Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 22nd May 2025. Forward were 155 cattle and 1091 sheep.
61 Prime Bulls sold to 422ppk or £3481
19 Prime Steers sold to 430ppk or £2940
75 Prime Heifers sold to 474ppk or £2854
320 New Season Lambs sold to 406ppk or £190
571 Prime Hoggs sold to 368ppk or £170
200 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £265
Prime Bulls (61) – Bulls down tuppence on the week on average however up over £100 per head as more weight forward saw them level today at 364ppk and £2605. It has already proved to be a fine week in Darlington for the Limousin bulls of Josh Knaggs, East Newbiggin Farm and it continued in the same fashion today when he topped per kilo at 422 pence. Ten other bulls sold over 400 pence including another from East Newbiggin at 420ppk and a smart trio from J Layfield, Nackshivan Farm between 412ppk and 416ppk. Top of the gross values this week were a great pair of Limousin bulls from W J & A S Bowes & Sons, Stainton Hill House which tipped the weigh scale to 866kg and 849kg and sold for £3481 and £3429. An increased number of native breed bulls peaked at £2864 for a Hereford from J & J Logan, Romavale, Hawick whilst the top native per kilo was the pick of a run of Aberdeen Angus from J Goodfellow, Longwitton at 376 pence. Finally, to the Friesians, a well finished offering sold to tops of £2339 from M A & P D Foster, Smithy House Farm and 360 pence per kilo from G S Dowson, Barmby Farm. Some leading averages are listed below.
WJ & AS Bowes & Sons sold 2 average £3455 (403ppk)
RW & R Henry sold 3 average £3224 (349ppk)
J Layfield sold 6 average £3068 (402ppk)
Messrs Knaggs sold 3 average £2919 (415ppk)
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 422 Josh Knaggs. 420 406 W&M Knaggs & Son. 416 414 412 396 394 388 J Layfield. 408 390 JK&CE Farming. 404 382 360 WA Wardman Ltd. 404 402 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 388 372 350 TF Bothroyd. 380 374 R Hall & Son. 376 J Goodfellow. 376 SH Watson & Son. 370 RW&R Henry. 370 SH Watson & Son. 366 JR Knox & Son. 350 J Peacock. 350 JM&S Walton.
Lead Grossing Bulls £3481 £3429 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £3321 £3190 £3159 RW&R Henry. £3187 £2984 W&M Knaggs & Son. £3180 £2911 SH Watson & Son. £3151 £3132 £3100 £3088 £2984 £2953 J Layfield. £2970 £2765 JK&CE Farming. £2795 £2666 £2522 WA Wardman Ltd. £2678 TF Bothroyd & Son. £2597 £2547 JR Knox & Son. £2586 Josh Knaggs. £2549 R Hall & Son. £2515 J Murray.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 360 GS Dowson. 344 340 330 R Hall & Son. 342 308 298 MA&PD Foster.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £2339 £2303 £1939 MA&PD Foster. £2329 £2266 £2138 R Hall & Son. £2275 GS Dowson.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 400 378 370 368 358 354 352×2 350×3 J Goodfellow. 348 330 J&J Logan. 342 GS Dowson. 300 R Hall & Son.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2864 £2679 J&J Logan. £2618 £2541 £2513 £2428 £2394 £2390 £2384 £2351 £2305 £2300 J Goodfellow. £2352 R Hall & Son. £1993 GS Dowson.
Clean Cattle (94) – The clean beef trade remains solid to see the steers average 394ppk and the heifers 422ppk. If anything, the best end butchers spec cattle just had the edge off them this week however the more commercial R grade types would be a shade dearer. The Hirst’s were hot this week as the regular selling firm from Neasham Grange gained our top three prices per kilo, the pick of the bunch was an excellent 559kg Limousin which sold to H Taylor & Sons Butchers, Darlington at 474ppk. Over one third of the clean offered today sold at 430ppk or more including our top steer per kilo, a smart 612kg Limousin from T M & A Bellas & Son, Timpton Hill Farm when he reached 430 pence. The highlights in the gross value contest belonged to the exceptional feeding of I Marshall & Sons, Hope House Farm as their run of eight Limousin steers topped at £2940, sold twice more over £2900 and averaged a pleasing £2834. A successful stint in the bulls continued on to the clean for W J & A S Bowes & Sons as they produced the top two gross valued heifers at £2823 and £2854, seven further heifers sold in the £2700’s with fourteen more in the £2600’s.
Today’s Top Averages:
I Marshall & Sons, Bishop Middleham, sold 8 (731kg) average 387ppk or £2834
WJ&AS Bowes & Sons, Great Stainton, sold 4 (666kg) average 417ppk or £2781
W Swinbank & Sons, Caldwell, sold 5 (622kg) average 433ppk or £2700
TW Clark & Son, Durham, sold 3 (611kg) average 434ppk or £2654
AJ Marr & Son, Old Ravensworth, sold 4 (596kg) average 436ppk or £2604
WJ Scott LTD, Northumberland, sold 6 (639kg) average 406ppk or £2602
Steers- Top Prices PPK 430 416 TM&A Bellas & Son. 418 G&EM Nixon. 412 386 Askwiths. 412 AJ Marr & Son. 412 400 398 390 388 378 376 358 I Marshall & Sons. 408 Taylor Bros LTD. 394 x2 392 WJ Scott LTD. 360 JB Bell & Son.
Lead Grossing Steers £2940 £2933 £2924 £2879 £2840 £2784 £2710 £2659 I Marshall & Sons. £2785 £2781 £2540 WJ Scott Ltd. £2687 £2631 TM&A Bellas & Son. £2631 £2597 Askwiths. £2484 AJ Marr & Son. £2221 JB Bell & Son.
Heifers- Top Prices PPK 474 470 464 456 454 450 448 444 440 432 430 426 R Hirst. 460 426 420 TW Clark & Son. 460 456 448 446 x2 442 440 434 422 JV&JA Hodgson. 458 440 436 AJ Marr & Son. 450 444 432 422 x2 W Swinbank & Sons. 438 WJ Scott LTD. 436 430 428 GH Farms LTD. 434 432 Askwiths. 434 428 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 426 JG Haswell. 424 Taylor Bros LTD. 424 420 JE Suddes & Son. 420 C Moffett.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2584 £2823 £2760 £2686 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £2797 £2598 £2566 TW Clark & Son. £2793 £2662 AJ Marr & Son. £2782 £2680 £2649 £2622 JV&JA Hodgson. £2768 £2730 £2727 £2696 £2579 W Swinbank & Sons. £2649 £2644 £2635 £2626 £2610×2 R Hirst. £2612 £2597 WJ Scott Ltd. £2575 JE Suddes & Son. £2562 £2541 F&JS Gargett.
New Season Lambs (320) – The best end butchers shop sorts continue to make progress as more and more outlets make the switch, the top 110 lambs today all sold between £170 and £190. A first draw of the season for J C Simpson, Hill Top East, Caldwell grabbed the limelight with half a dozen 45kg lambs reaching 406 pence and selling to B & T Kitson Butchers and also the top price per head with another half dozen at 47kg selling to Roots Farm Shop. Further pens from Hill Top East sold between £183 and £187 whilst pressing the Caldwell cavalier all the way was the super weekly run from W & M Knaggs, East Newbiggin Farm, Sadberge with a fine consignment topping twice at 397ppk and a best price per head of £180. Grass fed lambs from low input systems were forward in larger numbers this week as were the first real droves bred from Mule ewes; all types look a nice trade in comparison to the slip sliding hoggs of late to leave a weighed straight all in sale average of £151.23 and 340ppk.
A Few of today’s top averages:
JC Simpson, Hill Top East sold 44 Lambs (45.5kg) average 396.21ppk & £180.45
W&M Knaggs & Son, East Newbiggin sold 64 Lambs (45.8kg) average 383.29 & £175.66
Anna Herbert, West Shaws sold 9 Lambs (49.2kg) average 333ppk & £164.22
Lambs- Top prices ppk 406 404 400 395 389 382 376 JC Simpson. 397×2 388 386 380 370 360 326 W&M Knaggs & Son. 366 365 360 355 350 335 314 JA&A Herbert. 351 317 316 PJ Tindale. 348 330 326 K&RE Robson. 347 340 338 307 Anna Herbert. 347 330 323 319 314 M&J Smith. 342 322 D Goodram. 334 311 302 RA Patterson & Son. 333 330 K&PM Lough. 319 304 R&BK Wise. 303 300×2 JW&DW Laing.
Lead Grossing Lambs £190 £188 £187 £183 £176×2 £174 JC Simpson. £180 £179 £178 £175×3 £174 £170 W&M Knaggs & Son. £167 £166×2 £160 Anna Herbert. £165 £150 £144 £142 £140 £134 JA&A Herbert. £162 £160 £158×2 PJ Tindale. £160×2 £151 £150 £149 £140 M&J Smith. £150×2 £142 K&RE Robson. £144 £137 £133 RA Patterson & Son. £142 £140 K&PM Lough. £137 £135 JW&DW Laing. £132 D Goodrum.
Prime Hoggs (571) – The hiccupping hogg trade stumbles along at similar levels, a host of sweepings up mixed with a few nice runs left this week’s sale average at £131.15 which was 264ppk with an SQQ of 278ppk. Another week at the top of the leader board for the clipped hoggs of R Atkinson, High Greenbury Farm who found a best per kilo of 368 pence with six 44kg Beltex and a top per head of £170 with twenty-four thumping 62kg Texels. This week the High Greenbury average (110 hoggs) returned at 290ppk and £159.04. Elsewhere the horned hoggs carrying flesh still sold in to three figures whilst the seldom seen Teeswater’s topped at £154 and the even less likely Valais Blacknose reached a high of £140.
Hoggs – Top prices ppk 368 323 282 275 274 271 R Atkinson. 333 320 307 302 300 PJ Tindale. 326 311 279 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 318 TN Callender. 309 307 288 273 TW Clark & Son. 307 290 285 276 272 270 TA Greensit & Sons. 302 295 259 S Bolton. 295 GF Whitfield. 290 GE Raw. 278 TM&A Bellas & Son. 274 GP&A Carter. 261 D&B Harding. 260 A&CA Stanwix. 258 K&M Elders & Son.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £170 £168 £165 £162 £152 £144 R Atkinson. £165 £154 £147 £134 GC&JC Pullan. £154 £134 G Te-Lintelo. £144 £141 £140 £133 PJ Tindale. £140 TN Callender. £140 A&CA Stanwix. £140 JM&S Walton. £140 £137×2 JK&CE Farming. £138 £136 £134 £130 TA Greensit & Sons. £134×2 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £134 3130 RE&L Frank. £134 £130 GF Whitfield. £130×2 TW Clark & Son.
Cast Ewes/Rams (200) – The ewe trade remains very good and with Qurbani fast approaching there is little sign of a drop off, the best end in particular remain in high demand which created a sale average of £143.88 on the day. Pick of the pack were a quality quartet of Texel ewes from the on-song Knaggs family of East Newbiggin Farm at £265. Next in line was our top Suffolk, an excellent sort from Anna Herbert, West Shaws at £252. Top of the tups at an impressive £220 were five Teeswaters from G Te-Lintelo, Wolsingham whilst Zwartbles sold to £201, Mules to £186, Rouge to £180 and horned ewes to £100.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £265 £233 £216 £170 CA Knaggs. £252 £189 Anna Herbert. £243 £215 £190 £180 £170 £165 W&M Knaggs & Son. £235 £150 TM&A Bellas & Son. £229 £215 JC Simpson. £220 G Te-Lintelo. £220 £178 £150 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £216 £160 S Bell. £214 £200 £186 £174×2 TN Callender. £206 £180 JD Seymour. £201 JC&A Metcalf. £190 RA Patterson & Son. £188 £170×2 M&J Smith. £170 G Bolton. £168 RH Wilson & Son. £168 WR Wilson & Partners.
