Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 1st May 2025. Forward were 132 cattle and 1462 sheep.
43 Prime Bulls sold to 432ppk or £3693
10 Prime Steers sold to 429ppk or £2917
77 Prime Heifers sold to 470ppk or £2970
2 Cast Cattle sold to 250ppk or £2377
24 New Season Lambs sold to 420ppk or £210
1170 Prime Hoggs sold to 418ppk or £182
264 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £210
Prime Bulls (43) – Trade just a shade easier again as the beef trade simmers along very nicely without the pan boiling over as it did a few weeks ago. This week’s sale average of 393ppk and £2745 remains 100 pence per kilo ahead of this week last year. Just thruppence separated the top seven bulls per kilo, five Limousin’s and a British Blue all lost out narrowly to an 18-month-old British Blonde from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm weighing 756kg and selling for 432 pence. Limousins led the way in the gross values when a tremendous 859kg bull from J Layfield, Nackshivan set the pace reaching £3693, following closest at £3590 was a thumping 38-month-old bull from K Mellor Livestock, Horncastle at 1056kg and £3590. The Hall’s were on the ball again this week within the Friesian feeding fraternity when R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall sold the pick of their pen at 338ppk and £2413.
A few of today’s leading averages:
J Layfield, Nackshivan sold 3 (833kg) average 416ppk & £3468
LS Staley, Bluestone House sold 2 (746kg) average 422ppk & £3150
JH&M&NW Brown, West Hartburn sold 3 (722kg) average 427ppk & £3088
JR Knox & Son, Bracks Farm sold 2 (789kg) average 384ppk & £3035
JK&CE Farming, Blue House sold 2 (743kg) 403ppk & £2998
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 432 P Weightman & Sons. 431 W Barron. 430 419 399 J Layfield. 430 429 424 JH&M&NW Brown. 429 421 420 416 415 414 413 411 404×3 403 K Mellor Livestock. 429 415 LS Staley. 412 404 C Binks & Son. 409 398 JK&CE Farming. 403 GW Dobson & Son. 394 374 JR Knox & Son. 393 388 375 360 359 JM Greensit & Son Ltd. 377 HM&JS Hutchinson.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £3693 £3444 £3267 J Layfield. £3265 P Weightman. £3258 £2812 JR Knox & Son. £3244 GW Dobson & Son. £3218 £3174 £2872 JH&M&NW Brown. £3217 £3083 LS Staley. £3104 £2893 JK&CE Farming. £2986 £2940 £2797 £2772 £2669 JM Greensit & Son Ltd. £2909 W Barron. £2839 £2697 £2577 £2541 £2533 £2505 £2482 £2448 K Mellor Livestock. £2743×2 C Binks & Son.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 338 330 R Hall & Son. 298 HM&JS Hutchinson.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £2413 £2181 R Hall & Son. £2002 HM&JS Hutchinson.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 380 R Hall & Son. 340 K Mellor Livestock.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2590 K Mellor. £2625 R Hall & Son.
OTM – Top prices ppk 250 222 K Mellor Livestock.
Lead Grossing OTM £2377 £1235 K Mellor Livestock.
Clean Cattle (87) – A light show of numbers forward, trade is marginally easier and the averages were not helped by a significantly plainer show and slipped to see heifers’ level at 393ppk and £2354 with steers 366ppk and £2294. The butcher’s beast prices remain in good order and still some 90-100ppk ahead on last year. Top today at 470 pence was an excellent 613kg Limousin heifer from R Hirst, Neasham, seven other heifers sold over 440ppk and the best of these was a smart sort from B Walker, Birch Springs at 466ppk. One steer stood out and topped the pounds per head and the pence per kilo; an excellently finished 680kg Limousin from N E Dyson, Gebdykes Farm sold for 429ppk and £2917. Top of the day in the lump was a hefty 694kg heifer from J E Suddes & Son, Rowley Farm when she sold for £2970, hot on her heels was another great sort from Gebdykes.
A few of today’s top averages:
NE Dyson, Gebdykes Farm sold 3 (663kg) average 436ppk & £2897
B Walker, Birch Springs sold 3 (592kg) average 448ppk & £2661
R Hirst, Neasham Grange sold 10 (604kg) 436ppk & £2639
K Mellor Livestock, White Lodge Farm sold 2 (636kg) average 408ppk & £2598
TW Clark & Son, Frankland Farm sold 3 (621kg) average 416ppk & £2587
Steers – Top prices ppk 429 NE Dyson. 419 K Mellor Livestock. 400 DL&D Lovegreen. 392 JR&B Anderson.368 D Walker. 364 352 326 G&EM Nixon. 310 308 FJ Young & Partners.
Lead Grossing Steers £2917 NE Dyson. £2681 K Mellor Livestock. £2555 JR&B Anderson. £2470 £1952 FJ Young & Partners. £2316 DL&D Lovegreen. £2096 £1957 £1920 G&EM Nixon. £2082 D Walker.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 470 450 442 440×2 435 429×2 424 407 R Hirst. 466 444 437 R Hirst. 446 435 NE Dyson. 441 428 TW Clark & Son. 434 430 429 423 419×2 418×2 411 400 JV&JA Hodgson. 429 428 422 415 JE Suddes & Son. 420 JR&B Anderson. 417 394 CH&SE Armstrong. 411 DL&D Lovegreen. 407 399 JG Haswell. 400 FJ Young & Partners. 398 K Mellor Livestock. 396 TC Walton. 387 JC&P Tallentire.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2970 JE Suddes & Son. £2899 £2875 NE Dyson. £2881 £2785 £2751 £2686 £2664 £2638 £2535 £2503 R Hirst. £2807 £2540 TW Clark & Son. £2777 £2648 £2557 B Walker. £2761 £2660 £2604 £2585 £2579 £2538 £2528 JV&JA Hodgson. £2720 TC Walton. £2637 JG Haswell. £2555 £2512 FJ Young & Partners. £2515 K Mellor Livestock. £2497 £2489 CH&SE Armstrong.
New Season Lambs (24) – Gradually the springers come forth, the average of 360ppk and £167.25 per head would have seemed superb a few years back however it does feel somewhat flat following last years bonanza. Top of the trade was a superb 50kg Texel from W & M Knaggs & Son, East Newbiggin selling for 420ppk and £210, some lamb and some advert for the know-how of the Knaggs’s and the wisdom of the Whiteley Hey breeding behind it.
Lambs – Top prices ppk 420 372×2 369 W&M Knaggs & Son. 381 354 ACM Spalding. 322 318 304 274 PK&HC Dowson.
Lead Grossing Lambs £210 £196 £175×2 W&M Knaggs & Son. £160 £131 ACM Spalding. £158 £140×3 PK&HC Dowson.
Prime Hoggs (1170) – Honesty is the best policy, the national trade is on the slide and hoggs are harder work, the heavies slip down below 300ppk and even the scarcely available handy weights are now finding some resistance from the buyers. The tremendous times of 2024 look increasingly unlikely to be repeated with today’s weighed straight SQQ down to 303ppk and an all in average of 276ppk. Top of the shop was the weekly run of clipped hoggs from R Atkinson, High Greenbury which produced a dozen at 43kg to top per kilo at 418 pence and another twelve thumpers at 62kg topping the gross value list at £182. A fair proportion of hill dwelling hoggs appeared again and saw Cheviot’s to £136 (av £125.36), Mules to £130 (av £119.37), Blackface to £124 (av £121.96 and Swaledale’s to £110 (av £102.33).
A few of today’s top Hogg averages:
R Atkinson, High Greenbury Farm Ltd sold 134 (50.6 kg) average 342.57ppk & £173.33
TN Callender, Ox Eye Farm sold 37 (47.16 kg) average 322.01ppk & £151.86
AC Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm sold 64 (60.16 kg) average 249.61ppk & £150.16
GC&JC Pullan, Manor House sold 50 (55.24 kg) average 261.01ppk & £144.18
G&S Frankland, Town End Farm sold 32 (52.84 kg) average 266ppk & £140.56
Hoggs – Top prices ppk 418 402 372 356 293 290 283 R Atkinson. 354 342 325 320 319 296 TN Callender. 350 318 300 W.K M.M Lamb. 341 300 289 DR Smith. 318 300 J&A Layfield. 317 297 295 293 287 J Hicks. 310 302 J Layfield. 304 P Wilson. 304 286 JM&S Walton. 302 287 Messrs Bell. 302 DM Tiplady. 302 C Bell. 302 285 TA Greensit & Sons. 300 I Spedding. 297 GC&JC Pullan. 297 293 JA Gilson Agriculture.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £182 £180×3 £177 £176 £164×2 R Atkinson. £160 £156 £154 £153 £151 £150 £147 TN Callender. £160 3156 £154×3 £150×4 £149×2 £145×2 AC Simpson & Son. £154 £144 £142 TA Greensit & Sons. £150 RE&L Frank. £148 JM&S Walton. £146 £145 J Layfield. £145×3 GC&JC Pullan. £144×4 G&S Frankland. £142×2 C Bell. £142 P Langstaff. £142×2 T Heywood. £140×2 W.K M.M Lamb. £140 DR Smith.
Cast Ewes/Rams (264) – In similar style to the hoggs the ewe trade was harder work, noticeable more perhaps as we have been somewhat spoilt of late, a good show on the whole averaged £123.19 today. Hefty continental ewes from J Layfield, Nackshivan led the way selling at £210, £200 and £198. Typically, the heavy lowland ewes sold £140 to £180 whilst Mules topped at £145 and averaged £102.80 and an excellent pen of twenty-one Blackface ewes from L W Martin, Wayworth Farm flew miles clear in the horned ewe race at £120.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £210 £200 £198 £185 £180 £178 £168 J Layfield. £180 I Spedding. £178 £150×2 AC Simpson & son. £175 £150 GC&JC Pullan. £175 JR Blenkiron. £170 £166 £160 £158 £154 £145 £140 P Cockburn. £170 P Hutchinson. £170 P Langstaff. £165 £146 £140 DR Smith. £164 W Denham. £162 £160 W.K M.M Lamb. £154 MW Cook & Son. £154 £142 AJ&KM Foster & Son. £150 R Herbert. £150 C Orton. £150 £138 RO Gilson. £148 DA Gill.
