Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 30th November 2023. Forward were 253 cattle, 1893 and 12 pigs.
72 Prime Bulls sold to 339ppk or £2811
14 Prime Steers sold to 337ppk or £2367
167 Prime Heifers sold to 380ppk or £2588
1595 Prime Lambs sold to 325ppk or £159
298 Cast Ewes & Rams sold to
12 Prime Pigs sold to 170ppk or £130
Prime Bulls (72) – Up, up and away we go as a glorious bull trade materialised this week; some staggering statistics saw forty-three bulls over £2000, the top eleven of these made over £2500 and some thirty-two sold at 300 pence or more including three in the 330’s. All in, the sale averaged a staggering 291 pence per kilo and £2088 per head. Top per kilo at 339 pence was an excellent 674kg Limousin from W Barron, Morrow Edge Farm; regular selling A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm chipped in at 336ppk with a second Barron bull next at 333ppk. Some familiar names followed in the 320’s as Messrs Watson, Matten, Richardson, Welsh and Clark all enjoyed an outstanding day in the bull ring. Top of the gross values was a superb 19-month-old 910kg British Blonde from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm when he reached a massive £2811; the Richardson family couldn’t be split for second place as both W A Richardson, Hutton Fields and D Richardson & Co, Bracken House sold excellent Limousin’s for £2679 with A C Simpson & Son and J A Matten & Sons both snapping at the leaders heels and each in the £2600’s. The Friesian flag flew fluently today also as they too enjoyed a price hike; pick of them all an outstanding 691kg bull from R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall sold for 273 pence per kilo and £1886. As always in the live ring, no waiting lists, no age restrictions and no weight caps were in place; on this trade the deadweight’s a dead loss. See below just some of the stunning pen averages.
W Barron, Burnhope sold 2 to average 335ppk and £2337
J A Matten & Sons, Thirsk sold 5 to average 319ppk and £2509
A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear sold 3 to average 318ppk and £2630
P Weightman & Sons, Easington sold 2 to average 310ppk and £2701
L R Welsh & Co, Spennymoor sold 4 to average 307ppk and £2275
Continental Bulls Top prices ppk 339 333 W Barron. 336 310×2 AC Simpson & Son. 329 328 316 AG Watson & Sons. 327 320 319 318 312 JA Matten & Sons. 323 310 309 291 LR Welsh & Co. 322 320 313 299 291 290 D Richardson & Co Ltd. 320 298 274 TW Clark & Son. 320 308×2 300 291 WA Richardson Ltd. 313 309 P Weightman & Sons. 310 WE Swales & Sons Ltd. 306 Askwiths. 300 J&F Hartley & Sons. 297 290 283 ER&GI Younger. 282 JK&CE Farming. 274 F Fabi. 274 JE&B Morgan & Sons.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £2811 £2591 P Weightman & Sons. £2679 £2445 £2416 £2220 WA Richardson Ltd. £2679 £2520 £2473 £2465 £2449 £2415 £2400 £2357 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £2675 £2647 £2569 AC Simpson & Son. £2609 £2555 £2528 £2497 £2358 JA Matten & Sons. £2418 J&F Hartley & Sons. £2393 £2249 TW Clark & Son. £2390 £2284 W Barron. £2370 £2278 £2266 £2184 LR Welsh & Co. £2328 £2181 AG Watson & Sons. £2250 WE Swales & Son.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 273 227 R Hall & Son. 240 JK&CE Farming. 216 196 D Walker.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £1886 £1337 R Hall & Son. £1562 JK&CE Farming. £1259 £1064 D Walker.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 274 F Fabi. 265 247 246 FJ Fraser & Son.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2053 £1906 £1857 FJ Fraser & Son. £1775 F Fabi.
Clean Cattle (181) – Carlsberg don’t run an auction mart, but if they did, they’d probably see this as their best clean cattle trade ever witnessed; absolutely nothing turned out to be normal about an apparently normal week before our Christmas show as the steers averaging 301ppk and a bumper number of heifers levelled at a flabbergasting 326ppk. The figures are way ahead of other centres even including their Christmas show cattle this week and quite simply light years ahead of the deadweight options available. The sale topper at 380ppk was a divine 548kg Limousin heifer shown by Michael and Jamie Gilhespy of Low House; remarkably this was the third time we had seen her through our ring as she was first sold at the Jim and Heather Marks dispersal sale as a calf with her mother to Alastair Ward, Frosterley who then duly sold her as a store beast back in May to the Gilhespy’s. Six other heifers sold in the 370’s including another from Low House, two from Heather Marks and one each for the regular selling Hirst’s, Hodgson’s and Renton’s. Thirty further heifers sold over 350 pence per kilo as the lip-smacking trade stayed true from start to finish. Top steer per kilo at 337 pence went to R O Gilson, Old Park Hall Farm with an excellent 667kg British Blue with local producer Neil Brown next best at 334ppk. Some tremendous gross values as an unprecedented seventy clean cattle sold over £2000 today; celebrating St Andrew’s Day in terrific style were two of our cross-border visitors as Messrs Fettes, Braes of Enzie, Aberdeenshire claimed the top three heifer prices with a best of £2588 and C A Smith, South Flanders, Stirling achieved the same top three in the steer section with a best of £2367. Look below at some simply staggering averages, god bless the live ring and all the independent butchers and wholesalers who support it every week.
H D Marks, Bishopton sold 3 heifers to average 362ppk and £2004
Renton Highlaws, Morpeth sold 6 heifers to average 358ppk and £2109
R Hirst, Neasham sold 10 heifers to average 354ppk and £1956
J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse sold 12 heifers to average 351ppk and £1984
P J & M P Gilhespy, Ponteland sold 6 heifers to average 347ppk and £2015
A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear sold 4 heifers to average 345ppk and £2222
B Walker, Dalton-on-Tees sold 2 heifers to average 341ppk and £2021
Steers – Top prices ppk 337 RO Gilson. 334 328 322 302 JH&M&NW Brown. 330 HD Marks. 329 310 WJ Smith & Partners. 319 Askwiths. 309 D Walker. 273 270×2 251 CA Smith.
Lead Grossing Steers £2367 £2346 £2276 £2141 CA Smith. £2247 RO Gilson. £2127 Askwiths. £2071 32035 £1917 £1882 JH&M&NW Brown. £1953 HD Marks. £1884 D Walker. £1848 £1760 WJ Smith & Partners.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 380 371 350 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 378 367 366 363 359 355 350 Renton Highlaws Ltd. 372 371 344 HD Marks. 370 368 360 359 358 348 347×2 344×2 JV&JA Hodgson. 370 368 365×2 357 356 353 R Hirst. 364 349 346 340 339 W Swinbank & Sons. 359 340×2 WA Fettes. 358 352 341 AC Simpson & Son. 357 349 J Layfield. 356 Askwiths. 350 346 WF Hustwit. 349 P&JH Davison. 348 B Walker. 343 JE Suddes & Son. 343 RO Gilson. 340 TN Callender. 338 W&M Knaggs & Son.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2588 £2339 £2309 £2249 £2247 £2227 £2136 WA Fettes. £2294 £2241 £2194 £2157 AC Simpson & son. £2268 £2226 £2215 £2194 £2075 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £2181 £2082 £2034 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £2151 £2092 RO Gilson. £2145 WF Hustwit. £2143 B Walker. £2132 £2127 £2087 £2075 £2044 JV&JA Hodgson. £2129 £2097 £2079 W Swinbank & Sons. £2117 £2079 R Hirst. £2115 JM&S Walton. £2105 £2081 HD Marks. £2094 J Layfield. £2092 A Swinbank & Son. £2083 P&JH Davison. £2063 £2044 GA Mackie. £2063 W&M Knaggs & Son.
Prime Lambs (1595) – Lambs dearer by probably £5 per head on the week to average a 270 pence per kilo. Top per kilo at 325 pence were a quality quintet of 47kg Beltex lambs from W A Wardman Ltd, Yearby; all the leading pens per kilo added up well taking full advantage of our weighed straight policy as six good 48kg Texel’s from J C Simpson followed at 320ppk as did six Beltex (also 48kg) from W Ramsay & Sons at 320ppk and seven 44kg Beltex from the Askwiths which reached 318ppk. Two vendors led the gross values as Texel’s from both A Crowder, Bustfield and R O Gilson, Byers Green sold at £159; both W Ramsay & Sons and Cole Hill Farms followed just behind at £158. Plenty of weight on offer which fits well with buyer requirements at the moment saw the 52kg plus lambs average a healthy £144 including a large proportion of Suffolk lambs which topped at £154.50 (57kg) from R Wood & Son, Stillington.
Lambs – Top prices ppk 325 311 306 301 WA Wardman Ltd. 320 304 294 JC Simpson. 320 313 W Ramsay & Sons. 318 300 Askwiths. 317 A Graham. 309 288 W&M Knaggs & Son. 307 M Smith. 306 BJS Farms. 306 295 W.K M.M Lamb. 304 297 CK&D Muir Ltd. 302 M Hutchinson. 302 JC&A Hutchinson. 300 M&A Gaskin. 300 K&MM Henderson. 297 295 293 IM Maughan. 297 D&HM Hodgson. 297 FP&IM Jefferson. 297 M Dawson. 296 W Denham. 296 AWSM Farms. 295 MW&M Skidmore. 294 286 RO Gilson. 294 DL&D Lovegreen. 292 Cole Hill Farm Ltd.
Lead Grossing Lambs £159 £156 A Crowder. £159 £155 £154.50 £151 £147.50 RO Gilson. £158 Cole Hill farm Ltd. £158 £154 £145 W Ramsay & Sons. £157 £153×2 £149 £140 WA Wardman Ltd. £156 £154 £149 JC Simpson. £154.50 R Wood & Son. £152 £141 K&MM Henderson. £151 W Denham. £151 £140 IM Maughan. £151 JC&A Hutchinson. £150 DL&D Lovegreen. £150 £145 M&A Gaskin. £150×2 Askwiths. £149 A Graham. £149 M Hutchinson. £148 AWSM Farms. £147 W&M Knaggs & Son. £147 W.K M.M Lamb. £146 £144 £139 C Dawson. £142×2 FW Hodgson & Son. £140 D&HM Hodgson. £140 HS Petch & Sons.
Cast Ewes & Rams (298) – The ewe trade continues to firm gradually week by week, a few less forward today average £91 throughout with the best end very similar but the middle ground easier sold. Top price of £150 went to three shapely continental ewes from Bridge House Farm, North Lincolnshire. The continental and Suffolk ewes continue to sell typically £110-£140. Mule ewes were responsible for one third of the days show and topped at £100 with a breed average of £84 as they now seem to improve weekly. Good Scottish Blackface ewes impressed at £70 and led the horned ewe trade whilst Hill Cheviots sold to £95.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £150 £132 £120 £114×2 £108 £98 Bridge House Farm. £135 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £131 RI Jones. £131 £128 £127 WA Wardman Ltd. £128 DL&D Lovegreen. £128 £123 M&A Gaskin. £126 K&MM Henderson. £125×2 £116 W Ramsay & Sons. £125 £123 £119 RW&R Henry. £121×2 WL Robinson & Partners. £120 I Newton & Son. £118 Askwiths. £117×2 GC&JC Pullan. £117 JC&A Hutchinson.
Prime Pigs (12) – (Q) What do you call a pig with three eyes? (A) Piiig. Trade very similar.
Pigs – Top prices ppk 170 150 J Mitchell & Son.
Lead Grossing Pigs £130 £117 J Mitchell.
