Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 18th February 2026. Forward were 227 cattle and 1272 sheep.
21 Prime Bulls sold to 416ppk or £3605
34 Prime Steers sold to 460ppk or £3344
172 Prime Heifers sold to 489ppk or £3289
1235 Prime Hoggs sold to 465ppk or £214
37 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £174
Prime Bulls (21) – Very few forward, those in attendance enjoyed an excellent trade, the bull beef was in short supply and averages rose significantly to 385ppk and £2730 per head. Limousin bulls led the prices per kilo, best of all at 416 pence was a tidy 671kg sort from ER & GI Younger, High Trewhitt Farm; the next three in line were all good sorts from D Richardson & Co, Bracken House selling between 409ppk and 413ppk. Topping the gross values were two big British Blondes from JJ Horn, Bushy Park; weighing either side of 900kg the two thumping bulls sold at £3605 and £3538 with the Bracken House bulls again in hot pursuit. Two terrifically well finished Aberdeen Angus bulls from JR Knox & Son, Bracks Farm ensured that the indigenous breeds were well represented as one sold for 400ppk and £2948 and the other 390ppk and £3049.
Leading Averages
D Richardson & Co Ltd sold 3 averaged 411ppk and £3233
ER & GI Younger sold 3 averaged 400ppk and £2801
JR Knox & Son sold 3 averaged 393ppk and £2928
JJ Horn sold 2 averaged 391ppk and £3571
Leading PPK – 416 396 389 ER & GI Younger. 413 411 409 D Richardson & Co. 406 378 JJ Horn. 400 390(x2) JR Knox & Son. 389 387 380 Williamson.
Leading Gross – £3605 £3538 JJ Horn. £3432 £3251 £3016 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £3069 £2791 £2544 ER & GI Younger. £3049 £2948 £2788 JR Knox & Son.
Clean Cattle (206) – Numbers healthy again as another two-hundred plus entry descended on DfAM. Trade continues at remarkable levels and way out ahead of many other available options as both quality and quantity continue to come forward. Averages very pleasing, arguably a smidgen of resistance in the R and O+ types but the best beast and the heavy weights proved very, very good to sell. All this equated to the heifer average coming in at 420ppk and £2564 whilst the steers impressed at 412ppk and £2699. The leading twenty-three heifers sold over 470ppk, of these a delightful dozen made it in to the 480’s. Top of the day per kilo at 489 pence was a stunning 597kg Limousin from WO Grix & Partners, Hillhead Farm, two vendors followed just a single penny adrift as JV & JA Hodgson, The Grange and W Miller, High Aketon both knocked on the door. Top of the steers per kilo produced more heroics from Hillhead, a beautiful 660kg British Blue sold for 460ppk with his Limousin stablemate next best at 454ppk.
Gross values, (WARNING) look away now if you’ve sold good cattle to any of the big processors this week as you may find the following few sentences rather upsetting. Nineteen clean cattle today sold over £3000, the weight range of these is 615kg to 800kg with an average of 699kg and £3118 per head; the live ring is doing to the deadweight exactly what the Scotland team did to England at Murrayfield last week. The team from Low Leam of WJ Scott Ltd set the pace with a homebred superstar of a British Blue steer at 800kg and £3344, next on the list at £3289 was a cracking 712kg Limousin heifer from Five Houses. Others in the upper ranks included more hot heifers from Five Houses and steers from Low Leam plus a really good run of steers from first time vendors JD Forsyth & Son, Gloster Hill, Morpeth.
Leading Averages Per Kilo
J Layfield sold 7 averaged 465ppk
W Swinbank & Sons sold 4 averaged 465ppk
W Miller sold 15 averaged 451ppk
WO Grix & Partners sold 9 averaged 446ppk
Five Houses sold 19 averaged 445ppk
R Hirst sold 7 averaged 445ppk
Leading Averages £
JD Forsyth & Son sold 4 averaged £3087
WJ Scott Ltd sold 7 averaged £3038
F & R Simpson sold 4 averaged £2935
NE Dyson sold 7 averaged £2878
Five Houses sold 19 averaged £2863
TN Callender sold 3 averaged £2851
Steers – Top prices ppk 460 454 WO Grix & Partners. 441 424 397 NE Dyson. 440 BA&C Pearson Ltd. 438 437 418 WJ Scott Ltd. 436 430 LR Welsh & Co. 435 TJ Herron. 433 431 420 TN Callender. 431 420 TN Callender. 431 PR&V Barlow & Son. 411 406 405 401 JD Forsyth & Son. 393 SJ Saville & Sons. 382 WR Thompson. 380 TJ Dennis. 375 371 365 G Beadle.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 489 463 WO Grix & Partners. 488 480 452 450 JV&JA Hodgson. 488 484 481 474 472 471×2 458×2 452 W Miller. 485 JE Suddes & Son. 485 481 473 464 462×3 460 449 447×2 444 Five Houses. 484 483 478 476 472 J Layfield. 480 478 450 449 W Swinbank & Sons. 476 476 WJ Scott Ltd. 467 NE Dyson. 465 LR Welsh & Co.460×2 458 457 R Hirst. 458 SH Watson & Son. 453 448 F&R Simpson. 453 WA Richardson Ltd.
Lead Grossing Steers- £3344 £3216 £3105 WJ Scott Ltd. £3146 £3135 £3101 £2963 JD Forsyth & Son. £3069 £2857 £2759 NE Dyson. £3069 £3036 WO Grix & Partners. £2965 BA&C Pearson Ltd. £2870 £2844 £2839 TN Callender. £2770 TJ Dennis. £2757 TJ Herron. £2717 £2672 LR Welsh & Co. £2581 SJ Savile & Sons. £2521 PR&V Barlow & Son.
Lead Grossing Heifers- £3289 £3280 £3108 £3072 £2992 £2991 £2934 £2903 £2881 £2873 £2850 Five Houses. £3103 £2924 £2876 £2835 F&R Simpson. £3079 £2919 £2889 WJ Scott Ltd. £3059 £3006 £2989 £2898 J Layfield. £3028 JB&N Harrison & Sons. £3001 £2875 JV&JA Hodgson. £2992 £2874 £2844 NE Dyson. £2982 £2935 £2816 £2812 WA Richardson Ltd. £2976 LR Welsh & Co. £2964 TJ Dennis. £2919 x2 £2909 £2838 WO Grix & Partners. £2898 JE Suddes & Son. £2858 £2832 W Swinbank & Sons. £2833 R Hirst. £2823 J&EM Lawson.
Prime Hoggs (1235) – A week is a long time in the sheep trade, some of the bigger noisier ships which sailed earlier in the week suddenly look like dinky dinghy’s by the end of it as a hullaballoo happened in the hoggs; prices here jumped on average a miraculous 37ppk and over £18 per head in the space of seven days. All weights and breeds up several gears with numbers way short of buyer requirement to see this week’s sale average a weighed straight 356ppk and £169.15 with an SQQ of 381ppk. Top per kilo at 465 pence were four flashy 46kg clipped Texel’s from R Atkinson, High Greenbury, the same great feeding followed with three pens of 48kg hoggs between 437ppk and 445ppk. The High Greenbury hysteria also ensured that the excellent run of clips led the prices per head as they twice hit £214 (46kg and 48kg) and twice again reached £210 (48kg). Ten terrific 50kg Texel’s from J Waters, Chilton checked in at £206 as did ten at 53kg from CA Mottram & Sons, Lansdale House whilst a brilliant 50kg Beltex from H Haywood & Son, Lodge Farm followed closely at £205. Twenty-two super Suffolk’s out of Mule’s from Whittington Livestock looked well sold at £181 as did run of brilliant Blackface from LW Martin, Wayworth Farm averaging £163 and also some meaty Mules from JC & A Hutchinson, Featherhill Farm finding fortune at £160 and £165.
Leading Averages PPK
J Waters, Opal Avenue sold 21 (49kg) average 407ppk
R Atkinson, High Greenbury sold 54 (49kg) average 403ppk
W Kirk & Sons, Bullamire sold 8 (45kg) average 402ppk
J Hird, Thornley Close sold 23 (48kg) average 398ppk
W Swinbank, Greystones sold 51 (42kg) average 394ppk
Leading Averages £
J Waters sold 21 (49kg) £202.24
R Atkinson sold 54 (49kg) £200.22
CA Mottram & Sons sold 100 (52kg) £191.69
J Hird sold 23 (48kg) £191.30
W Denham sold 13 (50kg) £183.15
W Kirk & Sons sold 8 (45kg) £181.00
A Crowder sold 44 (55kg) £180.55
Hoggs- Top Prices PPK 465 445 437 x2 R Atkinson. 429 403 400 x2 394 392 389 386 William Tindale. 427 412 396 J Waters. 420 407 391 389 William Swinbank. 420 412 R Errington & Son. 416 395 GW Whittington Livestock. 410 409 390 389 388 387 H Haywood & Son Ltd. 408 x3 J Hird. 407 E Smith. 404 388 CA Mottram & Sons. 402 JA Knox. 402 402 W Kirk & Sons. 397 D&PH Brown. 397 388 DW Robinson. 395 GW Whittington Livestock. 393 CJM Hedley. 392 O&L Welford. 388 W Denham.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £214×2 £210×2 £190×4 R Atkinson. £206 £196×2 £193.50 £192 £190 £186 £185 £184 CA Mottram & Sons. £206 £201 £198 J Waters. £205 £189 H Haywood & Son Ltd. £196×3 £184 J Hird. £191 £188 £181 W Denham. £189 R Errington & Son. £187 £184 D&PH Brown. £186 A Crowder. £185 M&A Gaskin. £183 £182 £180×2 J&A Layfield. £181 K&PM Lough. £181 Whittington. £181 W Swinbank. £181×2 W Kirk & Sons.
Cast Ewes/Rams (37) – Very few forwards as word spreads of the magical Monday madness in our feeding ewe section. Top at £174 was a solid Suffolk from TW Clark & Son, Frankland Farm. The best of the rest proved to be a Texel from D & PH Brown, Cordilleras Farm at £170 whilst horned ewes hit a high of £132 from M Whorlton, Shepherds House.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £174 £140 £70 TW Clark & Son. £171 D&PH Brown. £168 £150 £100 A Suddes. £166 £134 £130 £120 JE Lockey & Son. £160 W Denham. £119 WH&SM Terry. £100 D Jackson.
