Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 26th July 2023. Forward were 173 cattle, 1985 sheep and 9 pigs.
78 Prime Bulls sold to 290ppk or £2628
20 Prime Steers sold to 305ppk or £1753
75 Prime Heifers sold to 334ppk or £1919
1564 Prime Lambs sold to 315ppk or £158
421 Cast Ewes & Rams sold to £150
9 Prime Pigs sold to 170ppk or £164
Prime Bulls (78) – Trade easier again, beef reportedly much harder to sell in the wholesale market plus the live rings are seeing more numbers across the nation as the deadweight firms enforce their NHS style waiting lists. Today’s sale averaged 240ppk and £1663. Top per kilo at 290 pence was an excellent 736kg Limousin bull from regular sellers A G Watson & Sons, Rushyford, seven other good sorts followed in the 280’s including a fine sort from J K & C E Farming and a strong run from the Renton’s of High Highlaws. Top gross value was a special British Blue from T N & J Hall, Ainstable Hall which tipped the scales to 1039kg and sold for £2628, a further ninetenn sold over £2000 on the day. Friesian bulls also appeared easier on the week, two vendors selling over 200pk were G W Dobson & Son, South Wingate and S H Watson & Son, Winston whilst the top gross valued black and white hailed from J K Gregory, Hett Village at £1374. Below are some of today’s top pen averages.
J K & C E Farming, Piercebridge sold 2 to average 281ppk and £2078
Renton Highlaws Ltd, Morpeth sold 6 to average 276ppk and £2083
S & J Dent & Son, Darlington sold 3 to average 271ppk and £1633
A G Watson & Sons, Rushyford sold 6 to average 264ppk and £2065
T N & J Hall, Carlisle sold 5 to average 261ppk and £2248
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 290 285 260 258 250 AG Watson & Sons. 288 274 JK&CE Farming. 284 281×3 279 256 Renton Highlaws Ltd. 280 273 263 S&J Dent & Son. 279 251 N White. 275 272 249 GA Mackie. 270×2 262 255 253 TN&J Hall. 270 DH Lawson. 264 254 R Neill & Partners. 263 250 244 AC Simpson & Son. 253 Lupton. 250×2 242 D Richardson & Co Ltd.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £2628 £2368 £2149 £2136 £1957 TN&J Hall. £2285 £2132 £2010 AC Simpson & Son. £2203 £2169 £2106 £2031 £1997 £1989 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £2165 £1991 JK&CE Farming. £2134 £2123 £2061 £2043 £2020 £2010 AG Watson & Sons. £2056 £1877 N White. £2045 £1952 £1845 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £1956 £1897 R Neill & Partners. £1929 GW Dobson & Son. £1898 SJ Bainbridge.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 201 GW Dobson. 201 197 193 SH Watson & Son. 198 195 R Hall & Son. 195 192 JK Gregory. 191 JC&P Tallentire. 187 185 D Walker.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £1374 £1232 JK Gregory. £1345 £1284 £1250 SH Watson & Son. £1241 £1006 R Hall & Son. £1276 GW Dobson & Son. £1124 JC&P Tallentire. £985 £925 D Walker.
Native Breed Bulls – Top prices ppk 215 212 209×2 205 202 SN Bird & Sons. 191 JK Gregory. 170 R Hall & Son.
Lead Grossing Native Breed Bulls £1377 £1373×2 £1348 £1285 £1238 SN Bird & Sons. £1298 JK Gregory. £1062 R Hall & Son.
Clean Cattle (95) – Handy weights remain in strong demand however the heavier processing beast trade looks to be on the slide, noticeable that eighteen of the top twenty per kilo weighed under 600kg this week. Topping the sale at 334 pence per kilo was a super sweet Limousin heifer from G & J Y Marshall, Spaunton; hot on the Marshall’s heels were P J & M P Gilhespy, Ponteland also with a Limousin heifer, both were pleasingly products of the Darlington store ring. Twenty-three other cattle sold over 300 pence including the days top steer which was again a sub 600kg Limousin, this fine fella at 305ppk hailed from W A Wardman Ltd, Yearby. Top of the gross values this week were an expertly fed pair of Limousin heifers, a 651kg 30-month-old from J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse sold for £1913 however pipping her to the post at £1919 was a meat machine weighing 683kg from W L Robinson & Partners, Bolam. As always listed below are some of the days top pen averages.
P Weightman & Sons, Easington sold 2 Heifers to average 316ppk and £1824
R Hirst, Neasham sold 4 Heifers to average 313ppk and £1760
P & N Tattersall, York sold 4 Heifers to average 303ppk and £1657
P J & M P Gilhespy, Ponteland sold 6 Heifers to average 301ppk and £1705
W A Wardman Ltd, Yearby sold 6 Steers to average 273ppk and £1633
Prime Lambs (1564) – A lighter show of numbers and despite the national average falling this week we welcomed a slightly sharper trade than that of seven days ago, the weighed straight sale averaged 268ppk and £114. As is always the case when the solely grass-fed sheep come out in numbers it is the best shapes and heavy weights which find themselves in the most demand. Top per kilo at 315 pence were a quality quartet of 40kg Beltex from H T Davies & Partners, Lough House Farm whilst the top gross value at £158 went to the phenomenal feeding so often produced by M & A Gaskin, Holdsworth Farm.
Lambs =- Top prices ppk 315 314 312 297 HT Davies & Partners. 314 308 297 286 CA&JG Skidmore. 310 J Pallister & Sons. 309 J Thompson. 308 292 J Hird. 304 298 295 285 P R Weaver. 304 R Lawson & Son. 302 295 290 W&M Knaggs & Son. 302 300 293×3 JV&JA Hodgson. 300 BR&R Routledge. 300 MJ Blacklidge. 297 295 K&PM Lough. 296 295 I Burn & Sons. 295 293 D&PH Brown. 295 290×2 WB Mitchell & Sons. 295 287 CK&D Muir Ltd. 293 JA Gilson. 292 M&A Gaskin. 291 JR&AR Wall. 289 JE Suddes & Son.
Lead Grossing Lambs £158 £149 £142.50 £133 £127 M&A Gaskin. £152 J Pallister & Sons. £148×2 CA&JG Skidmore. £148 £146 J Hird. £148 £136 I Burn & Sons. £145 £140 JR&AR Wall. £141 £137 3131 MJ Blacklidge. £141 £136 D&PH Brown. £139 £127×2 JD Vipond. £138 £132 £129×4 £127 JV&JA Hodgson. £137 N Edmondson. £136 £128 J&HM Jenkins. £134×2 R Lawson & Son. £133.50 JE Suddes & Son. £133 J Thompson. £132 JK Gill & Son. £132 GC&JC Pullan. £132 N&A Hunter. £131 TT Hall & Son. £129 HT Davies & Partners.
Cast Ewes & Rams (421) – The good continental and Suffolk ewes continue to have a fair kick of the ball; thin ewes remain somewhat harder to place and the healthy but lean girls might now look better offered through the store ring on a Monday. A thumping Charollais ewe from F Ward, Rogerley Hall topped proceedings when she sold for £150, top of the Texels were P R & V Barlow & Son, Sycamore Farm at £134. Blue Faced Leicester’s sold to £133 from F Johnson, West Shipley whilst Mule ewes can still sell over £100 but need to be gigantic to do so. Fittest of the Swaledale ewes this week sold £60 to £70 whilst those less attractive horned girls which have worked hardest sold typically £25 to £35.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep – £150 £129 £127 £107 £99 £89 F Ward. £134 PR&V Barlow & Son. £133 £130 £110 £92 £90 F Johnson. £131 MW&M Skidmore. £130 x2 J Thompson. £130 F Shield. £129 £103 WR Thompson. £129 £127 JV&JA Hodgson. £129 £115 D&PH Brown. £128 £116 P Foster. £125 £120 £95 J Pallister & Sons. £120 L Collingwood. £118 £90 GP&A Carter. £118 £90 B&SM Rutherford & Son. £118 £114 £110 £102 £100 JR&M Richardson. £113 C&R Metcalf. £102 £98 DW Robinson. £99 £94 JH Johnson. £98 C Waters. £90 JV Hodgson & Son. £90 P Hobson. £90 BR&RI Routledge.
Prime Pigs (9) – Trade improves all the time and thank goodness it does after last year’s disastrous prices; the producers are finally rolling on the river, all credit to those still in pigs who perhaps left a good job down in the city, working for the man every night and day.
“Pig wheels keep on turning, the proud porkers keep on burning, rolling on the river”.
Pigs – Top prices ppk 170 160×2 110×2 C Weightman.
Lead Grossing Pigs £164 £156×2 £123 C Weightman.
