Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 28th March 2024. Forward were 76 cattle and 804 sheep.
27 Prime Bulls sold to 340ppk or £2508
9 Prime Steers sold to 306ppk or £2316
36 Prime Heifers sold to 340ppk or £2105
4 Cast Cattle/OTM sold to 225ppk or £1365
615 Prime Hoggs sold to 497ppk or £230
189 Cast Ewes & Rams sold to £250
Prime Bulls (27) – Numbers reduced across all sections due to the forthcoming four-day weekend, those selling bulls enjoyed an improved trade with all classes dearer resulting in a sale average of 287ppk and £1997; excellent given that half of those offered were first cross dairy bred bulls. An excellent suckler bred British Blonde led the prices per kilo weighing 690kg from A G Watson & Sons, Nunstainton Grange and selling for 340 pence; Limousin’s from the same good home and L S Staley, Bluestone House followed the winner over the line at 325ppk and 321ppk respectively. Top of the gross values at £2508 was a super 817kg Limousin from L R Welsh & Co, Green Lane Farm; the same pen produced the next best at £2433 with L S Staley again in third place reaching £2429. As mentioned, plenty of dairy crosses this week however the only pure dairy bred bull was a Fleckvieh from G S Dowson, Barmby Farm which sold for 244ppk and £1588. Below are a few of the top pen averages today.
L S Staley, Marwood sold 2 to average 317ppk and £2411
L R Welsh & Co, Spennymoor sold 3 to average 308ppk and £2410
A G Watson & Sons, Rushyford sold 5 to average 304ppk and £2145
J K & C E Farming, Piercebridge sold 3 to average 304ppk and £2108
Bulls – Top prices ppk 340 325 297 295 272 AG Watson & Sons. 321 315 LS Staley. 315 299 297 JK&CE Farming. 311 W&M Knaggs & Son. 310 309 307 LR Welsh & Co. 298 286 285 283 263 JR Tiplady. 274 250 244 GS Dowson. 260 254 250 245 240 JC&P Tallentire.
Lead Grossing Bulls £2508 £2433 £2289 LR Welsh & Co. £2429 £2394 LS Staley. £2346 £2177 £2078 £2067 £2057 AG Watson & Sons. £2343 £2051 £1930 JK&CE Farming. £2285 £2217 £1956 £1898 £1890 JR Tiplady. £1830 £1588 £1474 GS Dowson. £1705 £1696 £1631 £1619 £1524 JC&P Tallentire. £1511 W&M Knaggs & Son.
Clean Cattle (45) – As with the bull’s numbers reduced and with that was also a larger percentage of dairy crosses, the heifers averaged 299ppk and the steers 292ppk. Trade looked brisk throughout, the top 5% were perhaps a shade easier but the other 95% would more than make up for that and certainly be no less if not even a shade dearer on what was a sharp trade last week. Top per kilo was a fine Limousin heifer from W A Armstrong, Coxhoe when she sold at 340 pence, behind her came the pick of a well finished pen from regular selling J V & J A Hodgson, The Grange at 337ppk. The top six gross valued heifers all came from the remarkable Hodgson’s feeding, the top three of these amazingly sold within a whisker of each other between £2101 and £2105. The Askwith family of Low Mown Meadows ran away with the steer trade this week as they topped the pence per kilo at 306 and led the gross values at £2316; plenty of flesh on the bullocks today saw them average £2000. As always below are a few of the highlights.
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 Heifers to average 329ppk and £1758
M F Hall, Ponteland sold 4 Heifers to average 322ppk and £1852
J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse sold 6 Heifers to average 318ppk and £2035
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 Steers to average 304ppk and £2190
Steers – Top prices ppk 306 304 Askwiths. 302 288 AJ Marr. 297 288 287 280 278 JM Smith.
Lead Grossing Steers £2316 £2065 Askwiths. £2147 £2128 £2076 £1926 £1842 JM Smith. £1905 £1759 AJ Marr & Son.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 340 334×2 330 320 316 WA Armstrong. 337 319 316×2 315 307 JV&JA Hodgson. 330 328 Askwiths. 330 323 320 317 MF Hall. 327 321 316 310 308 305 R Hirst. 309 AJ Marr & Son. 262 261 256 FJ Young & Partners. 259×2 253 252 250 250×2 FS Sturrock & Sons.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2105 £2104 £2101 £1997 £1958 £1947 JV&JA Hodgson. £1883 £1854 £1851 £1820 MF Hall. £1856 £1843 £1830 WA Armstrong. £1761 £1755 Askwiths. £1742 £1728 £1688 £1664 £1616 R Hirst. £1722 £1497 £1440 FS Sturrock & Sons. £1714 AJ Marr & Son. £1490 FJ Young & Partners.
OTM Cattle – Top prices ppk 225 220 JR Tiplady. 180 W&M Knaggs & Son.
Lead Grossing OTM Cattle £1365 £1273 JR Tiplady. £1236 W&M Knaggs & Son.
Prime Hoggs (615) – For those who chanced Maundy Thursday to market their hoggs the rewards were high as the weighed straight sale average jumped to 398ppk with the SQQ up an excellent twenty-seven pence on the week to level at 406ppk. Some good runs of sheep it has to be said were mixed with a very average bottom end (as many now are cleaning up); all this mattered little with all weights and shapes very much in demand. Top of the day per kilo at 497 pence were a terrific trio of 39kg Beltex hoggs from D G & P D Ayre, Roger Moor Farm, behind these a marvellous run of clipped Texel’s from Robert Atkinson of Scorton dominated proceedings selling a pen of twenty-nine weighing 45kg at 466ppk and thereafter four pens each containing twenty weighing 45-46kg close behind them and all over 450ppk; the super run from Robert saw 263 hoggs average 443ppk and £205 per head. On to the gross values and yet another successful day was in the making for the superb feeding of A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear selling to a top of £230 with three more pens at £220; thirty this week from the Simpson’s averaged £208. The other vendors at £220 were I E & A C Teasdale, Pockley with a 59kg Rouge tup hogg, things are back to normal next Thursday, numbers will be needed and trade is very likely to be sharp again in another short week.
Hoggs – Top prices ppk 497 425 386 377 DG&PD Ayre. 466 464 457×2 452 446 444 439 437 434 429 420 412 R Atkinson. 434 AWSM Farms. 418 397 385 384 374 CS Robinson. 415 388 J Boocock. 414 395 366 MJ Blacklidge. 409 402 393 390 TW Clark & Son. 409 382 IE&A Teasdale. 405 E Scott & Son. 400 370 JC&A Hutchinson. 400 375×2 JR Knox & Son. 395 D&P Heppell. 394 WE Frank & Son. 388 JV&JA Hodgson. 388 K&PM Lough. 386 K&M Elders & Son.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £230 £220×3 £210×5 £202 £200 AC Simpson & Son. £220 £180 IE&A Teasdale. £211 £210×3 £209 £208 £206×2 £202 £200×2 £194 R Atkinson. £210 C Wise. £201 £200 £194 DG&PD Ayre. £200×2 £188 JC&A Hutchinson. £200 £180 JR Knox & Son. £200 £190 RO Gilson. £200 DL&D Lovegreen. £192 £191×2 £184 £181 CS Robinson. £191 J Boocock. £189 £187 KO Stones. £186 R Nattrass & Sons. £181×3 TW Clark & Son.
Cast Ewes & Rams (189) – Ewes and rams dearer on the week, a very mixy show, some nice sorts at the top were mixed with a fair proportion of plain ewes and lambing disasters, the sale averaged £121. A trio of Texel tups from C Wise, Manor Farm led the way selling for £250, plenty of the better end followed between £180 and £210. The biggest Mule ewes sold typically £130 plus, Teeswater’s to £160, Blue Faced Leicester’s to £156, Cheviots to £150, Jacob’s to £132 and Kerry Hill’s to £110.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £250 £200 £190 £160 £140 C Wise. £210 £200 DL&D Lovegreen. £210 £130 D&P Heppel. £208 £150 £146 JV&JA Hodgson. £200 £160×2 £150 £135 CG Teasdale & Son. £200 IE&A Teasdale. £165 £150 £145 JJ Horn. £160 P Tindale. £160 G Horner. £160 RO Gilson. £160 TW Clark. £156 £132 MW Reed. £150 £145 £136 E Scott & Sons. £150 Clervaux Trust Ltd. £140 W Wearmouth & Son. £140 J & E Boocock. £140 C S Robinson. £135 J Stanwix & Son. £132 E V Jones.
