Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 27th March 2025. Forward were 183 cattle and 1739 sheep.
67 Prime Bulls sold to 488ppk or £4238
32 Prime Steers sold to 498ppk or £3381
82 Prime Heifers sold to 520ppk or £3297
2 OTM sold for 360ppk and £2329
1619 Prime Hoggs sold to 445ppk or £202
120 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £322
Prime Bulls (67) – The bananas bull trade bounds on as prices boldly go where they’ve never gone before; this week’s monumental sale averages returned at 414ppk and £2953 per head. Top per kilo at 488 pence was a superstar 641kg Limousin from the Renton Family of High Highlaws, Morpeth; three following at 480ppk were a brilliant British Blonde from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm and a Limousin apiece for J A Matten & Sons, Avenue Grange and A G Watson & Sons, Nunstainton Grange. Nine further bulls followed between 450ppk and 470ppk with the next twenty-six all merrily starting with a four. Three thumpers broke £4000, all hailing from the motoring Matten’s of Avenue Grange, the best of them at 883kg realised an impressive £4238 on a memorable day on which half of the bulls passed £3000. The native breeds smashed all existing records again, top of them all this week was an excellent Aberdeen Angus from G R Hindmarsh & Sons, Linden Hill Head at just 14-months-old he tipped the scales to 756kg and sold for 410ppk and £3099. Finally, the Friesian’s, top of the pile today was the ultra-consistent R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall with their best reaching 366ppk and £2447. See below some stunning pen averages.
JA Matten & Sons, Avenue Grange- sold 3 (890kg) Avg 463ppk or £4130
WJ&AS Bowes & Sons, Stainton Hill House- sold 5 (743kg) Avg 417ppk or £3580
D Richardson & Co LTD, Bracken House- sold 6 (817kg) Avg 435ppk or £3561
WA Richardson LTD, Hutton Fields- sold 4 (824kg) Avg 431ppk or £3554
Renton Highlaws LTD, High Highlaws- sold 4 (688kg) Avg 471ppk or £3241
Continental Bulls- Top Prices PPK 488 470 466 460 Renton Highlaws LTD. 480 452 440 AG Watson & Sons. 480 P Weightman & Sons. 480 460 452 JA Matten & Sons. 460 450 444 x2 426 396 D Richardson & Co LTD. 458 456 390 GR Hindmarsh & Sons. 448 JA&M Boyes LTD. 446 434 432 GH Farms LTD. 444 434 430 418 WA Richardson LTD. 440 438 428 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 430 424 JK&CE Farming. 428 418 LS Staley. 424 418 C Binks & Son. 420 402 400 JA&A Herbert. 408 388 JM&S Walton. 362 AJ&E Walshaw.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls- £4238 £4107 £4045 JA Matten & Sons. £3858 £3201 £3128 £2778 Renton Highlaws LTD. £3845 £3804 £3676 £3437 £3338 £3267 D Richardson & Co LTD. £3685 £3532 £3524 £3476 WA Richardson LTD. £3604 £3599 £3537 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £3521 £3194 £3172 AG Watson & Sons. £3366 £3228 £2889 GR Hindmarsh & Sons. £3248 JA&M Boyes LTD. £3211 P Weightman & Sons. £3176 £2790 LS Staley. £3171 £3140 £2964 GH Farms LTD. £3096 £2984 JK&CE Farming. £3030 £2862 C Binks & Son. £2758 £2435 JM&S Walton. £2420 £2356 £2292 JA&A Herbert. £2034 AJ&E Walshaw.
Native Bulls- Top Prices PPK 410 376 GR Hindmarsh & Sons. 400 396 x2 380 376 J&J Logan. 390 DT&AM Herdman. 388 R Hall & Son. 346 AG Watson & Sons.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls- £3099 £2914 GR Hindmarsh & Sons. £3085 £2955 £2914 £2752 £2688 J&J Logan. £2871 R Hall & Son. £2757 AG Watson & Sons. £2593 DT&AM Herdman.
Friesian Bulls- Top Prices PPK 366 362 R Hall & Son. 362 x2 356 x2 352 340 JM&S Walton. 344 334 D Walker. 328 326 DT&AM Herdman.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls- £2447 £2379 R Hall & Son. £2407 £2331 £2230 £2139 £2124 £2100 JM&S Walton. £2079 £1874 DT&AM Herdman. £1947 £1913 D Walker.
Clean Cattle (114) – There hasn’t been a day this good since two brothers from Peckham found what they believed was a Victorian egg-timer in their garage but had actually stumbled across a priceless watch; seriously, these are beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Heifers average 472.66ppk and £2687.57 per head whilst the steers average 454.27ppk and £2790.77 per head. Twenty-two heifers sold between 500ppk and 520ppk with thirty more cattle between 480ppk and 499ppk whilst an outstanding twenty-four beast sold over £3000, amongst all this hullabaloo amazingly just one of the clean cattle failed to reach 400 pence per kilo and she was a Friesian heifer.
To the top, congratulations go to two vendors who had heifers hit the dizzy heights of 520 pence per kilo; P R & V Barlow & Son, Sycamore Farm, Nottinghamshire with a 593kg Limousin and R Hirst, Neasham Grange with a 546kg Limousin. The red-hot Hirst’s followed at 518ppk as they averaged a mesmerising 508ppk with their delicious dozen. The non too shabby 516ppk was hit three times, again from the Hirst’s and also the brilliant Barlow’s along with regular selling J V & J A Hodgson, The Grange with four further heifers selling at 514ppk. Atop of the steer list per kilo was more bliss for the Barlow’s as the marauding Midlander’s sold Limousin’s weighing 599kg and 584kg at 498ppk and 496ppk respectively.
Gargantuan gross values aplenty as records continue to tumble, take notice as once again the live ring will force the deadweight highwaymen to sharpen their pencils next week. Top of the steers at £3381 was an excellent 732kg Limousin from JH&M&NW Brown, West Hartburn Farm; following closely at £3364 was a cracker from NE Dyson, Gebdykes Farm, Masham with two more crackers from West Hartburn next in line and over £3200. Top heifer in the lump went to the remarkable Renton Highlaws team down from Morpeth with a beautiful 720kg British Blue selling for £3297; the chasing pack contained five heifers from four vendors all over £3100 as the aforementioned Hirst, Hodgson and Dyson pens battled it out with A & M J Henshaw, Mainsgill.
Today’s averages are up by a staggering 173 pence per kilo on 2024, if we had known that then, we might have thought that this time next year we’d be millionaires. See below a few of the top pen averages.
JH&M&NW Brown, West Hartburn Farm- sold 3 (720kg) Avg 453ppk or £3269
NE Dyson, Gebdykes Farm- sold 3 (679kg) Avg 464ppk or £3156
Renton Highlaws LTD, High Highlaws- sold 2 (667kg) Avg 472ppk or £3155
Askwiths, Low Mown Meadows- sold 4 (636kg) Avg 473ppk or £3011
PJ&MP Gilhespy, Low House Milbourne- sold 6 (609kg) Avg 481ppk or £2938
R Hirst, Neasham Grange- sold 12 (577kg) Avg 508ppk or £2932
Steers – Top prices ppk 498 496 490 476 PR&V Barlow & Son. 488 A&MJ Henshaw. 480 478 468×2 Askwiths. 480 478×2 472 458 M&G Chantrell Ltd. 466 NE Dyson. 462 458 441 JH&M&NW Brown. 458 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 454 438 JV Hodgson. 452×2 WR Thompson. 450 422 410 W Craggs & Partners. 442 420 JA&M Boyes Ltd. 410 400 Williamson. 404 400 Jack Henshaw.
Lead Grossing Steers £3381 £3251 £3210 JH&M&NW Brown. £3364 NE Dyson. £3120 £3025 £3013 £2887 Askwiths. £3037 £2662 WR Thompson. £3036 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £2996 £2780 JA&M Boyes Ltd. £2983 £2896 £2698 £2685 PR&V Barlow & Son. £2963 £2667 £2476 £2416 £2166 M&G Chantrell Ltd. £2884 A&MJ Henshaw. £2821 £2804 £2730 W Craggs & Partners. £2701 £2509 JV&JA Hodgson. £2524 £2347 Jack Henshaw. £2196 £2099 Williamson.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 520 518 516 514×3 512×2 502 498 494 R Hirst. 520 516 494 490 PR&V Barlow & Son. 516 514 504×2 498 492 JV&JA Hodgson. 512×2 508 500×2 498 490×2 M&G Chantrell Ltd. 506 486 A&MJ Henshaw. 502 490 480 W Swinbank & Sons. 498 AC Simpson & Son. 498 480 WF Hustwit. 498 496 490 486 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 490 Renton Highlaws. 488 TN Callender. 486 478 476 RA&BA Ridley & Son Ltd. 482 WR Thompson. 478 NE Dyson. 466 S&J Dent & Son.
Lead Grossing Heifers £3297 £3013 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £3145 £3056 £3037 £3035 £2950 £2919 £2918 £2851 £2843 32839 R Hirst. £3142 £2935 £2854 £2773 £2768 A&MH Henshaw. £3127 £2977 NE Dyson. £3111 £3104 £2928 £2903 £2878 £2853 £2812 JV&JA Hodgson. £3092 £3067 £3027 £2871 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £3083 PR&V Barlow & Son. £3017 £2969 £2915 £2817 W Swinbank & Sons. £2809 M&G Chantrell Ltd. £2775 £2739 £2710 RA&BA Ridley & Son. £2702 £2638 £2633 WF Hustwit.
Prime Hoggs (1619) – The hogg trade rolls along nicely without yet offering to replicate last year’s exceptional levels, today’s weighed straight sale averaged £161.18 which equated to 323ppk. Weight seems to be the sticking point, there is a lot of it around, just 15% of today’s sale weighed under 46kg, thus said our super heavies would trade away nicely in line and often in front of other outlets on the week. Two hundred and six hoggs were penned in the top ten lots per kilo, two hundred and four of these came from the superb weekly run of R Atkinson, High Greenbury Farm; the pick of them a pen of fifteen tidy Beltex weighing 42kg and reaching 445 pence. Top gross value on the day went to J R Stead & Sons, Park House Farm with a stunning 54kg Beltex hogg at £202; the weekly powerhouses from A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm followed at £200 along with another super single from N & M J Parkin, Elm Grange at the same level. Amongst the other breeds we saw Rouge sell to £174 from I E & A C Teasdale, Hill Cheviot’s to £156 from Cole Hill Farm, Mules to £150 from J Atkinson, Blackface to £150 from L W Martin, Swaledale to £130 from R Nattrass & Sons and Boer goats to £138 from K Murtagh. Some of the day’s top averages are listed below.
Top Averages-
R Atkinson, High Greenbury Farm- sold 277 (46kg) Avg 406ppk or £190
A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm- sold 70 (64kg) Avg 287ppk or £185
G Thornton, Low Grange Farm- sold 39 (57kg) Avg 299ppk or £170
JR Stead & Sons, Park House Farm- sold 29 (54kg) Avg 307ppk or £168
CA&JG Skidmore, Needless Hall Farm- sold 9 (47kg) Avg 349ppk or £167
IE&AC Teasdale, High Farm- sold 15 (51kg) Avg 325ppk or £167
PR Weaver, Little Manor Farm- sold 75 (48kg) Avg 345ppk or £166
Prime Hoggs (1619) – Hoggs- Top Prices PPK 445 438 436 432 417 408 x2 400 389 387 360 R Atkinson. 426 423 385 CA&JG Skidmore. 400 N&MJ Parkin. 381 326 N Barker. 377 372 361 352 350 337 328 326 TA Greensit & Sons. 374 328 326 322 JR Stead & Sons. 365 328 R Hills LTD. 365 326 CJM Hedley. 358 351 350 341 328 PR Weaver. 357 323 IE&AC Teasdale. 355 330 322 GW Whittington Livestock. 340 329 WL Robinson & Partners. 339 332 322 J&A Layfield. 339 332 RA&BA Ridley & Son LTD. 336 330 CS Robinson. 336 AC Simpson & Son. 171 JR Knox & Son. 334 327 JA Gilson Agricultural Contractors. 328 x2 D Chapman. 327 Cole Hill Farm LTD. 325 RE&L Frank. 325 CM Cameron. 324 JC&A Hutchinson. 323 Wytherstone Farm. 322 JR&AR Wall. 322 Ainsty Farms Direct. 322 Northfield Farms.
Lead Grosing Hoggs- £202 £175 £171 x2 £170 JR Stead & Sons. £200 £192 £192 x4 £185 £180 x5 £177 x2 £171 AC Simpson & Son. £200 N&MJ Parkin. £199 £193 £192 x3 £191 £190 £188 x2 £187 £184 R Atkinson. £195 £181 £167 CA&JG Skidmore. £190 £180 £175 £170 TA Greensit & Sons. £185 £180 £170 x3 £168 G Thornton. £180 R Hills LTD. £174 WL Robinson & Partners. £174 £168 x3 IE&AC Teasdale. £172 x2 PR Weaver. £172 JC&A Hutchinson. £171 x2 JR Knox & Son. £170 £166 GW Whittington Livestock. £170 W Wearmouth & Son. £170 J&A Layfield. £168 N Barker. £168 x2 £166 Wytherstone Farm. £168 CJM Hedley. £166 Ainsty Farms Direct.
Cast Ewes/Rams (120) – Numbers way short of requirement and trade absolutely electric for all shapes and sizes to see the whole show average £183.50. Top price of £322 went to a hefty pure Texel ewe from Richard Bailes, Cole Hill Farm, Elwick; the same good home sold a pen of big Suffolk ewes at £256. Top of the Mule ewes at £196 was C J M Hedley, Burn Farm as the breed averaged £147 whilst Swaledale ewes sold to a stunning top of £140 from J R & A R Wall, Raygill Farm and tups topped for a Texel from W Walker & Sons, High Copelaw at £254.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £322 £356 £246 £214 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £254 £220 £208 £190 £156 £150 E Scott & Sons. £250 T Alderson. £248 £218 £204 £192 £176 JA&A Herbert. £246 I Hedley. £242 £206 £170 D Chapman. £240 £185 JP Floyd. £238 £180 £122 Northfield Farms. £224 £180 JV&JA Hodgson. £220 £208×2 £160 M&A Gaskin. £212 £200 N&MJ Parkin. £196 £164 CJM Hedley. £183.50 £160 CM Cameron. £182 RE&L Frank. £174 GP&A Carter.
