Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 25th April 2024. Forward were 183 cattle and 1434 sheep.
39 Prime Bulls sold to 324ppk or £2708
39 Prime Steers sold to 313ppk or £2295
101 Prime Heifers sold to 354ppk or £2105
4 Cast Cattle/OTM sold to 256ppk or £1869
18 New Season Lambs sold to 490ppk or £220
1090 Prime Hoggs sold to 458ppk or £230
326 Cast Sheep sold to £280
Prime Bulls (39) – Numbers remaining tight and once again the best suckler bred types were in short supply and high demand. Five Limousin’s led the way per kilo selling between 318 pence and 324 pence, top of them all was a fabulous fifteen-month-old 813kg bull from W Barron, Morrow Edge Farm. Four of the top five gross values this week went to British Blonde bulls with only the Barron superstar preventing a clean sweep, pick of the bunch was a brilliant 891kg Blonde from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm selling for £2708. Friesian feeders this week saw the familiar name of R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall top the prices per kilo at 248 pence but a new name led the gross values as A Phillip, Denmark Farm, Arbroath sold strong sorts thrice over £1650. Below are a few of the days leading pen averages.
W Barron, Burnhope sold 2 to average 323ppk and £2418
W & M Knaggs & Son, Sadberge sold 2 to average 319ppk and £2290
F & J S Gargett, Barnard Castle sold 3 to average 299ppk and £2420
J R Knox & Son, Heighington sold 2 to average 299ppk and £2244
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 324 322 W Barron. 322 WJ Scott Ltd. 321 318 W&M Knaggs & Son. 310 302 285 F&JS Gargett. 304 P Weightman & Sons. 299×2 JR Knox & Son. 288 250 J Richmond. 287 JK&CE Farming. 279 269 267 257 D Robertson. 263 262 257 JK Gregory. 257 247 240 TF Bothroyd & Son.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £2708 P Weightman & Sons. £2634 £2202 W Barron. £2535 £2419 £2305 F&JS Gargett. £2299 £2282 W&M Knaggs & Son. £2286 WJ Scott Ltd. £2263 £2224 JR Knox & Son. £2135 JK&CE Farming. £2119 J Richmond. £1849 £1740 D Robertson. £1812 J Richmond. £1804 £1743 £1673 £1661 J Steel & Son. £1720 £1687 £1621 TF Bothroyd & Son.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 248 231×2 R Hall & Son. 236 230 227 220 214 A Phillip. 231 228 222 208 JM&S Walton. 222 206 200×2 C&M Atkinson & Sons.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £1697 £1694 £1654 £1550 £1372 A Phillip. £1605 £1465 ££1454 £1337 JM&S Walton. £1388 £1386 £1374 R Hall & Son. £1327 £1142 C&M Atkinson & Sons.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 259 G Te-Lintelo. 237 228 A Phillip. 232 230 I Skea.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2305 G Te-Lintelo. £2071 £2019 I Skea. £1576 £1497 A Phillip.
OTM – Top prices ppk 256 W&M Knaggs & Son. 227 210 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 172 J&J Pattullo.
Lead Grossing OTM £1869 J&J Pattullo. £1802 W&M Knaggs & Son. £1717 £1520 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons.
Clean Cattle (140) – A plainer show of quality than witnessed recently and much more weight on offer, the butchers shop spec handier weights look every bit as dear as they have been however the 600kg plus beasts needed real shape and style to keep up. Top price per kilo at 354 pence was a beautiful 516kg Limousin heifer from the Askwiths of Low Mown Meadows, Crook which sold to Taylor’s Butchers, Darlington. Topping the steers per kilo was an excellent home bred 637 British Blue from W J Scott Ltd, Low Leam Farm, West Woodburn when he sold for 313 pence. Moving on to the gross values and it was the West Woodburn wizards from Low Leam who claimed the bragging rights today leading the steers at £2295 with a British Blonde and the heifers at £2067 with a British Blue. Remarkably, the top six heifers all sold within £10 of each other as I Marshall & Sons, Hope House along with the Hirst’s of Neasham and J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay are without doubt well worthy of a mention. Below are some of the days top pen averages.
Steers
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 to average 306ppk and £2096
W J Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 3 to average 294ppk and £2122
L R Welsh & Co, Spennymoor sold 3 to average 290ppk and £2062
Heifers
Askwiths, Crook sold 3 to average 337ppk and £1778
I Marshall & Sons, Bishop Middleham sold 4 to average 324ppk and £2010
P J & M P Gilhespy, Ponteland sold 5 to average 324ppk and £1776
R W Barker & Sons, Grantham sold 2 to average 322ppk and £1749
W J Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 5 to average 318ppk and £2036
Steers- Top Prices PPK 313 306 269 WJ Scott LTD. 309 304 Askwiths. 308 288 284 x2 283 260 245 A&MJ Henshaw. 307 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 305 289 277 LR Welsh & Co. 305 RW Barker & Sons. 293 JE Suddes & Son. 281 JK&CE Farming. 246 244 242 A Phillip. 240 T Watson.
Lead Grossing Steers- £2295 £2079 £1993 WJ Scott LTD. £2207 £2104 £1875 LR Welsh & Co. £2097 £2095 Askwiths. £2022 RW Barker & Sons. £2006 RW Barker & Sons. £1977 JE Suddes & Son. £1888 £1859 £1843 £1814 £1766 £1668 £1656 A&MJ Henshaw. £1802 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £1714 £1680 £1644 A Phillip. £1658 W Lewis & Sons.
Heifers- Top Prices PPK 354 336 324 Askwiths. 345 329 326 I Marshall & Sons. 340 338 336 333 317 316 WA Armstrong. 335 325 x2 319 JV&JA Hodgson. 335 333 327 WJ Scott LTD. 329 324 x2 323 320 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 329 325 324 322 320 318 314 310 R Hirst. 328 JE Suddes. 325 320 RW Barker & Sons. 324 A&MJ Henshaw. 324 SH Watson & Son. 323 320 WF Hustwit.
Lead Grossing Heifers- £2067 £2060 £2011 £2008 £1938 WJ Scott LTD. £2066 £2037 £2025 £1913 I Marshall & Sons. £2058 £2057 £2012 £1953 £1920 £1918 £1893 £1864 R Hirst. £2057 £1954 JE Suddes & Son. £2006 £1911 £1906 £1902 £1893 £1878 £1865 JV&JA Hodgson. £1976 £1898 £1839 A&MJ Henshaw. £1944 LR Welsh & Co. £1938 W Lewis & Sons. £1936 £1914 £1904 £1899 WA Armstrong. £1924 RW Barker & Sons. £1920 £1846 £1837.
New Season Lambs (18) – Still early days for the springers to spring in to life and with snow up the dale this morning they will hardly be in a rush this year. An excellent trade for those forward as they all climbed over £200. Top of the day per kilo at 490 pence were four smart 42kg lambs from I Hedley, Barnard Castle with the top gross value going to four thumping 52kg Suffolk lambs from P J Tindale, Preston Tilery Farm at £220.
Spring Lambs- Top Prices PPK 490 450 I Hedley. 463 T Duckitt. 429 423 388 PJ Tindale.
Lead Grossing Spring Lambs- £220 £219 £210 PJ Tindale. £207 £206 I Hedley. £204 T Duckitt.
Prime Hoggs (1090) – A shade dearer on the week to average a weighed straight 375ppk with an SQQ of 391ppk. Top of the day per kilo went to a pen of eight terrific 40kg Beltex from P J & M P Gilhespy, Low House, Ponteland at 458 pence. Three vendors shared the top eighteen prices per kilo as the Gilhespy’s were pushed hard by R Atkinson, Scorton and G Gall, Aberdeenshire; those eighteen lots contained between them over 300 hoggs. Top of the gross values was a superb single Texel tup hogg from C Moralee & Sons, Blackburn Farm, Langley Park which sold for £230, behind him came an excellent Charollais hogg from Abbey Lane Partnership, Healaugh at £226 before seven super Texels from C A & J G Skidmore, Toronto and several pens from the regular selling A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm. See below some of this week’s top runs.
R Atkinson, Scorton sold 251 to average 427ppk
P J & M P Gilhespy, Ponteland sold 66 to average 415ppk
C A & J G Skidmore, Toronto sold 17 to average £213
A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear sold 42 to average £204
Abbey Lane Partnership, Leeds sold 22 to average £204
J L & J Spensley & Sons, Ripon sold 34 to average £201
A Crowder, Butsfield sold 45 to average £199
Hoggs- Top Prices PPK 458 443 416 415 412 402 x2 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 454 444 442 x2 433 429 419 414 x3 413 R Atkinson. 433 428 387 372 370 G Gall. 400 JD Brannen. 411 381 377 372 AC Simpson & Son. 409 389 x2 379 TN Callender. 408 395 390 376 R&D Harland. 405 396 374 G&S Frankland. 400 391 385 A Crowder. 387 384 x2 JL&J Spensley & Sons. 384 D&B Harding. 375 DA Gill. 374 x2 372 x2 370 x2 PJ Tindale. 373 GC&JC Pullan. 372 RE Dickson.
Lead Grossing Hoggs- £230 C Moralee & Sons. £226 £215 £191 G&S Frankland. £218 £210 CA&JG Skidmore. £218 £215 x2 £213 £210 £207 £205×2 £202 x2 £201 £200 £190 AC Simpson & Son. £210 £192 £190 £189 x2 D&PH Brown. £207 £204.50 £196 £192 A Crowder. £206 £200 x2 £199 x2 £197 £195 x4 £190 R Atkinson. £203 £201.50 £200 x2 JL&J Spensley & Sons. £200 £188 R&D Harland. £197 £194 £187 RE Dickson. £194 £193.50 £191 £190 £187 PJ Tindale. £188 K Tallentire. £187 GC&JC Pullan.
Cast Ewes & Rams (326) – Ewes much, much dearer. A very mixed bag with a few good ewes very much diluted by the downright downtrodden from what’s been a hard lambing. The sale averaged £128 for ewes and £158 for tups, those numbers tell only some of the story as the below par offering mattered not at all with all types exceeding expectations. Top of the day went to a pure Texel from T Nesbitt & Son, Alwent Hall at £280, plenty more of the fitter lowland bred ewes followed either side of £200. Mule ewes enjoyed a flyer to average £122 topping thrice at £150 whilst the best of the hill sheep was a pen of fourteen fit Swaledale ewes which sold for £120, it has to be said though that the trade of the day belonged to the ewes with the lambing time blues, escaping the knacker man by the skin of their teeth, even they sold from £50-£70.
Lead Grossing Cast sheep £280 £170 £160 T Nesbitt & Son. £240 C Moralee & Sons. £230 I Hedley. £206 £160 A&EJ Dobinson. £204 J Davis. £200×3 Parkin Butchers. £190 £170 W Denham. £190 £180 £152 JR&M Richardson. £188 £180 £168 £155 JH Johnson. £186 JR Knox & Son. £185 D&PH Brown. £184 £180 £174 JA&A Herbert. £180 GS Bainbridge. £180×2 £170 £160 RA Patterson & Son. £180 J&MJ Walton. £180 £170 £152 W Tindale. £179.50 £170 Tallentire. £162 N&LL Brown & Son. £160 K Hall.
