Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 20th June 2024. Forward were 215 cattle and 1189 sheep.
49 Prime Bulls sold to 322ppk or £2634
25 Prime Steers sold to 334ppk and £2358
139 Prime Heifers sold to 351ppk and £2416
2 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 266ppk and £1687
1064 Prime Lambs sold to 440ppk or £210
125 Cast Sheep sold to £152
Prime Bulls (49) – Less numbers, trade up another touch and best bulls in short supply leaving a sale average of 267ppk and £1876 per head. A quality quartet of pure Limousin bulls from A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm, Witton-le-Wear set the pace as a tremendous 733kg bull topped at 322ppk and his thumping 878kg stable companion led the gross values at £2634. Best beef bred continental bulls once again were sailing over 300 pence per kilo and £2200 whilst the dairy crosses, native’s and pure dairy bulls would also see trade improved again on the week. Pick of the Friesian bulls came from the ridiculously consistent R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall, Brotton when they peaked at 254ppk and £1592. Below is a handful of the top averages, despite their valiant efforts none were able to come close to the magnificence from McNeil.
A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear sold 4 to average 307ppk and £2483
S & J Dent & Son, Darlington sold 2 to average 297ppk and £1892
L S Staley, Marwood sold 2 to average 293ppk and £2124
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £2634 £2499 £2441 £2360 AC Simpson & Son. £2412 £2251 GW Dobson & Son. £2310 LW Martin. £2282 £1965 LS Staley. £2230 £2170 DH Lawson. £2208 £2206 £2054 J&A&DA Horn. £2133 £2068 J Richmond. £2094 £2057 £1816 DW Humphrey. £2011 £1975 SH Watson & Son. £1932 £1852 S&J Dent & Son. £1931 JK&CE Farming. £1840 £1690 £1681 TF Bothroyd & Son.
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 322 311 300×2 AC Simpson & Son. 317 270 LS Staley. 309 JK&CE Farming. 308 285 266 DW Humphrey. 300 294 S&J Dent. 300 260 GW Dobson & son. 296 284 262 260 J&A&DA Horn. 283 274 J Richmond. 278 260×2 JA&A Herbert. 275 270 DH Lawson. 265 LW Martin. 260 259 JM&S Walton. 250 249×2 SH Watson & Son. 250 TF Bothroyd & Son.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 254 250 R Hall & Son. 232 JK&CE Farming.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £1592 £1582 R Hall & Son. £1519 JK&CE Farming.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 258 246 234 SJ Saville & Sons. 258 244 240 234 SN Bird & Sons.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £1638 £1633 £1606 SJ Saville & Sons. £1490 £1434 £1390 £1354 SN Bird & Sons.
OTM – Top prices ppk 266 240 SJ Saville & Sons.
Lead Grossing OTM £1687 £1593 SJ Saville & Sons.
Clean Cattle (164) – Its unlikely that football’s coming home or that this sunshine will last but quite frankly, who cares, the beef trade has found a Euro24 inspired lift off, keep those barbeques burning. A two tier show with an excellent top end filtering all the way down the scale to an increased number of O grades mattered little with all shapes and sizes noticeably dearer leaving the heifers averaging 307ppk and a nice show of steers 300ppk. Top of today’s hot list was a super 536kg Limousin heifer from Robin and Imogen Hirst, Neasham Grange when she sold to Taylor’s Butchers, Darlington for 351 pence per kilo; Wayne Armstrong of Coxhoe followed at 350ppk before a remarkable twenty-two others in the 340’s with the top 112 clean all surpassing 300 pence. Top steer per kilo was a delightful 633kg Limousin from the Askwith Family of Low Mown Meadows, Crook which sold for 334 pence; plenty followed closely as great steers from the Marshall’s of Hope House, Scott’s of Low Leam and Barker Farming Partnership are all deserving of mention. Top of the steers at £2358 was an excellent 728kg Limousin from I Marshall & Sons whilst W J Scott Ltd followed at £2257 with then another from the Marshall’s and also one from the Askwiths each selling over £2200. Top of the gross valued heifers at £2416 was a super 739kg Limousin from Gerard Quinn of J E Suddes & Son, Rowley Farm; Barker Farming Partnership followed at £2362 with another from the mighty Quinn next at £2204 on a day which remarkably saw the top thirty-one heifers sell over £2000. Some excellent pen averages are listed below as the live ring booked its place in the last sixteen and surely condemned the deadweight firms to elimination at the group stages.
Steers
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 to average 331ppk and £2169
I Marshall & Sons, Bishop Middleham sold 2 to average 321ppk and £2303
Barker Farming Partnership, Scorton sold 6 to average 316ppk and £1925
L W Martin, Commondale sold 2 to average 314ppk and £1899
W J Scott ltd, West Woodburn sold 3 to average 314ppk and £2085
Heifers
Barker Farming Partnership, Scorton sold 6 to average 340ppk and £2133
R Hirst, Neasham sold 13 to average 338ppk and £1952
I Marshall & Sons, Bishop Middleham sold 4 to average 337ppk and £1992
W Swinbank & Sons, Caldwell sold 5 to average 336ppk and £1992
P J & M P Gilhespy, Ponteland sold 6 to average 332ppk and £1957
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 to average 330ppk and £1692
J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery sold 4 to average 328ppk and £2045
J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse sold 12 to average 328ppk and £1940
Steers – Top prices ppk 334 329 Askwiths. 331 319 316 310×3 Barker Farming Partnership. 331 G&JY Marshall. 324 319 I Marshall & Sons. 323 318 303 WJ Scott Ltd. 319 310 LW Martin. 313 WA Wardman Ltd. 291 J&R Hutchinson & Sons. 281 A&MJ Henshaw.
Lead Grossing Steers £2358 £2248 I Marshall & Sons. £2257 £2057 £1941 WJ Scott Ltd. £2224 £2114 Askwiths. £2038 £2025 £1931 £1904 £1825×2 Barker farming Partnership. £1900 £1898 LW Martin. £1862 J&R Hutchinson & Sons. £1834 WA Wardman Ltd. £1829 £1640 A&MJ Henshaw. £1780 £1626 G&JY Marshall.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 351 348×2 346 345×2 343 R Hirst. 350 349 341 WA Armstrong. 349 340 338 336 W Swinbank & Sons. 349 347 339 338 336 334 Barker Farming Partnership. 348 345 340 336 334 JV&JA Hodgson. 348 334 JE Suddes & Son. 347 335 334 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 344 340 334 WF Hustwit. 344 337 336 I Marshall & Sons. 342 Askwiths. 340 336 WJ Scott. £1965 GT&E Atkinson. 334 WA Wardman Ltd.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2416 £2204 JE Suddes & Son. £2362 £2140 £2129 £2128 £2027 £2012 Barker Farming Partnership. £2159 £2129 £2055 £2040 £2014 R Hirst. £2128 A&MJ Henshaw. £2109 £2089 £2048 W Swinbank & Sons. £2089 £2041 £2036 £2031 WF Hustwit. £2060 £2008 I Marshall & Sons. £2036 £2016 £1999 £1997×2 £1995 JV&JA Hodgson. £2028 J&R Hutchinson & Sons. £2015 RA&BA Ridley & Son Ltd. £2006 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £2002 WJ Scott Ltd £2001×2 WA Armstrong.
Prime Lambs (1064) – The lamb trade continues in fair form to average 378ppk and £165 per head, still they trade way out in front of this week last year which looking back was an exceptional trade here in DfAM. King of the pence per kilo today was Caldwell’s J C Simpson of Hill Top East Farm when he sold three pens of ten 42 and 43kg Texel crosses at 440 and 439ppk. Plenty of the better bred well finished lambs continue to sell in the 410’s, 420’s and 430’s as the creep fed sheep flourish over our straight weighbridge, the weights of the top fifty pens per kilo ranged from 40kg to 51kg. Pick of the pack in the gross values was once again Richard Bailes of Cole Hill Farms, Elwick selling fabulous 50kg plus Texel crossed Suffolk’s twice to £210 with others to £207. Six other vendors reached £200 including our own sharp shedder Peter Tindale, the Patterson’s of Capheaton, P Bisby travelled all the way up from near Goole and two local enthusiastic young shepherds Anna Herbert and Alan Binks.
Lambs – Top prices ppk 440 439×2 433 428×2 427 426 425 423 420 JC Simpson. 435 422 412 407 404 PJ Tindale. 432 430 409 407 F&JS Gargett. 425 413 411 JA&A Herbert. 420 413 W Hanson. 420 K&PM Lough. 417 409 DG&PD Ayre. 416 407 D&HM Hodgson. 414 P Bisby. 413 T Lawson & Son. 412 T Grix. 412 409 PN&VJ Noble. 411 410 403 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 411 406 PR&V Barlow. 411 404 I&A Holmes. 409 BR&R Routledge. 408 C Binks & Son. 406 RG Richardson. 406 404 M&A Gaskin. 404 JG Hall. 403 RA Patterson & Son.
Lead Grossing Lambs £210×2 £207 £201 £200 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £206 £200 £188 £186 PJ Tindale. £206 RA Patterson & Son. £203 £195 P Bisby. £200 £196 C Binks & Son. £200 £187 Anna Herbert. £200 3196 £195 £189×2 £185 £184 £183 £181 JC Simpson. £196 £194 £190 T Lawson & Son. £195 £182 M&A Gaskin. £194 £191 £185 I&A Holmes. £192 £189 £183 WA Wardman Ltd. £191 £190 £185 PR&V Barlow. £191×2 RG Richardson. £191 B Fisk. £189 K&PM Lough. £187 £184 JR Knox & Son. £186 JA&A Herbert.
Cast Sheep (125) – A light show lacking quality sold to similar levels to average £87. Top of the day at £152 went to a Texel ewe from J A & A Herbert, Tees Farm, Westwick followed by Suffolk’s from R A Patterson & Son, White House Farm, Capheaton at £140.
Lead Grossing Ewes- £152 £130 JA&A Herbert. £140 RA Patterson & Son. £130 £90 I Newton & Son. £130 F Hare & Sons. £130 £110 £90 O Varley. £126 F Brown & Son. £126 £110 I&A Holmes. £126 J Curry. £124 £105 £100 x3 £93 GW Whittington Livestock. £118 £80 W Hanson. £112 £90 Anna Herbert. £104 SM Donaldson. £100 R Lawson & Son. £100 x2 J Murray. £100 £84 JR&J Crowe. £96 £94 £86 MR Madrell. £88 A Darling.
