Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 12th June 2025. Forward were 185 cattle and 796 sheep.
72 Prime Bulls sold to 423ppk or £3403
36 Prime Steers sold to 448ppk or £3150
75 Prime Heifers sold to 485ppk or £2994
2 Cull Cows sold to 210ppk or £1457
644 New Season Lambs sold to 416ppk or £203
49 Prime Hoggs sold to 350ppk or £201
103 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £246
Prime Bulls (72) – More weight offered on the whole meant despite the average per kilo staying the same at 352 pence the pounds per head jumped by £127 to see them level at £2422. A nice offering of quality at the very top end saw ten sold over 400 pence per kilo and a super seven break £3000, relevant as just the one bull made his way in to the £3k club last week and only three passed 400ppk. Six of the top ten per kilo hailed from J Layfield, Nackshivan Farm, a really excellent pen of bulls which included our sale topper which was a smart 680kg Limousin at 423 pence. Other vendors in the 400 pence plus brigade were S & J Dent & Son, Great Burdon Farm (x2) along with J E Jordon & Son, The Brocks and R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall. Top of the gross value list reaching £3403 was a big lump of a Limousin from D Richardson & Co, Bracken House which weighed a notable 915kg, following was another super sort from Nackshivan Farm at £3235. Some good fed sorts amongst the bucket reared bulls saw the first crosses sell typically in the 340’s and 350’s whilst the pure Friesian’s peaked at 298ppk and £2082 but were somewhat overshadowed by a mighty Montbeliarde from C H & S E Armstrong, Middle Moor Farm which sold at 324ppk and £2235.
Top Bull Averages-
D Richardson & Co Ltd sold 3 (849kg) Average £3139 & 369ppk
S&J Dent & Son sold 2 (714kg) Average £2968 & 415ppk
J Layfield sold 6 (704kg) Average £2925 & 415ppk
JK&CE Farming sold 2 (744kg) Average £2790 & 375ppk
WG Richardson sold 4 (755kg) Average £2717 & 359ppk
Continental Bulls – Top Prices ppk 423 420 419 412 411 408 J Layfield. 420 411 S&J Dent & Son. 416 PI Harker. 409 JE Jordon & Son. 407 R Hall & Son. 394 JA Matten & Sons. 388 A&D Proctor. 384 372 352 D Richardson & Co LTD. 380 370 JK&CE Farming. 376 374 358 GH Farms LTD. 370 x2 352 x2 WG Richardson. 364 J Murray. 360 WE Frank & Son. 359 GW Dobson & Son. 357 351 350 344 CH&SE Armstrong. 354 Williamson. 352 344 TF Bothroyd & Son. 350 348 x2 JA&A Herbert. 345 JC&P Tallentire.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls- £3403 £3198 £2816 D Richardson & Co LTD. £3235 £3016 £3015 £2876 £2774 £2636 J Layfield. £3020 £2928 £2641 WG Richardson. £3004 £2931 S&J Dent & Son. £2853 £2726 JK&CE Farming. £2751 R Hall & Son. £2696 £2643 £2395 GH Farms LTD. £2692 £2465 JR Knox & Son. £2687 JE Jordon & Son. £2687 JA Matten & Sons. £2584 A&D Proctor. £2559 £2425 £2372 CH&SE Armstrong. £2462 GW Dobson & Son. £2444 WE Frank & Son. £2387 PI Harker. £2383 JC&P Tallentire.
Native Bulls – Top Prices ppk 354 352 351 338 R Hall & Son. 344 342 340 340 338 337 334 330 321 CH&SE Armstrong. 330 JE Grieves.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls – £2652 £2311 x2 £2284 £2240 £2223 £2151 £2142 CH&SE Armstrong. £2646 £2520 £2453 £2359 R Hall & Son. £2446 GW Dobson & Son. £2382 JE Grieves.
Friesian Bulls – Top Prices ppk 324 CH&SE Armstrong. 298 R Hall & Son. 286 x2 JR Spink.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls – £2235 CH&SE Armstrong. £2082 £2047 JR Spink. £2056 R Hall & Son.
Clean Cattle (111) – The magnificent live ring holds its head high again and remains proud to trade with the important and not the importers. God bless our ringside of butchers and wholesalers who are backing British beef, no weight caps or waiting lists here and all classes keenly bid for to see the steer’s average 391ppk and £2696 and the flying heifers a wonderful 434ppk and £2559. Half a dozen hot heifers sold in the 480’s as three from Cumbrian vendor W Miller, High Aketon joined a cracker from J V & J A Hodgson, The Grange but both vendors fell just shy of a near perfect pair from R Hirst, Neasham Grange. The red-hot Hirst’s best at an impressive 485 pence was a 601kg Limousin, her stablemate at 483ppk was also a Limousin and she went on to be the days top gross valued heifer weighing 620kg and selling at £2994. Some stars in the steers this week, none more so than a brilliant run from the regular selling W J Scott Ltd, Low Leam who produced excellent homebred British Blues to top with one at 448ppk and another at £3150. Other strong steer challenges materialised from M J & E A Sedgewick, Long Myers with tops of 426ppk and £3102 and also A F Hall, Redcar House who hit highs of 444ppk and £3038.
Top Clean Cattle Averages-
MJ&EA Sedgewick sold 4 (729kg) Average £2978 & 408ppk.
AF Hall sold 3 (708kg) Average £2906 & 410ppk.
NE Dyson sold 4 (640kg) Average £2878 & 449ppk.
WJ&AS Bowes & Sons sold 2 (618kg) Average £2838 & 459ppk.
WJ Scott Ltd sold 6 (661kg) Average £2835 & 428ppk
Askwiths sold 4 (647kg) Average £2834 & 438ppk.
Steers – Top prices ppk 448 411 407 WJ Scott Ltd. 444 404 389 AF Hall. 439 398 341 LW Martin. 426 425 413 376 MJ&EA Sedgewick. 420 415 Askwiths. 420 EW Grieves. 416 403 397 PI Harker. 409 402×2 382 380 RO Gilson. 393 372×2 359 351 RA&BA Ridley & Son Ltd. 380 379 D Richardson & Co Ltd. 372 359 A&CA Stanwix. 352 JV&JA Hodgson.
Lead Grossing Steers £3150 £2768 £2634 WJ Scott Ltd. £3102 £3081 £2888 £2841 MJ&EA Sedgewick. £3038 £2920 £2761 AF Hall. £3004 £2885 Askwiths. £2927 £2674 £2572 £2570 £2566 RA&BA Ridley & Son Ltd. £2903 £2755 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £2778 JB&N Harrison & Sons. £2750 £2717 £2540 LW Martin. £2670 £2516 A&CA Stanwix. £2641 £2621 £2572 £2527 £2364 RO Gilson. £2599 £2501 £2387 PI Harker. £2511 EW Grieves.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 485 483 475×2 474 473 470×2 469 465 442 432 R Hirst. 481 467 458 452 451 449 447 445 JV&JA Hodgson. 480×3 475 465 459 444 432 W Miller. 477 461 453 TW Clark & Son. 473 453 Askwiths. 470 449 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 470 457 443 430 NE Dyson. 468 454 WF Hustwit. 447 444 WJ Scott Ltd. 440 435 429 427 JE Suddes & Son. 439 BJS Farms. 426 JJ Kemp & Son. 422 JB&N Harrison & Son.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2994 £2917 £2914 £2787 £2745 £2677 £2646 £2639 £2617×2 R Hirst. £2930 £2788 £2754 JE Suddes & Son. £2928 £2920 £2870 £2796 NE Dyson. £2921 £2865 £2675 WJ Scott Ltd. £2871 £2806 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £2859 £2851 £2789 £2761 JV&JA Hodgson. £2793 £2736 W Miller. £2767 £2752 £2666 TW Clark & Son. £2751 WF Hustwit. £2743 Askwiths. £2734 £2700 JB&N Harrison & Son. £2719 A&D Proctor.
New Season Lambs (644) – Dearer on the week and with some hefty weights included the average jumped by £13.59 to level at £163.64 per head which equated to a weighed straight 373ppk with an SQQ average of 377ppk. Top per kilo was the pick of the pens from weekly supporter J C Simpson, Hill Top East, Caldwell with eleven 43kg lambs selling at 416 pence (£179) to Country Valley Foods. The same good home followed with ten at 44kg which sold at 415ppk (£183) to Castlebank Butchers and also produced two further pens of ten 44kg which each sold for 404ppk (£178). As mentioned, some real heavyweights were forward today, top of the crop at an impressive £203 per head were nine thumping 55kg lambs from Cole Hill Farm, Elwick. Following at £198.50 were another dozen from Cole Hill whilst our three other vendors selling at £190 or more were namely T Lawson & Son, R Lawson & Son and I R Appleton.
A few of today’s top lamb averages:
Cole Hill farm Ltd sold 101 (49.31kg) average 367.03ppk & £181
JC Simpson sold 90 (44.49kg) average 398.68ppk & £177.37
R Lawson & Son sold 12 (48.75kg) average 352.99ppk & £172.08
IR Appleton sold 12 (47.69kg) average 353.55ppk & £168.62
T Lawson & Son sold 12 (45.83kg) average 364.73ppk & £167.17
Lambs – Top prices ppk 416 415 404×2 395×2 387×3 383 JC Simpson. 400 390×2 389 372 TW&PT Moss Ltd. 397 395 373 372 371 AWSM Farms. 395 390×2 381 374 372 PR&V Barlow & Son. 390 372 369 W&M Knaggs & Son. 385 371 GP&A Carter. 382 T Lawson & Son. 379 R Lawson & Son. 375 369 RG Richardson. 375×4 370 JA&A Herbert. 373 368 JR Knox & Son. 373 RA Patterson & Son. 372 C&V Harrison. 372 371 370 369×2 Cole Hill farm Ltd. 371 J Curry.
Lead Grossing Lambs £203 £198.50 £185 £182.50 £182 £181 £180.50 £175 £162.50 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £195 £176 T Lawson & Son. £191 £186 £177 R Lawson & Son. £190 £174 £169 IR Appleton. £186 £183 £180 £179 £178×6 £166 JC Simpson. £180 K&PM Lough. £176.50 £170 I Walker. £176 £168 £166 £164×2 PR&V Barlow & Son. £171 3166 AWSM Farms. £171 J Curry. £170 £165 RG Richardson. £170 £165 C&V Harrison. £166 £163 JR Knox & Son. £164 W&M Knaggs & Son.
Prime Hoggs (49) – The cast members in the hogg show who stayed for the encore certainly enjoyed their performance today as the fifty or so forward average a miraculous £161.78. Top per kilo at 350 pence (£168) were eight 48kg Beltex hoggs from Harwood Dale based Tim Osbourne. Leading the prices on the gross value list was a gigantic 82kg hogg from R H Thompson & Son, Whins Farm at £201; twenty-one thumping hoggs from this home averaged a pleasing £184.24.
Hoggs – Top prices ppk 350 320 307 T Osborne. 335 280 I Spedding. 304 303 293×2 260 245 227 220 RH Thompson & Son. 220 R Lawson & Son.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £201 £194 £189 £182 £180 £170×2 RH Thompson & Son. £174 £124 I Spedding. £168 £141 £120 T Osborne. £154 R Lawson & Son.
Cast Ewes & Rams (103) – With less sheep forward nationally this week the ewe trade proved absolutely electric today to see the reduced number all in average a stunning £170.42. Two superstars from I & A Holmes, Middle Stotfold set the pace at £246, following at £227 were the pick of a tidy run from P R & V Barlow & Son, Sycamore Farm just ahead of the two kings of the lamb ring J C Simpson at £224 and Cole Hill Farm at £220. Mule ewe trade was mesmerising to average £157 with a top of £194 from R W Shann & Son, Ryall Farm whilst the highlight in the hill breeds was undoubtedly a Herdwick tup from I R Appleton, Pudding Poke Farm at £146.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £246 £210 I&A Holmes. £227 £180 £178 £140 PR&V Barlow & Son. £224 JC Simpson. £220 £204 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £216 £168 F Shield. £200 £180 J Curry. £196 £180 P Cockburn. £194 £190 RW Shann & Sons. £189 JS Wiper. £188 £146 I Spedding. £186 £142 RD&D Elders & Son. £186 £171 £140 K Hall. £185 £169 J Milbank & Sons. £176 RA Patterson & Son. £173×2 T Walton.
