Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 16th October 2025. Forward were 213 cattle and 1873 sheep.
100 Prime Bulls sold to 427ppk or £3521
13 Prime Steers sold to 454ppk or £2997
100 Prime Heifers sold to 488ppk or £3309
1708 Prime Lambs sold to 368ppk or £176
165 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £271
Prime Bulls (100) – The bull trade looks sharper, little difference on paper as they averaged 369ppk and £2595 but a distinct shortage of the best quality was presented before the buyers this week. With a noticeable premium available for the best sorts the top eighteen all sold over 400 pence per kilo, seven of these sold in the teens and the top three raced in to the twenties. Pick of the bunch at 427ppk was an excellent 703kg British Blue from Rochester & Murray, Glebe Farm; following at 423ppk and 420ppk were lovely Limousin’s from the Hird’s of Meadow View and the Luck’s of Milestone House. A super sixteen sold over £3000, best of all was a bruiser from SH Watson & Son, Low Fields Farm when their 863kg Charolais added up to £3521. Native breeds were numerous and sold to tops of 358ppk and £2470 for a Hereford from R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall whilst CH & SE Armstrong, Middle Moor sold Aberdeen Angus bulls to 354ppk and £2418. Finally, the Friesian’s, and more success for the hot Hall’s of Kilton Hall as they led the way at 334ppk and £2237 in the lump. Some of the leading pen averages are listed below.
Rochester & Murray sold 2 averaged 423ppk and £2875
JB Luck & Son sold 3 averaged £414ppk and £3247
GK, KM & GJ Hird sold 3 averaged 410ppk and £2886
J Layfield sold 4 averaged £405ppk and £3219
LR Welsh & Co sold 4 averaged 400ppk and £2968
SH Watson & Son sold 2 averaged 399ppk and £3375
JJ Horn sold 2 averaged 398ppk and £3112
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 427 419 Rochester & Murray. 423 406 404 GK KN & GJ Hird. 420 413 412 JB Luck & Son. 417 413 396 378 LR Welsh & Co. 413×2 400 394 J Layfield. 408 391 SH Watson & Son. 408 394 390 TW Clark & Son. 405 393 JJ Horn. 405 JE Jordon. 400 LS Staley. 398 JK&CE Farming. 394 J Norman. 392 WC Stones. 390 387 MTP&SD Wills. 388 CN Whitaker. 381 380 375 374 370 WA Wardman Ltd. 378 GW Dobson & Son.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £3521 £3229 SH Watson & Son. £3353 £3276 £3114 JB Luck & Son. £3328 £3287 £3272 £2990 J Layfield. £3199 £3025 JJ Horn. £3168 £2993 LS Staley. £3167 J Norman. £3130 £2936 £2920 £2898 £2880 WA Wardman Ltd. £3069 £3031 £2985 LR Welsh & Co. £3001 Rochester & Murray. £2982 TW Clark & Son. £2983 GW Dobson & Son. £2965 JK&CE Farming. £2956 JE Jordon & Son. £2951 £2933 GK KN & GJ Hird.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 358 R Hall & Son. 354 350 348 343 CH&SE Armstrong. 334 332 GS Dowson.
Lead Grossing native Bulls £2470 R Hall & Son. £2418 £2315 £2300 £2198 CH&SE Armstrong. £1730 £1726 GS Dowson.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 334 R Hall & Son. 314 306 N White. 304 JK&CE Farming. 292 D Walker. 291 GW Dobson & Son.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £2237 R Hall & Son. £2150 GE Dobson & Son. £2003 JK&CE Farming. £1975 £1878 N White. £1714 D Walker.
Clean Cattle (113) – The clean beef continues in fine fettle, some would argue they are five to ten pence dearer on what appeared a sharp shot last week to see the heifers average 429ppk and £2586 and a smaller show of steers level up at a stunning 423ppk and £2557. A fantastic five heifers reached 480ppk or more, one from Five Houses and two apiece for R Hirst, Neasham Grange and W Miller, High Aketon Farm; top of them all at 488ppk was a stunning 533kg Limousin from High Aketon when she sold to H Taylor & Sons Butchers, Darlington. Thirteen heifers followed between 470ppk and 479ppk as the vendors of butchers shop destined heifers enjoyed a tremendous day at the office. For what the show of steers lacked in numbers it made up for in quality, the top half a dozen contained four from Five Houses and two from the Taylor Bros, Richmond and all six sold between 436ppk and 454ppk; pick of the pack was a superb 603kg Limousin from Five Houses. Heifers ruled the gross values today, none more so than a sensational 766kg Limousin from Gerard Quinn of JE Suddes & Son, Rowley Farm which rang the bell when selling at £3309. Queuing patiently behind the mighty Quinn were a brilliant British Blue from Five Houses at £3128 and a thick fleshed pair of Limousin’s from AC Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm at £3079 and £3035. Some of the days most eye-catching averages are listed below.
JV & JA Hodgson sold 12 heifers averaged 459ppk and £2747
R Hirst sold 13 heifers averaged 455ppk and £2569
Five Houses sold 11 heifers averaged 450ppk and £2750
PJ & MP Gilhespy sold 6 heifers averaged 447ppk and £2681
Five Houses sold 4 steers averaged 446ppk and £2784
AC Simpson & Son sold 3 heifers averaged 443ppk and £2996
Steers – Top prices ppk 454 448 447 436 Five Houses. 444 439 406 Taylor Bros. 428 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 410 371 LW Martin. 408 402 A Swinbank & Son. 406 RO Gilson.
Lead Grossing Steers £2997 £2737 £2716 £2686 Five Houses. £2971 RO Gilson. £2713 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £2647 £2610 £2366 Taylor Bros. £2371 £2276 A Swinbank & Son. £2188 £1963 LW Martin.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 488 480 460×3 448 443 W Miller. 486 478 474 460 450 449 440 Five Houses. 486 485 477×2 468 464 459 456 449 433 R Hirst. 479×2 477 476 470×2 460 454 448 JV&JA Hodgson. 475 470 446 N White. 467 440 AC Simpson & Son. 465 462 456 436 434 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 448 JC Thwaite & Son. 444 431 RO Gilson. 439 432 JE Suddes & Son.
Lead Grossing Heifers £3309 £2910 JE Suddes & Son. £3128 £2986 £2934 £2900 £2828 £2705 Five Houses. £3079 £3035 £2873 AC Simpson & Son. £2986 £2928 £2876 £2806 £2756 £2730 £2722 JV&JA Hodgson. £2930 N White. £2827 £2808 £2695 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £2784 £2745 £2737 £2711 £2677 R Hirst. £2759 JC Thwaite & Son. £2749 £2667 P Langstaff.
Prime Lambs (1708) – Lambs a smidgen dearer on the week to average a weighed straight 305ppk and £141.17 per head with an SQQ average of 313ppk. Topping the prices per kilo at 368 pence were a pen of thirty-four 45kg clipped Texel lambs from R Atkinson, High Greenbury Farm when they sold for £166. Close behind at 366ppk were a pair of 42kg Texel’s from PJ Tindale followed by a further sixteen at 44kg from R Atkinson at 361ppk. Two vendors topped the gross value list at £176 as four fantastic 51kg Texel lambs from J Layfield, Nackshivan Farm joined eleven superb 57kg Suffolk’s from AS & AJ Horner, The House Farm. The cracking run of sheep from the Layfield’s followed at £174 and £172 helping thirty-nine from this home to average 51kg and £162.79. Once again, the trade stands firm against that of last year as we sit today almost £12 per head better off.
Lambs – Top prices ppk 368 361 333×2 R Atkinson. 366 350 PJ Tindale. 353 JC Thwaite & Son. 351 334 325 HT Davies & Son. 348 S&S Davies. 348 325 Reay & Walton. 347 321 CH&MC Phalp. 346 342 334 322 TW Dinning. 346 W.K M.M Lamb. 345 343 338 334 J Layfield. 340 W Tindale. 336 325 Corner Bros. 335×2 326 LD Laws. 334 327×3 326 AWSM Farms. 333×2 JD Brannen. 331×2 ABP Wilsons. 328 A Tindale. 326 GP&A Carter. 325 JB&LM Knight.
Lead Grossing Lambs £176 £174 £172 £169×2 £166 £165×2 £160 £157×2 J Layfield. £176 AS&AJ Horner. £170 W Weightman. £166 £160 £159 R Atkinson. £166 £158 £154 Corner bros. £166 A Tindale. £165 S Richardson. £164 WR Thompson. £164 £162 £157 T Lawson & Son. £164 £154 ABP Wilsons. £163 £161×2 £154 TW Dinning. £161 JS Davison. £160 LD Laws. £160 LD Laws. £159 JC Thwaite & Son. £159 W.K M.M Lamb. £158 G Thompson & Sons.
Cast Ewes/Rams (165) – Ewes a flyer as numbers on a Thursday remain tight as our super store ring continues to break records and gobble up numbers each and every Monday. The sale today though would be as good as it gets on either day and averaged a marvellous £117.81. Top today at £271 were a smart pair of Beltex ewes from the Davies sisters of Houghton Grange. Tups traded as high as £230 for a British Rouge from AW Sanderson, East Holling Carr whilst Suffolks sold to £179 and Mules topped at £140. Heroics in the horned ewes as thirty-two tremendous Blackface hit the dizzy heights of £113.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £271 S&S Davies. £230 £212 £206 £198 £162 £142 AW Sanderson. £186×2 £162 Swalebank Farms. £179 £168 £154 WL Robinson & Partners. £174 O Dennis. £165 A&EJ Dobinson. £164 £110 RW Shann & Sons. £160 £128 BR&RI Routledge. £160 £150 CH&MC Phalp. £148 JC Thwaite & Son. £146×2 JM&S Walton. £144 J Milbank & Sons. £141 £113 JH Johnson. £140 £126 R Wood & Son. £128 BR&RI Routledge. £115 WR Thompson.
