Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 26th October 2023. Forward were 266 cattle, 2605 sheep and 15 pigs.
108 Prime Bulls sold to 310ppk or £2526
35 Prime Steer sold to 320ppk or £2062
123 Prime Heifers sold to 350ppk or £2307
2051 Prime Lambs sold to 322ppk or £155
554 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £140
15 Prime Pigs & Sows sold to 184ppk or £175
Cast Bulls (108) – Trade a touch easier on the week and much less top end quality saw the whole show average 259ppk and £1838 per head. This week last year the beef trade took a tumble and whilst back a touch the sale still produced ten bulls at 300 pence or more and thirty-nine over £2000. Two vendors shared the top spot at 310 pence per kilo as local feeders K & A Harker, Worsall Grove saw their 759kg British Blue matched by an excellent 713kg Limousin from Northumberland’s J E Jordon & Son, Longhirst; Guisborough based John Norman fell just a penny short of the top with an excellent 741kg British Blue. J A Matten & Sons, Avenue Grange, Thirsk returned to the top of the gross values today as their terrific trio all weighing over 800kg sold between £2454 and £2526; another great bull from the Longhirst herd followed at £2452 with the excellent feeding of D Richardson & Co, Bracken House also beyond £2400. The Bracken House bulls also topped the prices for the native breeds with Aberdeen Angus to 263ppk and £2011 whilst the dairy trade topped for Fleckveih’s at 256ppk and £1827 from R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall with Friesians to 229ppk from W E & C A Anderson, Layton Fields or £1449 from G W Dobson & Son, Wood Close. As always below are some of the top averages.
T A Horn, Great Asby sold 2 to average 304ppk and £1954
J Norman, Charltons sold 2 to average 302ppk and £2287
J A Matten & Sons, Thirsk sold 3 to average 300ppk and £2491
J E Jordon & Son, Morpeth sold 3 to average 299ppk and £2321
Messrs Harker, Worsall sold 2 to average 297ppk and £2221
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 310 K&A Harker. 310 298 291 JE Jordon & Son. 309 296 J Norman. 304×2 TA Horn. 304 AR Keith. 302 283 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 300×3 JA Matten & Sons. 298 284 277 TW Clark & Son. 295 282 LS Staley. 295 JM Ramsay & Son. 285 278 LR Welsh & Co. 284 JJ Kemp & Son. 284 PI Harker. 283 276 LW Martin. 283 280 273 AG Watson & Sons. 280 274 272 D Richardson & Co Ltd. 280 F&JS Gargett. 276 TF Bothroyd & Son.
Lead Grossing Continental £2526 £2493 £2454 JA Matten & Sons. £2452 £2301 £2210 JE Jordon & Son. £2447 £2356 £2325 £2289 £2146 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £2352 K&A Harker. £2289 £2285 J Norman. £2285 AR Keith. £2240 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £2192 £2182 £2160 TW Clark & Son. £2191 LS Staley. £2190 J&A&DA Horn. £2177 LS Staley. £2167 £2080 £2063 £2061 £2038 AG Watson & Sons. £2162 JM Ramsay & Son. £2102 F&JS Gargett. £2100 LR Welsh & Co.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 229 207 WE&CA Anderson. 216 205 GW Dobson & Son.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls – £1449 £1380 GW Dobson & Son. £1323 WE&CA Anderson.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 263 260 250 D Richardson & Co Ltd. 239×2 221 JK Gregory. 235 C&N Waters. 219 211 204 FS Sturrock & Sons.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2011 £1989 £1905 D Richardson. £1950 C&N Waters. £1526 £1413 £1344 FS Sturrock & Sons. £1362 £1297 £1257 JK Gregory.
Clean Cattle (158) – More forward following last week’s sale of the century, trade still firm and realistically back on par with a fortnight ago, a plain bottom end pulled the heifer average back to 299ppk whereas a handy weighted show of steers saw them average a pleasing 287ppk. Plenty of best butchers’ heifers continue to sell over 340ppk however just the one this week made it to 350 pence, an excellent 557kg Limousin from H D Marks, Gilly Flatts Farm found herself top of them all. Super fed sorts from regular raiders the Hirst’s, Gilhespy’s, Layfield’s and Hodgson’s all jostled at the top end of the 340’s. The magnificent Marks cattle also topped the steers per kilo with a brilliant black British Blue cross reaching 320ppk, a whole host sold over 300 pence including another fine run up from Leicestershire’s M & G Chantrell Ltd who themselves topped at 318ppk. Top of the gross values was a wonderfully fleshed 691kg Limousin heifer from W Swinbank & Sons, Greystones when she sold for £2307, following her over the line were some excellent homebred pure Limousin’s from A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm which sold three times over £2100. Top gross valued steer today came from W A Wardman Ltd, Yearby with a tidy Charolais reaching £2062.
Heifers
H D Marks sold 2 to average 347ppk and £1922
R Hirst, Neasham sold 9 to average 328ppk and £1850
J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse sold 11 to average 327ppk and £1905
P J & M P Gilhespy, Ponteland sold 4 to average 324ppk and £1901
J Layfield, Willington sold 6 to average 322ppk and £1874
W J Smith & Partners, Richmond sold 2 to average 322ppk and £1774
W & M Knaggs & Son, Sadberge sold 3 to average 320ppk and £1786
Steers
M & G Chantrell Ltd, Leicester sold 11 to average 307ppk and £1638
P J & M P Gilhespy, Ponteland sold 2 to average 306ppk and £1954
Steers – Top prices ppk 320 HD Marks. 318 312 311×3 310 307 306 305 303 290 M&G Chantrell Ltd. 315 WJ Smith & Partners. 310 301 281 TW&PT Moss Ltd. 307 306 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 306 303 300 296 295 282 279 WA Wardman Ltd. 297 263 W Lewis & Sons. 287 WL Robinson & Partners. 269 C&N Waters.
Lead Grossing Steers £2062 £1748 £1721 £1689 £1599 WA Wardman Ltd. £2029 £1878 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £1924 £1897 £1768 £1764 TW&PT Moss Ltd. £1894 £1781 WL Robinson & Partners. £1872 HD Marks. £1850 £1693 W Lewis & Sons. £1821 C&N Waters. £1800 £1793 £1775 £1766 £1716 M&G Chantrell Ltd. £1789 WJ Smith & Partners.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 350 344 HD Marks. 349 347 342 333 331 325 320 R Hirst. 346 339 332 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 345 340 338 J Layfield. 345 343 340 338×2 334 330 325 321 320 JV&JA Hodgson. 344 333 330 319 318 316 WA Armstrong. 338 321×2 320 319 313 312 310 306 M&G Chantrell Ltd. 335 321 W&M Knaggs & Son. 334 316 W Swinbank & Sons. 329 WJ Smith & Partners. 326 TW&PT Moss Ltd. 326 322 317 N White. 319 313 311 AC Simpson & Son.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2307 £2014 £2009 £1955 W Swinbank & Sons. £2201 £2185 £2167 £2015 AC Simpson & Son. £2069 £2022 £1915 WA Armstrong. £2024 £1996 £1976 £1957 £1953 £1934 JV&JA Hodgson. £1996 £1938 £1918 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £1964 £1908 £1898 £1864 R Hirst. £1954 £1942 £1904 TW&PT Moss Ltd. £1949 HD Marks. £1944 £1940 £1912 £1897 J Layfield. £1928 £1901 £1879 £1862 A&MJ Henshaw. £1922 W&M Knaggs & Son. £1903 R Hirst. £1871 RG Richardson.
Prime Lambs (2051) – Lamb trade easier by eight to ten pence per kilo to leave a weighed straight sale average of 248ppk, whilst not ideal it remains thirty pence per kilo better than the same week last year. Once again, meat is the key, all weights selling well if the tops and loins are thick but the lean lambs are hard work and unquestionably the lightweight lean lambs would make pounds more through the store ring on a Monday. Plenty of the best-bred lambs are still North of 300ppk, top of the lot today per kilo were an excellent pair of 45kg Beltex lambs from Georgia Willis, Gilling West which sold for 322 pence. Top gross value at an impressive £155 was a thumping 75kg single lamb from A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm; just behind came the weekly super sorts from M & A Gaskin, Holdsworth Farm with their top seventeen Aberfield crosses making £154 and the whole run of fifty averaging £150.
Lambs – Top prices ppk 322 304 291 G Willis. 312 298 JG Atkinson. 311 300 R Errington & Son. 310 304 302 286 M&A Gaskin. 306 D&PH Brown. 304 GE Raw. 304 292×2 J Lovegreen. 300 287 CK&D Muir Ltd. 297 285 M Dawson. 295 HT Davies & Partners. 295 GF Whitfield. 294 IM Maughan. 290 G Thompson & Sons. 290 288 287×2 C Wise. 290 JM&S Walton. 288 285 W.K M.M Lamb. 286 285 MW&M Skidmore. 286 T Duckitt. 285 J Craig. 282 KA&V Armstrong. 281 273 Askwiths. 280 JK&CE Farming.
Lead Grossing Lambs £155 £150 £145×2 £143.50 £140×4 AC Simpson & Son. £154 £149×2 £140 M&A Gaskin. £153 £146 £135 JG Atkinson. £150 D&PH Brown. £145 £143 £136 £134 G Willis. £143 £130 T Duckitt. £142 Askwiths. £141 £138 CK&D Muir Ltd. £140 R Errington & Son. £140 GE Raw. £140 J Lovegreen. £140 £129 MW&M Skidmore. £140 W&M Knaggs & Son. £137 £127 W.K M.M Lamb. £134 O&L Welford. £133 K&PM Lough. £131 £127 S Thompson. £131×2 RH Thompson & Son.
Cast Ewes & Rams (554) – The right goods remain easy to sell but over fat is hard to place and the lean ewes of all breeds look now to be worth much more as feeders through the store ring. Texel ewes from both J W & B Firby and W A Wardman Ltd led the day’s trading at £140 with good continental and Suffolk ewes largely selling £110 to £130. Mule ewes had to be big to reach £80 and humongous to trouble £90; more horned ewes on offer with the better fleshed £40 to £50 but leaner Swaledale’s often closer to £20.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep- £140 JW&B Firby. £140 x2 £120 x3 £115 £114 £110 WA Wardman LTD. £132 £122 £114 £112 x2 £110 x3 £109 William Tindale. £130 W&M Knaggs & Son. £130 £120 £110 Askwiths. £126 £125 £122 JA&A Herbert. £121 JK&CE Farming. £120 £110 WR Thompson. £120 J Hird. £120 £110 x3 IM Maughan. £120 F Myers. £120 M Toas. £115 £110 Ferry & Sons. £114 Kelvin Thompson. £114 G Horner. £111 CG Barraclough. £110 £108 D&G Spry. £110 D&PH Brown. £110 Georgia Willis. £110 JA&A Herbert. £110 D Chapman. £110 x3 JJ Horn. £110 J Skidmore & Co LTD.
Pigs (15) – We were afforded the remarkable luxury of three separate pig vendors this week, good pigs remain a nice trade however we witnessed very little love from the buyers for neither Pumba or his sister.
Pigs – Top prices ppk 184 155 J Mitchell & Son. 175 140 C Weightman.
Lead Grossing Pigs £175 £150 £134 J Mitchell & Son. £154 £152 C Weightman.
