Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 13th March 2025. Forward were 208 cattle and 1734 sheep.
78 Prime Bulls sold to 476ppk or £4007
24 Prime Steers sold to 447ppk or £3183
104 Prime Heifers sold to 464ppk or £2940
2 OTM Cattle sold to 414ppk or £2484
1592 Prime Hoggs sold to 453ppk or £241
142 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £260
Prime Bulls (78) – The bouncing bull trade was packed full with winners on Cheltenham week to see them average all in 393.5ppk and £2764 per head, some outstanding returns for the excellent top end. A brilliant bull from J A Matten & Sons, Avenue Grange led the way as their superb 842kg Limousin which sold for 476 pence per kilo and a new DfAM record of £4007. Next on the order of merit was a British Blonde from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm reaching a terrific £3990 on a day which saw no less than thirty-one bulls over 400 pence per kilo and twenty-seven over £3000. The hot Hereford’s from J A & M Boyes Ltd, Strathmore House were again top of the native’s hitting highs of 398ppk and £3034 whilst a few more Friesians offered all surpassed 300ppk and topped at 365ppk and £2460 from J K & C E Farming, Blue House. Some of the top pen averages are listed below.
W I Suddes & Son, Cornsay sold 4 average 448ppk and £3411
J A Matten & Sons, Thirsk sold 2 average 442ppk and £3708
Foxton Livestock, Barnard Castle sold 2 average 433ppk and £3499
S & J Dent & Son, Darlington sold 4 average 431ppk and £3101
L R Welsh & Co, Spennymoor sold 3 average 423ppk and £3240
T W Clark & Son, Durham sold 3 average 421ppk and £3331
Continental Bulls- Top Prices PPK 476 440 411 JA Matten & Sons. 459 450 438 WI Suddes & Son. 457 WJ Scott Ltd. 448 436 431 410 S&J Dent & Son. 440 D Alderson. 436 431 Foxton Livestock. 435 422 CH&SE Armstrong. 430 P Weightman & Sons. 430 417 416 TW Clark & Son. 429 410 JJ Kemp & Son. 427 425 420 LR Welsh & Co. 425 412 LS Staley. 410 C Binks & Son. 405 D Richardson & Co Ltd. 400 JA&M Boyes Ltd. 400 JM&S Walton.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls – £4007 £3608 £3509 JA Matten & Sons. £3990 P Weightman & Sons. £3693 £3304 Foxton Livestock. £3693 £3275 £3256 £3120 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £3603 D Alderson. £3541 £3433 £3258 WI Suddes & Son. £3414 £3344 £3236 TW Clark & Son. £3374 £3242 £3104 LR Welsh & Co. £3353 £3176 £3082 S&J Dent & Son. £3139 WJ Scott Ltd. £3040 JA&M Boyes Ltd. £2997 CH&SE Armstrong. £2911 LS Staley. £2871 JK&CE Farming.
Friesian Bulls- Top Prices PPK 365 JK&CE Farming. 348 340 318 R Hall & Son. 348 339 335 328 310 JM&S Walton. 330 307 HM&JS Hutchinson. 328 318 CH&SE Armstrong. 319 D Walker.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls- £2460 JK&CE Farming. £2244 £2192 £2016 R Hall & Son. £2232 £2081 £2004 £1976 £1952 JM&S Walton. £2132 £1984 CH&SE Armstrong. £1986 £1851 HM&JS Hutchinson. £1872 D Walker.
Native Bulls- Top Prices PPK 398 388 JA&M Boyes LTD. 373 353 350 R Hall & Son. 352 351 CH&SE Armstrong.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls- £3034 £3028 JA&M Boyes LTD. £2502 £2425 £2352 R Hall & Son. £2390 £2376 CH&SE Armstrong.
Clean Cattle (128) – Despite many more first dairy crosses amongst the show this week the classy clean trade was simply incredible again with all types in very high demand, the best end look particularly dear with over three quarters of the sale selling over 400 pence per kilo. Despite the deadweight increases of late the live ring continues to shout ‘catch us if you can’ as all told the smoking hot heifers averaged 417ppk with the supersonic steers 408ppk. Top of the impressive pence per kilo list this week was the best from a wonderful home bred run from W J Scott Ltd, Low Leam Farm; a magical 578kg British Blue heifer sold for 464 pence. Two stood next in line at 458 pence as another brilliant Blue from team Low Leam and also a cracking Limousin from J V & J A Hodgson, The Grange rang the bell; other vendors breaking 450 pence were W Swinbank & Sons, Greystones, the Hird’s of Meadow View along with the super Scott’s again and two others from the high-flying Hodgson’s. Top steer per kilo at an impressive 447 pence was a 634kg Limousin from G & J Y Marshall, Message Farm; the excellent sort was a product of our store ring bought as a calf at the dispersal of Heather Marks, Gilly Flatts in late 2023. Great gross values this week, the top half a dozen steers weighing between 710kg and 790kg all surpassed £3000; two from I Marshall & Sons, Hope House plus one from the Henshaw’s, Mainsgill and two from the Scott’s of Low Leam all tried in vain to catch a thumper from N E Dyson, Gebdykes Farm at £3183. The top seven gross value heifers hailed from two vendors, three from the Dyson, Gebdykes pen and four from the flying Henshaw’s of Mainsgill with the latter coming out on top with a best of £2940 with a 700kg Limousin. See below some cracking pen averages.
Heifers
W J Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 4 average 453ppk or £2585
B Walker, Dalton-on-Tees sold 3 average 445ppk or £2433
R Hirst, Neasham sold 11 average 437ppk or £2502
GK, KN & GJ Hird, Richmond sold 4 average 436ppk and £2343
W Swinbank & Sons, Caldwell sold 5 average 435ppk and £2647
A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear sold 2 average 433ppk and £2654
A & MJ Henshaw, East Layton sold 6 average 431ppk and £2814
Steers
A & MJ Henshaw, East Layton sold 2 average 424ppk and £2788
T N Callender, Whinney Hill sold 2 average 424ppk and £2697
W J Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 5 average 414ppk and £2990
G Bird & Sons, Hartlepool sold 2 average 412ppk and £2379
N E Dyson, Masham sold 2 average 404ppk and £3016
OTM – Top prices ppk 414 JV&JA Hodgson. 272 D Alderson.
Lead Grossing OTM £2484 JV&JA Hodgson. £1863 D Alderson.
Steers – Top prices ppk 447 G&JY Marshall. 437 424 419 418 378 WJ Scott Ltd. 431 424 420 417 I Marshall & Sons. 429 395 G Bird & Sons. 429 420 TN Callender. 429 419 A&MJ Henshaw. 406 JM Smith. 405 403 NE Dyson. 401 JV&JA Hodgson. 396 358 J Pallister & Sons. 355 337 A&CA Stanwix.
Lead Grossing Steers £3183 £2849 NE Dyson. £3158 £3071 £2942 £2897 £2884 WJ Scott Ltd. £3058 £2518 A&MJ Henshaw. £3031 £3010 £2961 £2956 I Marshall & Sons. £2833 G&JY Marshall. £2717 £2676 TN Callender. £2541 JM Smith. £2535 £2223 G Bird & Sons. £2460 £2307 A&CA Stanwix. £2391 £2327 J Pallister. £2349 JV&JA Hodgson.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 464 458 450 442 424 419 WJ Scott Ltd. 458 450×2 442 431 JV&JA Hodgson. 454 445 428 419 GK KN & GJ Hird. 450 447 438 430 418 W Swinbank & Sons. 449×2 446 442 439 438 436 432 431 R Hirst. 449 428 PJ&ES Rogerson. 449 437 436 432 A&MJ Henshaw. 448 445 444 B Walker. 439 429 G&JY Marshall. 432 429 AC Simpson & Son. 433 431 405 NE Dyson. 431 TN Callender. 430 A Swinbank & Son. 429 G Bird & Sons. 427 426 JE Jordon & Son.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2940 £2910 £2885 £2812 £2713 £2626 A&MJ Henshaw. £2922 £2835 £2829 NE Dyson. £2803 £2700 £2654 £2592 W Swinbank & Sons. £2790 £2518 AC Simpson & Son. £2790 £2709 £2638 JV&JA Hodgson. £2762 TN Callender. £2709 £2681 £2573 WJ Scott Ltd. £2658 £2595 £2576 £2536 £2483 R Hirst. £2649 JE Jordon & Son. £2587 WF Hustwit. £2581 £2575 £2507 JM Smith. £2541 G&JY Marshall. £2527 £2481 B Walker. £2508 GK KN & GJ Hird. £2494 A Swinbank.
Prime Hoggs (1592) – Some weight on our plate today as only 435 of those offered weighed under 46kg; needless to say, the lighter hoggs are in short supply and therefore high demand. The whole weighed straight sale averaged £159.77 per head or 327ppk with an SQQ of 356ppk. Let it be said at this juncture, we only report it as it is, we leave the jokers and juveniles to the jiggery pokery, the numbers and prices here include every hogg and that won’t change ever, let alone overnight. Top per kilo today at 453 pence were fourteen fantastic 43kg Beltex hoggs from R Atkinson, High Greenbury Farm when they sold for £195 apiece; the desire for handy weights is evident as the top ten lots per kilo list shows seventeen hoggs under 40kg, one superstar at 55kg and the other one-hundred and twenty-two all in the optimum range between 43kg and 46kg. Back to the aforementioned superstar, a stunning Texel from A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm which battled its way all the way to £241. The on-form Atkinson’s (381 av. £175.78 47kg) and the Simpson’s (60 av. £180.32 60kg) undoubtedly led the day’s trading; some good runs of root fed sheep from both T A Greensit & Sons, Friars Garth and the far travelled R W Barker & Sons, The Pines, Lincolnshire proved to be the best of the rest amongst the continentals. Hill gotten hoggs aplenty this week saw Texdales sell to £164, Mule’s top at £148.50, Cheviot’s at £148, Swaledale’s at £140 and Herdwick’s at £120.
Hoggs- Top Prices PPK 453 418 411 404 380 373 372 369 368 364 345 R Atkinson. 438 AC Simpson & Son. 395 379 375 367 365 362 359 353 352 348 TA Greensit & Sons. 394 D&B Harding. 388 378 365 356 350 342 DG&PD Ayre. 377 362 B Storey. 376 340 JC&A Hutchinson. 372 RE&L Frank. 366 364 361 355 RJ&LI Henley. 353 345 JR Knox & Son. 350 342 JA Gilson Agricultural Contractors. 348 344 x2 PR&V Barlow & Son. 344 D&PH Brown. 344 RW Barker & Sons. 342 W Denham. 341 WA Wardman LTD. 340 K&MM Henderson.
Lead Grossing Hoggs- £241 £190 £188 £185 x4 £183 £179 x2 £176 £170 x7 AC Simpson & Son. £198 £186 x2 £175 RW Barker & Sons. £195 £184 £181 £178 £177 x3 £176 £175 x3 £172 £170 x3 R Atkinson. £181 £174 B Storey. £175 RE&L Frank. £174 M&A Gaskin. £174 TA Greensit & Sons. £174 PN&VJ Noble. £172 £167 x2 J&A Layfield. £170 GC&JC Pullan. £170 x3 W Denham.
Cast Ewes/Rams (142) – The news from the ewes is typical of this particular week, there is never enough about when the Gold Cup is on. Today’s sale averages £138.41 per head with the better end again sailing over £200. Top of the shop were a pair of excellent Suffolk’s from Bethany Boyle, Coxhoe which sold for £260, following at £221 & £220 were Beltex tups and ewes from W A Wardman Ltd, Thrushwood Farm. Mule ewes sold to a top of £179 from D & P H Brown, Cordilleras Farm as the breed averaged £140 whilst North Country Cheviot’s sold to £180 from Jack Brittain and horned ewes topped at £127 for Blackface from D & B Harding, Thornhill.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £260 £150 £140 B Boyle. £221 £220 £201 £200 £126 WA Wardman Ltd. £214 PN&VJ Noble. £193 £150 £130 Rose A Farms. £182 £156 £126 £120 JM&S Walton. £180 K&MM Henderson. £180 J Brittain. £179 D&PH Brown. £175 Ainsty Farms Direct. £175 RE Dickson. £170 T Lawson & Son. £170 £160 P Cockburn. £170×2 £120 B Storey. £166 £144 AC Simpson & Son. £164 £150×2 M&A Gaskin. £160×2 £142 J&A Layfield. £154 £151 T Lawson & Son. £150×2 GC&JC Pullan.
