD Shepherd. £1960 £1940 A Wilson. £1960 £1850×2 A&D Heyes. £1920 £1900 £1860 GS Bainbridge. £1900 I Newton & Son.
Store Heifers £2440 £2100 £2040 £1920 £1800 JJ Horn. £2180 £2160×2 £2140 £2110 £2080 £1900 £1780 £1700 S&J Dent & Son. £1920 £1910 £1900 £1880 £1820 DR Smith. £1880 £1830 £1800×2 £1710×2 £1670×2 £1640 P Tindale. £1880 A Wilson. £1880 F Ward. £1870 G Beadle. £1860 £1810 GS Bainbridge. £1840×2 A Tindale. £1810 F Bainbridge.
Store Sheep – The 2025 crop have lift off, credit to the vendors who despite the driest Spring/Summer since 1976 produced a very bright and healthy-looking offering which sold to a packed ringside of buyers and onlookers to average £102.46. The average is almost identical on paper to last year however a show noticeably smaller in stature would in reality be up £10-£15 apiece, the barren landscape story of the area is perhaps told best by a staggering 313% increase in numbers forward at this opening sale. Top price of the day was £160 which was paid for nine excellent Texel lambs from G H Lister, Holebeck House Farm, following at £159 were three vendors as a delightful dozen Charollais sired lambs from P A Stacey, Fields Close Farm matched five beautiful little Beltex from T & C Smith, Thorsgill and a single Beltex from J Wigham, Stone Row. The best bred shapely continental sorts look a biblical trade and comfortably over 400 pence per kilo whilst the strong sorts traded throughout £120 to £140. Mule lambs topped at £97 whereas the long-term projects traded £90 to £110 with only the very, very small under £90. Feeding ewes are in demand with Blue Faced Leicester’s top from B & J Bainbridge, Cockfield Hall at £180, Texel’s to £178 from C Harle & Sons, Cheviot’s to £172 from S & D Ferrie, Mules to £155 from Kirkbride & Bell and a pen of lean, hard sucked horned ewes at £46 from M S Foord, Wild Slack. The store lamb and feeding ewe sales continue weekly now, the first sale of breeding ewes is next Monday 28th July.
Store Lambs
Texel – £160 £150 £128 £127 G H Lister. £139 S & D Ferrie. £137 J & C Barker. £136 Messrs Bell. £134 £111 S Pybourne. £133 £120 J Wigham. £130 £124 £119 W K Wilkinson & Sons. £128 £114 L F & H C Wood. £125 £120 I W Cairns. £120.50 T & C Smith. £119 J S Wiper. £114 £111 A Spence. £114 £112 W H Brown. £110 J E & A J Mitchell.
Beltex – £159 T & C Smith. £158 J Wigham.
Continental – £159 £125 P Stacey. £135 £108 S & D Ferrie. £130 Mollie Raine. £110 £108 Messrs Bell. £108(x2) A Wilson. £106 T & C Smith. £103 Allison Devereux Farms. £102 Rebecca Appleton.
Cheviot – £156 £100 £87 S & D Ferrie. £91 W H Brown. £87 Rebecca Appleton.
Suffolk – £125 £122 £104 A C Spalding. £123 D Alderson. £116 T & C Smith. £105 W H Brown.
Mule – £97 Mollie Raine. £80 G S Dixon.
Feeding Ewes – £180 £162 B & J Bainbridge. £178 £148 C Harle & Sons. £172 £128 £122 £110 S & D Ferrie. £155 £145 Kirkbride & Bell. £124 J W & G P Furness. £113 M S Foord. £108 B Stevenson.
