Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 8th February 2024. Forward were 189 cattle and 2461 sheep.
72 Prime Bulls sold to 349ppk or £2874
19 Prime Steers sold to 346ppk or £2352
92 Prime Heifers sold to 350ppk or £2557
6 Cast Cows & OTM Heifers sold to 310ppk or £2368
2019 Prime Hoggs sold to 397ppk or £185
442 Cast Ewes & Rams sold to £222
Prime Bulls (72) – No let up at all in the sharp bull trade as this week’s offering averaged 279ppk and £1974; once again the better end sold with incredible ease with twenty-one over 300 pence and the top dozen over £2500. It was a British Blonde having most fun in the pence per kilo stakes today as a super 793kg bull from F & J S Gargett, Westwick Farm sold for an impressive 349ppk; Limousin bulls from four other vendors all sold over 330ppk including an impressive sort just 15-months-old at 676kg and 339 pence from W & M Knaggs & Son, East Newbiggin. Despite the brilliant Blonde from Messrs Gargett adding up to £2767 he was denied the day’s top gross value by a thumping Scottish Simmental which sold for £2874; a tremendously put together Simmental bull, as good as you are likely to see, at 22-months-old, the 955kg star hailed from Perthshire and Messrs S & J E Andrew, Letter Farm, Loch of Lowes. Friesian feeders again found form and were unsurprisingly led across the line by the consistent R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall, Brotton who topped at 259ppk and £1678. Below as usual are some of the day’s top performing pen averages.
L S Staley, Marwood sold 2 to average 327ppk and £2619
Foxton Livestock, Barnard Castle sold 2 to average 322ppk and £2436
F & J S Gargett, Barnard Castle sold 3 to average 319ppk and £2434
J Layfield, Willington sold 6 to average 313ppk and £2228
R Adam & Son, Forfar sold 2 to average 307ppk and £2381
D Richardson & Co, Melsonby sold 5 to average 301ppk and £2327
R W & R Henry, Worsall sold 3 to average £2641
Continental Bulls Leading PPK – 349 309 299 F & J S Gargett. 339 W & M Knaggs & Son. 338 322(x2) 312 300 290 J Layfield. 335 326 290(x2) A G Watson & Sons. 331 323 L S Staley. 326 319 Foxton Livestock. 317 314 308 D Richardson & Co. 309 306 R M Adam & Son. 305 298 E Scott. 301 S & J E Andrew. 298 J M & S Walton. 292 R W & R Henry. 290 S H Watson & Son.
Native Breed Bulls Leading PPK – 267 258 248 242 F J Fraser & Son. 258 254 R Hall & Son. 255 Upsall Castle Farms. 249 245(x2) G S Dowson. 247 T F Bothroyd & Son.
Friesian Bulls Leading PPK – 259 R Hall & Son. 236 234(x2) 226(x2) 221 J M & S Walton. 210 200 D Walker.
Continental Bulls Leading Gross – £2874 S & J E Andrew. £2767 £2376 £2158 F & J S Gargett. £2724 £2660 £2540 R W & R Henry. £2667 £2571 L S Staley. £2604 R M Adam & Son. £2587 £2548 £2313 £2153 D Richardson & Co. £2535 £2376 £2311 £2276 £2254 J Layfield. £2503 £2370 Foxton Livestock. £2452 £2425 £2337 £2270 £2179 A G Watson & Sons. £2291 W & M Knaggs & Son. £2262 S H Watson & Son. £2187 J M & S Walton. £2157 R M Adam & Son. £2121 E Scott.
Native Breed Bulls Leading Gross – £2205 Upsall Castle Farms. £1965 £1869 R Hall & Son. £1840 T F Bothroyd & Son. £1653 £1553 £1543 G S Dowson. £1476 £1465 £1388 F J Fraser & Son.
Friesian Bulls Leading Gross – £1678 R Hall & Son. £1513 £1508 £1495 £1410 £1376 £1295 J M & S Walton. £1173 £1168 D Walker.
Clean Cattle (111) – Trade in big tune this week as a good show assembled from far and wide, the heifers all in averaged 321ppk with some superstars on display lifting the steers to level at a biblical 308ppk. Top price per kilo at 350 pence went to a sweet handy weight Limousin heifer from the regular selling R Hirst, Neasham Grange selling to Taylor’s Butchers, Darlington; the excellent W J Scott Ltd, Low Leam Farm followed at 349ppk with a smart British Blonde ahead of no less than seventeen other heifers in the 340’s. Two simply stunning British Blue steers from North of the border headed an excellent pack when they topped the pence per kilo and pounds per head in the bullock standings; hailing from S & J E Andrew, Letter Farm one sold for 346ppk and £2304 with his mate 344ppk and £2352. Plenty of other steers sold in the 300’s and the nineteen forward averaged 653kg and well beyond £2000, do the maths, the deadweight’s trailing behind again. Twenty-nine heifers sold over £2000, the top five sold over £2200; spare a thought for P & J H Davison, Morley Farm who must surely feel like the Welsh rugby team today, despite a valiant effort (£2230 & £2205) they could not quite overcome the team from Scotland. Top of the day at a brilliant £2557 was a stunning 775kg British Blue heifer from R & A Stodart Ltd, Mill of Inverarity with the next best a 700kg British Blue at £2366 from the red-hot S & J E Andrew, Letter Farm. As always some of the day’s top performers are listed below.
Steers
S & J E Andrew, Perthshire sold 2 to average 344ppk and £2328
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 to average 320ppk and £2039
W J Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 4 to average 306ppk and £2114
A J Marr & Son, Gateshead sold 2 to average 301ppk and £2103
Heifers
R & A Stodart, Forfar sold 2 to average 333ppk and £2394
W J Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 7 to average 333ppk and £1997
J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery sold 4 to average 332ppk and £1965
W J Smith & Partners, Richmond sold 4 to average 331ppk and £1817
J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse sold 12 to average 330ppk and £2038
F & J S Gargett, Barnard Castle sold 3 to average 330ppk and £2003
W Swinbank & Sons, Caldwell sold 4 to average 328ppk and £1899
R Hirst, Neasham sold 12 to average 325ppk and £1877
P & J H Davison, Morley sold 4 to average £2165
Prime Steers Leading PPK – 346 344 S & J E Andrew. 333 W A Armstrong. 330 320 295 287 W J Scott Ltd. 330 296 284 M & A Bainbridge. 322 319 Askwiths. 307 J E Suddes & Son. 304 299 A J Marr & Son. 302 W R Thompson. 297 D L & D Lovegreen
Prime Heifers Leading PPK – 350 346 345 341(x2) R Hirst. 349 346 338 337 330 W J Scott Ltd. 348(x2) 347 336(x2) 334 W A Armstrong. 348 343 W Swinbank & Sons. 347 345 339(x2) 336(x2) 335 J V & J A Hodgson. 346(x2) F & J S Gargett. 345 W J & A S Bowes & Sons. 344 330 J E Suddes & Son. 341 337(x2) W J Smith & Partners. 338 330 R & A Stodart Ltd. 338 S & J E Andrew. 334 W F Hustwit. 334 Askwiths.
Prime Steers Leading Gross – £2352 £2304 S & J E Andrew. £2207 £2138 £2076 £2035 W J Scott Ltd. £2143 £2063 A J Marr & Son. £2099 £1980 Askwiths. £2058 J E Suddes & Son. £2036 W R Thompson.
Prime Heifers Leading Gross – £2557 £2230 R & A Stodart Ltd. £2366 S & J E Andrew. £2230 £2205 £2148 £2076 P & J H Davison. £2190 £2031 £2029 W J Scott Ltd. £2167 J E Suddes & Son. £2136 £2109 £2107 £2105 £2092 £2077 £2052 £2044 2022 J V & J A Hodgson. £2095 W A Armstrong. £2083 S & J Dent & Son. £2080 £2076 £2001 R Hirst. £2058 F & J S Gargett. £2007 W J & A S Bowes & Sons. £2000 Askwiths.
Cast Cows & OTM (6) – A magnificent showing of over aged beast this week deservedly sold at extreme rates, a further flyer for the inform Forfar folk as four fantastic 36- to 46-month-old heifers from R & A Stodart Ltd, Mill of Inverarity averaged 290ppk and £2226. Top for the flying Scots were Limousin’s with highs of 310ppk and £2368.
OTM/Cows Leading PPK – 310 307 301 251 R & A Stodart Ltd. 274 W J & A S Bowes & Sons. 140 R M Adam & Son.
OTM/Cows Leading Gross – £2368 £2317 £2201 £2018 R & A Stodart Ltd. £2068 W J & A S Bowes & Sons. £828 R M Adam & Son.
Prime Hoggs (2019) – Another healthy number in front of the buyers this week and a stunning trade indeed saw them average £153.41 with a weighed straight sale average of 330ppk and an SQQ average over 345ppk. Hoggs are now needed from away as the local feeders look towards the finish so it was pleasing today to see sheep from as far afield as Aberdeen in the North and Lincolnshire and Leicestershire in the South; all were richly rewarded as hoggs were in huge demand. Top per kilo went to local producers K & P M Lough, Redgate House Farm, Wolsingham with a brilliant 40kg Beltex reaching 397.5 pence; a dozen 42kg Beltex from T A Greensit & Sons, Kirby Fleetham followed next at 395ppk with Scorton based R Atkinson just adrift with seventeen 43kg Texel’s to 393ppk. Top of the gross values were an excellent pair of clipped Texel tup hoggs from G C & J C Pullan, Tunstall weighing 64kg and selling for £185. Fourteen terrific Suffolk’s from H Haywood & Son, Harby followed closest at 59kg and £181 on a day which saw the top two hundred and fifty hoggs sell over £170 remarkably including every one of the weekly run from A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm. As is customary with the cattle today is certainly a day to acknowledge some of the top sheep averages, see below.
Average price per kilo
R Atkinson, Scorton sold 125 at 373.8ppk
K & M M Henderson, Witton-le-Wear sold 22 at 372.69ppk
T Duckitt, Goole sold 24 at 362.78ppk
J D Brannen, Toronto sold 12 at 362.01ppk
T A Greensit & Sons, Kirby Fleetham sold 47 at 361.97ppk
C K & D Muir, Loftus sold 18 at 360.05ppk
Average price per head
A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear sold 42 at £173.64
G C & J C Pullan, Tunstall sold 38 at £169.68
W Denham, Langleydale sold 8 at £167.50
P Bisby, Goole sold 14 at £167.14
R D & K Machin, Leicestershire sold 105 at £166.18
K & M M Henderson, Witton-le-Wear sold 22 at £165
Hoggs Leading Price Per Kilo – 397 K & P M Lough. 395 385 364 T A Greensit & Sons. 393 379 376 375 373(x2) 366 360 R Atkinson. 389 367 L D Laws. 385 J D Brannen. 380 R O Gilson. 379 375 370 K & M M Henderson. 376 T H Richardson & Sons. 372 366 G W Whittington. 370 367 364 H Haywood & Son Ltd. 370 G Gall. 369 360 T Duckitt. 368 W K M M Lamb. 368 William Swinbank. 367 AWSM Farms. 363 W Allison & Sons. 362 360 C K & D Muir Ltd. 361 J E Bullock.
Hoggs Leading Gross – £185 £176 £174(x2) £172 G C & J C Pullan. £181 £176 £175(x2) £172 £171 H Haywood & Son Ltd. £179 W K M M Lamb. £178 £176 £174(x4) £173 £172 £171 A C Simpson & Son. £176(x2) W Denham. £176 £173 T H Richardson & Sons. £175 L D Laws. £175 R O Gilson. £174 G Gall. £174 K & M M Henderson. £173.50 R D & K Machin. £173 P Bisby. £173 C Dawson. £172 C A Mottram & Sons.
Cast Ewes & Rams (442) – The ewe trade stays firm with a varied offering containing 100 horned ewes and 100 Mules averaging £99 throughout. Top of the day at £222 was a huge Texel tup from D L & D Lovegreen, Catterick; top of the ewes was an excellent Texel from W & M Knaggs & Son, Sadberge at £212. Amongst the other breeds Cheviot Mule’s sold to £128, Aberfields to £127, North of England Mules to £115, Romneys to £94 and horned ewes topped at £70.
Cast Sheep Leading Prices – £222 D & D L Lovegreen. £212 £180 £158 £145 W & M Knaggs & Son. £196 £190 £180 Reece Stevenson. £190 M D Doherty. £178 £136 W Denham. £156 £136 C Wise. £150 J R & J Crowe. £142 £134 W K M M Lamb. £138 £130 J A & B Nappey. £135 J H Johnson. £132 C Dawson. £130 D & P H Brown. £130 I Marshall & Sons.
