Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 27th June 2024. Forward were 194 cattle and 1014 sheep.
63 Prime Bulls sold to 317ppk or £2407
23 Prime Steers sold to 326ppk or £2364
107 Prime Heifers sold to 346ppk or £2288
1 Cast Cow sold for 186ppk and £1296
864 Prime Lambs sold to 404ppk or £210
150 Cast Sheep sold to £170
Prime Bulls (63) – Last weeks sharp trade continued, best quality again in short supply as the sale averaged 266ppk and £1867. A close battle between the Limousin breeders for the top spot per kilo as J E Jordon & Son, Longhirst (314ppk) and W & M Knaggs & Son, Sadberge (316ppk) fought hard but failed to catch A & D Proctor, Swarland who led the way at 317ppk and also produced another in the shake up at 315ppk. Top gross valued bull at £2407 came from S H Watson & Son, Caldwell with their excellent 882kg Limousin; five bulls from five different vendors all coming within £100 of the summit included two hefty Scottish Charollais from R M Adam & Son, Glamis and R & C Rettie, Falkirk plus Limousin’s from A G Watson & Sons, Rushyford and D H Lawson, Leyburn and also a British Blonde from G Corner, Newton Aycliffe. Further Scotland success followed in the native breed standings when Aberdeen Angus led the way from the Adam’s of Glamis again at £2235 and also R & A Stodart Ltd, Inverarity at 285ppk. Finally, a foray into Friesian feeding, familiar faces topped this week as R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall reached 239ppk and J M & S Walton, Barton an impressive £1713. Below is a scattering of today’s top pen averages with two noted Northumberland vendors up at the top.
J E Jordon & Son, Morpeth sold 4 to average 310ppk and £2075
A & D Proctor, Morpeth sold 3 to average 309ppk and £2027
W & M Knaggs & Son, Sadberge sold 2 to average 303ppk and £2186
C Binks & Son, Walworth sold 2 to average 303ppk and £2122
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 317 315 299 A&D Proctor. 316 291 W&M Knaggs & Son. 314 310 309 308 JE Jordon & Son. 310 273 AG Watson & Sons. 310 276 JJ Horn. 308 300 C Binks & Son. 299 282 DH Lawson. 286 281 JK&CE Farming. 286 J&A&DA Horn. 280 279 273 SH Watson & Son. 279 R&C Rettie. 265×2 JA&A Herbert. 265 R Hall & Son. 264 JE&B Morgan & Sons. 264 263 TF Bothroyd & Son.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £2407 SH Watson & Son. £2399 RM Adam & Son. £2382 R&C Rettie. £2365 £2167 AG Watson & Sons. £2344 £2298 DH Lawson. £2316 G Corner. £2295 £2173 £2119 JE Jordon & Son. £2234 £2138 W&M Knaggs & Son. £2222 JJ Horn. £2151 £2094 C Binks & Son. £2137 £1984 £1959 A&D Proctor. £2099 £2014 £2000 £1900 J&A&DA Horn. £2056 £2019 JK&CE Farming. £1946 GH Farms Ltd.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 239 R Hall & Son. 236 210 GW Dobson & Son. 222 JM&S Walton. 221 Lupton. 210 J Peacock. 210 204 202 C&M Atkinson & Sons.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £1713 JM&S Walton. £1526 £1480 GW Dobson & Son. £1445 R Hall & Son. £1348 £1209 £1163 C&M Atkinson & Sons. £1291 J Peacock.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 285 270 268 251 R&A Stodart Ltd. 273 RM Adam & Son. 268 R&C Rettie. 262 R Hall & Son. 224 JA&A Herbert.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2235 RM Adam & Son. £2158 £2032 £2006 £1878 R&A Stodart Ltd.
OTM – Top prices ppk 186 FJ Fraser & Son.
Lead Grossing OTM £1296 FJ Fraser & Son.
Clean Cattle (130) – The clean beef maintains momentum and if anything gathered it more so as the sale progressed to see the heifers average 307ppk and a heavier offering of steers level at 293ppk and £1970 per head. Top per kilo continued the recent run of good form we are seeing from the Hirst’s of Neasham Grange as they sold a superb 613kg Limousin heifer at 346 pence; of the magnificent seven selling in the 340’s the hot Hirst’s had four and one apiece coming from J E Suddes & Son, I Marshall & Sons and T W Clark & Son. Fifteen other heifers sold between 330ppk and 339ppk as the butcher’s beast remain highly sought after. Top of the steers by a clear ten pence margin at 326ppk was a smart handy weight sort from A F Hall, Redcar House, plenty followed between 310ppk and 316ppk. Top gross value of the day went to local feeders A G Watson & Sons, Nunstainton Grange with their excellent 753kg British Blue steer selling at £2364; the consistent Marshall’s of Hope House followed in the steer standings at £2247 with half a dozen others from five vendors in the £2100’s. Top gross valued heifer was a thumping 743kg OTM from J Layfield, Nachshivan Farm, Willington which sold for £2288, the flying Hirst’s followed at £2120 with nine others beyond £2000. Sampled below are some of the stand out pen averages.
Steers
A G Watson & Sons, Rushyford sold 2 to average 314ppk and £2142
I Marshall & Sons, Bishop Middleham sold 3 to average 302ppk and £2170
A F Hall, Sedgefield sold 4 to average 296ppk and £2045
Heifers
I Marshall & Sons, Bishop Middleham sold 3 to average 336ppk and £1882
Foxton Livestock, Egglestone Abbey sold 3 to average 335ppk and £1812
J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery sold 2 to average 329ppk and £2035
R Hirst, Neasham sold 14 to average 329ppk and £1910
R A Stodart Ltd, Inverarity sold 3 to average 323ppk and £1977
F Hustwit, Sedgefield sold 5 to average 321ppk and £1981
B Walker, Dalton-on-Tees sold 2 to average 321ppk and £1759
J Layfield, Willington sold 5 to average 320ppk and £1968
Steers – Top prices ppk 326 309 287 272 AF Hall. 316 314 AG Watson & Sons. 315 W Swinbank & Sons. 315 B Walker. 314 JE Suddes & Son. 313 300 295 I Marshall & Sons. 311 JR&B Anderson & Son. 300 WL Robinson & Partners. 298 DL&D Lovegreen. 292 272 JM Smith. 290 Lupton. 281 JK&CE Farming. 277 264 G Bird & Sons.
Lead Grossing Steers £2364 £1921 AG Watson & Sons. £2247 £2135 £2127 I Marshall & Sons. £2196 £2046 £2023 £1913 AF Hall. £2186 Lupton. £2181 WL Robinson & Partners. £2132 JE Suddes & Son. £1986 JK&CE Farming. £1981 B Walker. £1965 £1833 JM Smith. £1899 W Swinbank & Sons. £1841 JR&B Anderson & Son. £1746 DL&D Lovegreen. £1912 G Bird & Sons.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 346 344 342 340 328 334 332 326×2 325 324 R Hirst. 344 316 JE Suddes & Son. 342 338 329 I Marshall & Son. 340 324 TW Clark & Son. 339 337 330 Foxton Livestock. 338 326 R&A Stodart Ltd. 337×2 320 J Layfield. 335 330 328 WF Hustwit. 335 325 JJ Kemp & Son. 333 WL Robinson & Son. 330 325×2 317 316×2 JV&JA Hodgson. 329 314 B Walker. 320 319 W Swinbank & Sons. 317 310×2 WA Wardman Ltd. 312 JM Smith. 310 GH Farms.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2288 £2038 £1968 J Layfield. £2120 £2053 £2048 £2039 £2004 £1923 R Hirst. £2076 £1995 JE Suddes & Son. £2068 £1940 £1923 R&A Stodart Ltd. £2056 £2017 £1986 £1939 £1906 WF Hustwit. £1997 £1929 I Marshall & Sons. £1993 £1878 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £1992 £1949 £1900 £1884 W Swinbank & Sons. £1982 £1960 £1933 £1925 £1917 £1893 JV&JA Hodgson. £1911 WL Robinson & Partners. £1911 £1820 FS Sturrock. £1909 JJ Kemp & Son. £1884 JP Coatsworth. £1880 Foxton Livestock. £1863 £1836 TW Clark & Son. £1863 £1820 JM Smith. £1855 B Walker.
Prime Lambs (864) – This week last year the lamb trade tumbled and history somewhat repeated itself today to see a mixed show average a weighed straight 310ppk, the only advantage being that we fell from higher ground this year and still sit ahead of twelve months ago by £10 to £15 per head. Enough of the doom and gloom, the thick fleshed heavy lambs remain excellent to sell as the 52kg plus section averaged an impressive 339ppk and £185. Nothing proved that more than the super run of lambs up from Steve Hugill, Wytherstone Farms, Pockley with forty-four averaging 50kg and £175. The Wytherstone wonders sold Texel’s to tops of 404ppk and also £210 whilst their Suffolk’s out of Mule’s sold to £170. The other vendor top side of 400 pence per kilo was weekly campaigner J C Simpson, Hill Top East whilst the other firm in the £200 plus club was a first draw of the season for D & P H Brown, Cordilleras Farm.
Lambs- Top Prices PPK 404 381 376 367 360 344 Wytherstone Farm. 402 392 388 383 378 376 372 370 368 JC Simpson. 376 366 M&A Gaskin. 367 342 JE Suddes & Son. 359 EW Grieves. 357 F Shield. 356 353 348 340 333 W&M Knaggs & Son. 348 343 341 336 D&PH Brown. 346 P&CM Graham. 346 338 331 JR Knox & Son. 345 340 RA Patterson & Son. 341 337 335 JA&A Herbert. 339 330 K&PM Lough. 339 AWSM Farms. 333 MW Cook & Son. 331 JG Hall.
Lead Grossing Lambs- £210 £196 £194 £191 £180 £170 £162 £158 Wytherstone Farm. £202 £185 £181 £165 D&PH Brown. £183 £170 RA Patterson & Son. £175 £150 F Shield. £174 £173 £166 £165 x2 £163 x2 £162 £160 JC Simpson. £173 £165 M&A Gaskin. £162 £146 JA&A Herbert. £160 x2 £159 £157 £153 W&M Knaggs & Son. £159 £156 £149 145 JR Knox & Son. £158 EW Grieves. £158 JE Suddes & Son. £156 P&CM Graham. £153 TW Clark & Son. £146 K&PM Lough. £146 JG Hall.
Cast Sheep (150) – Ewe trade remains similar; a very varied offering depleted the average to £89.21 however the big fit ewes still sold regularly £130 to £170. Two vendors hit the top spot of £170 as a pen full from J C Simpson, Hill Top Farm were matched by pure Texel’s from I Spedding, Wolsingham. Mule ewes are still able to reach three figures, preferably when fit and not fat.
Lead Grossing Ewes- £170 JC Simpson. £170 £140 £110 £86 I Spedding. £160 £150 £86 I Spedding. £154 £145 £132 £100 AWSM Farms. £154 £140 EW Grieves. £150 D&PH Brown. £138 £120 £92 JA&A Herbert. £136 £120 £118 T Lawson & Son. £130 W&M Knaggs & Son. £120 RA Patterson & Son. £110 K&J Stables. £110 G Thompson & Sons. £109 F Shield. £96 £90 £89 G Williamson. £90 C&M Atkinson & Sons. £90 £86 C Moffett.
