Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 14th September 2023. Forward were 197 cattle and 2479 sheep.
68 Prime Bulls sold to 315ppk or £2537
29 Prime Steers sold to 314ppk or £1957
100 Prime Heifers sold to 340ppk or £2083
1 Cast Cow sold for 202ppk and £1533
2000 Prime Lambs sold to 400ppk or £168
479 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £200
Prime Bulls (68) – A tidy offering of bulls maintained the excellent levels we are now becoming used to, this week’s sale averaged a stunning 271 pence per kilo and £1945 per head with eight over 300ppk and an absolutely staggering thirty-eight the top side of £2000. A super run of homebred bulls from the Morpeth based Renton’s of High Highlaws led the prices per kilo when they twice sold Limousin’s to 315 pence; another Renton ripsnorter followed at 311ppk with their fourth best tied at 306ppk with a well-fed sort from regular sellers A G Watson & Sons, Rushyford. Five vendors shared the top seven spots all over £2300, second place at £2403 went to T C Walton, Middridge with a Limousin however out in front at a very impressive £2537 was a superb 863kg British Blonde from F & J S Gargett, Westwick Farm. Two of our most frequent Friesian feeders led the way in that category as G W Dobson & Son, Wood Close Farm sold their best for £1559 and the consistent R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall topped the Friesian prices per kilo at 244 pence. Below as always are some of the top pen averages.
Renton Highlaws, Morpeth sold 8 to average 300ppk and £2214
J K & C E Farming, Piercebridge sold 2 to average 299ppk and £2053
F & J S Gargett, Barnard Castle sold 3 to average 295ppk and £2394
R W & R Henry, Worsall sold 2 to average 292ppk and £2270
L S Staley, Marwood sold 2 to average 286ppk and £2240
J H & M & N W Brown, Darlington sold 4 to average 286ppk and £2088
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 315×2 311 306 298×2 288 274 Renton Highlaws Ltd. 306 299 298 292 288 AG Watson & Sons. 305 JJ Horn. 300 298 JK&CE Farming. 300 294×2 F&JS Gargett. 296 LW Martin. 296 289 284 279 TC Walton. 294 289 282 280 JH&M&NW Brown. 294 290 RW&R Henry. 287 286 LS Staley. 285 280 JJ Kemp & Son. 283 HW&M Alderson & Son. 274 273 N White. 271 TW Clark & Son. 271 D Richardson & Co Ltd.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £2537 £2370 £2275 F&JS Gargett. £2403 TC Walton. £2397 £2365 £2214 £2178 £2154 £2140 AG Watson & Sons. £2325 £2215 RW&R Henry. £2315 £2295 £2280 £2267 £2240 £2212 £2083 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £2293 JJ Horn. £2288 £2192 LS Staley. £2219 £2132 £2087 TW Clark & Son. £2216 £2132 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £2187 JK&CE Farming. £2178 £2119 £2066 JH&M&NW Brown. £2139 £1972 JJ Kemp & Son. £2077 LW Martin.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 244 239 231 R Hall & Son. 224 214 GW Dobson & Son.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £1559 £1395 GW Dobson & Son. £1490 £1453 £1342 R Hall & Son.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 267 265 231 TC Walton. 252 D Richardson & Co Ltd.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2046 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £1882 £1772 £1579 TC Walton.
OTM – Top prices ppk 202 C&N Waters.
Lead Grossing OTM £1533 C&N Waters.
Clean Cattle (129) – No repeat of last week’s flyer however trade still buoyant enough with steers averaging 278ppk and heifers 294ppk, the best end heifers probably the ones taking the hit after such a barnstormer seven days ago with more commercial wholesale types selling to very similar levels on the week. Over fifty heifers sold for at least 300 pence per kilo, of these fourteen made it to 330 pence however just the one scaled as high as 340ppk, the successful sort came from J V & J A Hodgson, The Grange, Summerhouse with a fabulous Limousin selling to H Taylor & Sons, Darlington. The frequent high-flying Hodgson’s of Summerhouse also sold a smart heifer at 339ppk, this price was matched by a tidy sort from a great run of beast up from Leicestershire and the good yard of M & G Chantrell td, Flash Farm. The Chantrell lorry up from the Midlands was far from done as it amazingly contained ten of the eleven steers to reach 300ppk today, the best three of the beautiful packet of Flash Farm Limousin’s all sold for 314 pence per kilo. Top gross valued steer today came from A Crowder, Butsfield with a handsome homebred Limousin reaching £1957; the heavy heifers still soared beyond £2000, top of them all was a marvellous 672kg Limousin from W Swinbank & Sons, Caldwell at £2083. See below some of the day’s top performing clean cattle sellers.
Steers
M & G Chantrell Ltd, Leicester sold 12 to average 305ppk and £1804
W J Smith & Partners, Richmond sold 2 to average 293ppk and £1625
P J & M P Gilhespy, Ponteland sold 4 to average 291ppk and £1885
Heifers
A & D Proctor, Swarland sold 2 to average 333ppk and £1683
R Hirst, Neasham sold 5 to average 330ppk and £1852
M & G Chantrell Ltd, Leicester sold 5 to average 329ppk and £1758
A Crowder, Butsfield sold 2 to average 323ppk and £1894
J E Jordon & Son, Morpeth sold 3 to average 322ppk and £1755
P & N Tattersall, York sold 4 to average 319ppk and £1700
J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse sold 12 to average 315ppk and £1848
Steers – Top Prices ppk 314 x3 312 311 310 309 308 x2 305 285 276 M&G Chantrell LTD. 300 294 293 280 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 294 293 WJ Smith & Partners. 291 250 A Crowder. 288 W Swinbank & Sons. 250 x2 245 244 231 JH Johnson. 216 214 A&CA Stanwix.
Heifers- Top Prices ppk 340 339 337 334 326 322 320 314 312 307 JV&JA Hodgson. 339 331 329 327 320 M&G Chantrell LTD. 336 330 A&D Proctor. 336 329 304 JE Jordon & Son. 335 333 330 328 x2 R Hirst. 332 x2 317 P&N Tattersall. 332 329 319 318 306 304 N White. 329 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 328 324 320 310 W Swinbank & Sons. 326 300 WJ Smith & Partners. 325 FW Hodgson & Son. 324 323 A Crowder. 314 312 EW Grieves. 310 309 305 300 J Layfield. 306 WF Hustwit.
Lead Grossing Steers- £1957 £1652 A Crowder. £1943 £1878 £1873 £1848 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £1926 W Swinbank & Sons. £1881 £1880 £1878 £1872 £1848 £1833 £1780 £1761 £1755 £1744 £1715 £1704 M&G Chantrell LTD. £1760 £1670 £1655 £1487 £1342 JH Johnson. £1662 £1416 A&CA Stanwix. £1652 £1599 WJ Smith & Partners.
Lead Grossing Heifers- £2083 £2036 £1913 £1905 £1757 W Swinbank & Sons. £2034 JR Spink. £2025 £2011 £1980 £1881 £1852 £1836 £1835 £1810 £1808 £1749 £1746 JV&JA Hodgson. £2018 £1770 A Crowder. £2011 £1898 £1759 FW Hodgson. £1959 £1896 £1887 J Layfield. £1939 £1925 £1851 £1754 R Hirst. £1911 £1898 £1764 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £1905 £1880 £1872 M&G Chantrell LTD. £1847 £1768 £1756 N White. £1821 £1743 £1742 £1731 G&JY Marshall. £1809 £1729 £1727 JE Jordon & Son. £1795 £1731 WF Hustwit. £1765 £1723 P&N Tattersall. £1721 WJ Smith & Partners.
Prime Lambs (2000) – Rarely do we see the lambs going dearer in mid-September but that’s precisely what is happening at the moment, a similar show of both quality and numbers saw them take a noticeable rise and leave a weighed straight sale average of 263 pence per kilo. An excellent pair of fully fleshed 42kg Beltex lambs from Stanley Gargett, Westwick Farm, Barnard Castle topped the sale when they sold for £168 (400ppk). A 45kg pair from the same good pen also sold for £168 with the best of the rest proving to be Wolsingham’s Ken Lough with a quartet of 43kg Beltex selling for £165. Other Beltex successes on the day included M W & M Skidmore, Wynyard reaching 395ppk and £159 and also the Gibson’s of Langleydale who sold to a top of £160. Easycare lambs sold to £125 with 40-42kg Mule’s regularly £100 to £110 and Swaledales with flesh nicely over 200ppk. It must be said again, even on a rising trade, that lean meat is not easy to place but fed lambs are very much in demand.
Lambs – Top prices ppk 400 373 334 F&JS Gargett. 395 378 MW&M Skidmore. 383 325 K&PM Lough. 352 GF Whitfield. 350 309 JM&S Walton. 342 JR&AR Wall. 341 292 G&E Walton. 321 307 J&D Gibson. 320 303 300 298 291 286 283 AWSM Farms. 319 304 293 I&A Holmes. 312 306×2 J Hird. 312×2 311 300 HT Davies & Partners. 309 JA&A Herbert. 304 280 M&A Gaskin. 302 290 JR&M Richardson. 300 J Pallister & Sons. 295 W.K M.M Lamb. 288 Anthony Tindale. 288 285 280 I Burn & Sons.
Lead Grossing Lambs £168×2 £147 £137 F&JS Gargett. £165 £140 K&PM Lough. £160 £151 J&D Gibson. £159 £158 MW&M Skidmore. £159 3146 £144 £141 £140 £134 £133.50 AWSM Farms. £156 £142 £140×2 M&A Gaskin. £150 £140 £132 I&A Holmes. £150×3 J Hird. £148 GF Whitfield. £148 £133 JR&M Richardson. £144 JR&AR Wall. £143.50 JM&S Walton. £140 G&E Walton. £140×2 D Barron. £139 PK Burn. £133 PD Shepherd Farm. £131 HT Davies & Partners. £130 JA&A Herbert. £130×2 W.K M.M Lamb. £130 I Burn & Sons.
Cast Ewes & Rams (479) – The hills are being gathered and the horned ewes begin to appear in numbers, the story remains similar with well fleshed continental ewes good to sell, heavy Mules knocking on the door of £100 but lean meat whatever the breed harder work. Top of the sale today were T N Callender of Ox Eye Farm, Whinney Hill with a thumping continental ewe at £200, Beltex from J & D Gibson followed at £150 with Texel’s from T H Richardson & Son next in line at £144. The best of the numerous horned ewes could reach £50 to £60 but leaner sorts typically traded £15 to £30.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £200 £130 £103×2 TN Callender. £150 £128 £94 J&D Gibson. £144 £129 £125 £109.50 TH Richardson & Son. £130 £118 MJ Blacklidge. £128 £124 £122 £114 P Wilson. £128 £106 JR&AR Wall. £125 B Watson. £120 £115 Rose A Farms Ltd. £120 £110×2 G Thompson & Sons. £116 £110 M Smith. £110 £108 R Lawson & Son. £110 G Bolton. £110 C Dawson. £109 Allison Devereux. £106 Josh Henry. £104 GH&RG Stobbs.
