Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 3rd April 2025. Forward were 175 cattle and 1579 sheep.
41 Prime Bulls sold to 488ppk or £3906
36 Prime Steers sold to 496ppk or £3450
98 Prime Heifers sold to 526ppk or £3477
1405 Prime Hoggs sold to 450ppk or £212
174 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £256
Prime Bulls (41) – A light show of numbers and many less top end quality sold at flying rates and improved even on last week’s high levels to see an all in average of 414ppk and £2910 per head. The top fourteen sold over 440 pence per kilo, at the summit were two stunning young Limousin bulls from J E Jordon & Son, The Brocks, Longhirst; the pick of the pair weighing 742kg at just 17-months-old sold for an impressive 488 pence per kilo. The top ten bulls in the lump were half Limousin and half British Blonde, on this occasion the Blonde’s had more fun as the top three came from A G Watson & Sons, Nunstainton Grange (794kg £3668) however out in the lead were a hefty pair from J J Horn, Bushy Park weighing 843kg and 872kg selling for £3683 and £3906 respectively. Native breeds were again in high spirits and topped at 414ppk for a well fleshed Hereford from R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall and an impressive £3184 for a thumping Beef Shorthorn from C & J C Stephenson, Pikestone. Finally, a fabulous Friesian trade saw them average 354ppk and £2225 with tops of 368ppk and £2590. See below some of the top pen averages.
JJ Horn, Bushy Park- Sold 2 (857kg) Avg 442ppk or £3795
AG Watson & Sons, Nunstainton Grange- Sold 4 (749kg) Avg 455ppk or £3411
JE Jordon & Son, The Brocks- Sold 2 (687kg) Avg 483ppk or £3323
JA&M Boyes LTD, Strathmore House- Sold 3 (740kg) Avg 442ppk or £3277
WA Richardson LTD, Hutton Fields- Sold 3 (692kg) Avg 452ppk or £3132
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 488 478 JE Jordon & Son. 471 445 412 JA&M Boyes Ltd. 465 462 452 442 AG Watson & Sons. 460 456 444 WA Richardson Ltd. 448 437 JJ Horn. 442 435 428 GH Farms Ltd. 440 402 JR Knox & Son. 432 JK&CE Farming. 422 R Hall& Son. 414 400 396 JC&P Tallentire. 406×3 405 BJ Haigh. 392 375 JE&B Morgan & Sons.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls- £3906 £3683 JJ Horn. £3668 £3525 £3310 £3142 AG Watson & Sons. £3620 £3025 JE Jordon & Son. £3507 £3013 £2877 WA Richardson LTD. £3430 £3424 £2978 JA&M Boyes LTD. £3304 JK&CE Farming. £3114 £3008 £2877 GH Farms LTD. £3110 £2862 JR Knox & Son. £2939 £2764 £2717 £2712 BJ Haigh. £2865 R Hall & Son. £2784 £2657 £2593 JC&P Tallentire. £2673 JE&B Morgan & Sons.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls- 3184 C&JC Stephenson. £2943 £2861 R Hall & Son. 2584 JK&CE Farming.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls- £2590 £2107 £1961 Tallentire. £2421 £2338 £2249 R Hall & Son.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 360 361 350 R Hall & Son. 356 352 350 340 Tallentire.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 414 410 R hall & Son. 356 JK&CE Farming. 330 C&JC Stephenson.
Clean Cattle (134) – No other auctions have come close to keeping pace with our terrific twenty-two heifers over 500 pence last week. Stop what you are doing, turn off all heavy machinery, fold up the harrows, have yourself five minutes, today the DfAM clean ring achieved the unimaginable and put another thirty-one in to our club five hundred! All together the hot heifers, including a fair few dairy crosses, averaged 467ppk and £2668 with a fleshy offering of steers levelling up at 443ppk and £2847.
High rewards for the high-flying firm from High Aketon Farm, Wigton as W Miller travelled across with a great run of heifers which remarkably scooped the top three prices per kilo selling between 523 and 526 pence, the topper, a 531kg Limousin, heads back towards home to feed the good folk of Cumbria as she sold to first time buyers Steven Wilson Butchers who run top class outlets in both Corby Hill and Brampton. Behind the Cumbrian crusader a sublime seventeen other heifers sold between 510ppk and 519ppk as for the second week running Darlington surely laid claim to the best trade of the week nationally. Top of the steers per kilo was a tie between two magnificent Limousin’s; a home bred superstar from W J Scott Ltd, Low Leam Farm was joined by a lovely lightweight sort from Five Houses Farm Shop, Hutton Rudby, seven other steers chased closely and sold between 484ppk and 495ppk.
On to the gross values and a marvellous thirty cattle sold over £3000. There was deserved delight for N E Dyson of Gebdykes Farm who amazingly led the steers and the heifers, top steer was a 743kg British Blue at £3477 whilst the leading heifer was a 686kg Limousin at £3450. Honourable mentions must also go to the Scott’s of Low Leam with a steer to £3389 plus I Marshall & Sons, Hope House with a steer to £3370 and A Crowder, Butsfield Burn who had a steer at £3357 whilst T C Walton, Middridge Farm sold a heifer at £3349. See below some stunning averages.
Heifers
W J Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 3 average 513ppk and £3085
W Miller, Wigton sold 14 average 509ppk and £2762
Five Houses, Hutton Rudby sold 7 average 508ppk and £2790
W A Richardson Ltd, Hutton Magna sold 2 average 502ppk and £3145
B Walker, Dalton-on-Tees sold 3 average 500ppk and £2832
A Crowder, Butsfield sold 3 average 496ppk and £2938
G G Stevenson & Son, Saltburn sold 2 average 491ppk and £3181
R Hirst, Neasham sold 15 average 491ppk and £2631
Steers
Five Houses, Hutton Rudby sold 2 average 495ppk and £2777
W J Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 3 average 485ppk and £3155
M Robinson & Sons, Staindrop sold 2 average 483ppk and £2885
Askwiths, Crook sold 4 average 481ppk and £3059
I Marshall & Sons, Bishop Middleham sold 4 average 462ppk and £3190
N E Dyson, Masham sold 2 average 460ppk and £3261
G G Stevenson & Son, Saltburn sold 4 average 459ppk and £3024
Steers – Top prices ppk 496 495 Five Houses Farm Shop. 496 488 474 WJ Scott Ltd. 494 472 M Robinson & Sons. 490 486 484 466 Askwiths. 485 472 451 444 I Marshall & Sons. 475 464 452 449 GG Stevenson. 470 JM Smith. 468 452 NE Dyson. 458 A Crowder. 450×2 JV&JA Hodgson. 412 JB Bell & Son. 410 A&MJ Henshaw.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 526 525 523 518×2 517 511×2 510 508 499 496×2 W Miller. 518 516 514 512 509 503 Five Houses Farmshop. 517×2 506 WJ Scott Ltd. 515 M Robinson. 513 512 507 500×2 499 498×2 496 R Hirst. 510 JB&N Harrison. 510 496 WA Richardson Ltd. 509 501 490 B Walker. 508 494 A Crowder. 503 NE Dyson. 498 493 489 JE Suddes & Son. 497 A&MJ Henshaw. 493 GG Stevenson & Son. 492 JV&JA Hodgson. 490 A Swinbank & Son.
Lead Grossing Steers- £3477 £3046 NE Dyson. £3389 £3104 £2971 WJ Scott LTD. £3370 £3186 £3107 £3099 I Marshall & Sons. £3357 A Crowder. £3175 £3129 £3121 £2809 Askwiths. £3047 £2723 M Robinson & Sons. £3165 £2997 £2969 £2964 GG Stevenson & Son. £3045 OAM Richardson. £2796 £2757 Five Houses Farmshop. £2777 £2555 JM Smith. £2722 JB&N Harrison & Sons. £2704 £2587 JV&JA Hodgson. £2565 £2501 £2337 A&MJ Henshaw. £2447 JB Bell & Son. £2319 FJ Young & Partners.
Lead Grossing Heifers- £3450 NE Dyson. £3349 £3190 £3005 £2896 TC Walton. £3251 £3036 £2967 WJ Scott LTD. £3239 £3124 GG Stevenson & Son. £3174 £3116 WA Richardson LTD. £3169 £2969 A Crowder. £3076 £3073 A&MJ Henshaw. £3023 £2768 B Walker. £2998 £2770 JB&N Harrison & Sons. £2933 £2893 £2796 £2753 JE Suddes & Son. 2925 £2893 £2882 £2781 Five Houses Farmshop. £2913 £2885 £2851 £2825 £2808 £2793 £2783 £2774 £2735 £2733 W Miller. £2883 £2810 £2731 JV&JA Hodgson. £2871 Anthony Swinbank & Son. £2813 £2773 £2759 £2758 £2755 R Hirst. £2789 Jack Henshaw.
Prime Hoggs (1405) – The gap tightens between heavies and lights as the latter remain very much in the demand. Just 21% offered this week weighed under 46kg whilst some 33% weighed over 52kg as the sale averaged 320ppk with an SQQ of 349ppk which was all in weighed straight down just a smidgen on the week to £160.18 per head. The top eleven sells (204 hoggs) sold over 400 pence per kilo, the pick of them all came from weekly supporter R Atkinson, High Greenbury Farm with fourteen 44kg Texel hoggs selling at 450ppk and £198. Top feeding again from High Greenbury as this week’s excellent 265 clipped hoggs averaged 48kg and £190.90. The gross value race saw two vendors sell beyond £200, the aforementioned High Greenbury run had a best of £201 with fifteen 46kg Beltex however some astonishing power from the weekly supporting A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm led proceedings. A thumping Texel from McNeil tipped the scales to 80kg and sold for £212 as the patiently fed run saw the 83 of them average 65kg and £174.35. Hill bred hoggs sold saw Blackface to £145, Mule’s to £144, Hill Cheviot’s to £150 and Swaledale’s to £120.
Hoggs- Top Prices PPK 450 437 431 429 428 419 400 363 355 346 339 R Atkinson. 425 402 395 390 384 365 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 420 369 363 314 TA Greensit & Sons. 416 325 MR Madrell. 391 373 328 314 PR Weaver. 384 DG&PD Ayre. 366 357 347 340 329 320 William Swinbank. 358 324 KO Stones. 358 RE&L Frank. 357 336 ABP Wilsons. 356 D&B Harding. 350 319 316 JR Stead & Sons. 347 344 333 K&MM Henderson. 340 RH Wilson & Son. 334 329 Messrs Bell. 334 322 DR Smith. 333 331 330 326 JR Knox & Son. 330 Mark Robson. 327 320 x2 W Kirk & Sons. 317 J&A Layfield. 317 311 PJ Tindale. 314 William Tindale. 313 312 J Atkinson. 312 GW Whittington Livestock.
Lead Grossing Hoggs- £212 £200 x2 £190 £185 £181 x2 £179 £176 £170 x7 £167 £165 £164 AC Simpson & Son. £201 £200 £198 £197.50 £197 x2 £194 £188 £185 £180 x2 R Atkinson. £190 £185 £169 KO Stones. £185 £171 £170 £165 TA Greensit & Sons. £180 £168 PR Weaver. £175 MR Madrell. £175 £170 Mark Robson. £175 £172 DL&D Lovegreen. £173 £170 x2 £169 £168 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £168 x2 £164 JR Stead & Sons. £166 £165 x2 £164 x2 £163 J&A Layfield. £165 x3 £163 x2 PJ Tindale. £165 £163 GW Whittington Livestock.
Cast Sheep (174) – All aboard the lambing disaster express, typical for this time of year, a very ordinary show assembled. Trade was absolutely incredible as the average of £157.92 included a large proportion of downtrodden and decrepit old girls. Fleshy ewes were in very short supply and topped at £256 for a quality quartet of Texel’s from J & A Herbert, Tees Farm; G W Dobson & Son, Wood Close topped the tups at £250 followed closely at £248 by Blue Face Leicester ewes from D G Sayers, Hollin Hill Farm. Fit Mule ewes look the trade of the week selling over £170 regularly to a top of £198 from B & L Robson, Gawen House whilst the top of the horned ewes was a credible £136 for a trio of Blackface from D & B Harding, Thornhill Farm.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep- £256 £242 £220 £190 £183 £180 JA&A Herbert. £250 £216 GW Dobson & Son. £248 £199 DG Sayers. £246 £220 J Atkinson. £224 JR&J Crowe. £220 £170 £164 M Pickering. £218 £172 x2 Swalebank Farms LTD. £210 £182 £178 £164 £130 AWSM Farms. £200 £158 £148 JCW Taylor. £200 £168 x2 £160 DG&PD Ayre. £198 £184 B&L Robson. £190 x3 £170 C Wise. £190 x2 £130 DL&D Lovegreen. £178 Jack Henshaw. £178 £170 RH Wilson & Son. £170 EJ&D Braithwaite. £166 JC Smith. £166 £144 £136 D&B Harding. £160 JK&CE Farming. £154 JR Knox & Son. £150 J Curry. £150 Messrs Bell. £142 K Raine. £140 x2 D&G Spry. £140 Wytherstone Farm. £136 S Thompson & Son. £130 Jack Henshaw.
