Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 3rd July 2025. Forward were 168 cattle and 1616 sheep.
71 Prime Bulls sold to 420ppk or £3521
16 Prime Steers sold to 463ppk or £3189
81 Prime Heifers sold to 470ppk or £3248
1360 New Season Lambs sold to 427ppk or £205
33 Prime Hoggs sold to 340ppk or £160
223 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £254
Prime Bulls (71) – Dearer on the week to see the bulls average 363ppk and £2640 as the live ring once again saw straight through the depressing illusion that the deadweight outlets have recently cultivated. The top ten per kilo sold between 400 pence and 420 pence, the pick of the pack was a cracking Charolais from W A Wardman Ltd, Thrushwood Farm as he fought off strong Limousin competition from both A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm and D H Lawson, Brookside Farm. The top seven bulls in the lump all sold over £3300 as four from the aforementioned A C Simpson & Son went head-to-head with three from W J & A S Bowes & Sons, Stainton Hill House; claiming the top slot was a cracking 861kg Limousin from the Simpson pen at a marvellous £3521. Twelve Aberdeen Angus bulls blew the native breed competitors away this week as the breed averaged 335ppk and £2688 with an impressive top of 370ppk and £3026 coming from A G Watson & Sons, Nunstainton Grange. Friesian bulls were also in better form than of late and sold to improved tops of 333ppk from R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall and £2244 from J M & S Walton, Brettanby Farm.
A few of today’s leading averages:
WJ&AS Bowes & Sons sold 3 (849kg) average 391ppk & £3326
AC Simpson & Son sold 5 (809kg) average 402ppk & £3260
AG Watson & Sons sold 5 (798kg) average 383ppk & £3056
F&JS Gargett sold 2 (793kg) average 378ppk & £3003
DH Lawson sold 2 (727kg) average 401ppk & £2918
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 420 400×2 386 385 376 WA Wardman Ltd. 416 409×2 392×2 AC Simpson & Son. 412 390 DH Lawson. 409 385 382 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 407 JJ Horn. 401 394 376 374 DW Humphrey. 399 R Hall & Son. 397 381 380 GH Farms. 396 392 389 AG Watson & Sons. 380 377 F&JS Gargett. 370 P Langstaff. 370 J Richmond.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £3521 £3480 £3379 £3353 AC Simpson & Son. £3345 £3329 £3304 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £3160 £3132 £3096 £2866 AG Watson & Sons. £3080 £2931 £2836 £2745 £2658 WA Wardman Ltd. £3074 £2933 F&JS Gargett. £3040 £2796 DH Lawson. £2930 JJ Horn. £2860 R Hall & Son. £2842 £2827 £2810 £2716 GH Farms Ltd. £2723 J Richmond.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 370 AG Watson & Sons. 345 341 340 338 336z2 329 328 326 323 CH&SE Armstrong. 310 DP Wood.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £3026 AG Watson & Sons. £2832 £2722 £2716 £2702 £2664 £2653 £2629 £2593 £2558 £2506 CH&SE Armstrong. £2650 DP Wood.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 333 301 R Hall & Son. 328 319 Tallentire. 296 292 JR Spink. 295 JM&S Walton.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £2244 JM&S Walton. £2172 £1995 JR Spink. £2167 £2107 R Hall & Son. £2063 £1984 Tallentire.
Clean Cattle (97) – The good ship clean cattle went up a few knots as a remarkable trade materialised to see the heifers average 424ppk and £2539 and the simply stunning steers level at an outstanding 407ppk and £2700. Top per kilo at 470 pence was a super 563kg Limousin heifer from P R & V Barlow & Son, Sycamore Farm, two superstars from the weekly run of R Hirst, Neasham Grange followed at 469ppk with another belter from the Barlow’s next at 468ppk. Seven further heifers sold in the 460’s with half a dozen more in the 450’s and thirteen in the 440’s on a day which witnessed half of the sale sell at 430ppk or more. Top of the steers per kilo was another success story for the Barlow beasts which had travelled up from Nottinghamshire early this morning, a lovely Limousin which climbed all the way to 463ppk. The top six this week on the gross value list all surpassed £3000; pick of them all at £3248 was a patiently fed Limousin heifer from P & N Tattersall, Town Farm, York whereas the top steer was an excellent 740kg Limousin from A G Watson & Sons, Nunstainton Grange at £3189.
A few of today’s leading averages:
P&N Tattersall sold 3 (752kg) average 416ppk & £3130
AG Watson & Sons sold 3 (737kg) average 424ppk & £3128
NE Dyson sold 4 (684kg) average 417ppk & £2855
I Marshall & Sons sold 4 (682kg) average 411ppk & £2810
A&MJ Henshaw sold 10 (666kg) average 420ppk & £2804
Steers – Top prices ppk 463 447 434 PR&V Barlow & Son. 435 431 408 AG Watson & Son. 435 WJ Scott Ltd. 425 A&MJ Henshaw. 419 416 410 402 I Marshall & Sons. 405 NE Dyson. 351 DP Wood. 344 A Layfield.
Lead Grossing Steers £3189 £3132 £3064 AG Watson & Sons. £2944 NE Dyson. £2857 £2836 £2775 £2769 I Marshall & Sons. £2708 £2694 £2656 PR&V Barlow & Swon. £2505 WJ Scott Ltd. £2397 A&MJ Henshaw. £2341 £2271 DP Wood. £2053 A Layfield.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 470 468 465 PR&V Barlow & Son. 469×2 467 463 460 459 450 449 447 446 443 R Hirst. 467 446 B walker. 461 454 449 438 437 436 434 428 JV&JA Hodgson. 460 455 453 446 J Layfield. 451 W Barron. 445 434 427 423 WF Hustwit. 443 440 439 JE Suddes & Son. 442 440 437 A&MJ Henshaw. 440 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 436 430 NE Dyson. 434 A&D Proctor.
Lead Grossing Heifers £3248 £3167 £2976 P&N Tattersall. £3068 £2994 £2952 £2900 £2888 £2782 £2766 £2678 A&MJ Henshaw. £2959 JE Suddes & Son. £2919 £2842 £2716 NE Dyson. £2785 £2765 £2646 PR&V Barlow & Son. £2750 £2677 £2653 £2637 £2631 £2613 R Hirst. £2745 WJ Scott Ltd. £2736 £2677 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £2710 W Barron. £2682 £2621 WF Hustwit. £2646 £2587 £2556 JV&JA Hodgson.
New Season Lambs (1360) – A two tier show with a larger percentage of leaner grass-fed sheep arguably proving a touch harder to place, the whole sale average of 351ppk and £152.84 per head therefore only tells half of the story as the heavy weights and best shapes continued in majestic form throughout. The three-hundred lambs weighing 45-52kg averaged an impressive £180 whilst the handful of super heavies which scaled over 52kg levelled at £195. The leading seventy-five lambs sold over 400ppk whilst over one hundred sold over £190. Top of the day was an incredible 48kg Texel lamb from G F Whitfield, Hamsteels Hall farm when it sold for £205 (427ppk) to Roots Farm Shop, East Rounton. Other vendors in the £200 plus club were I & A Holmes of Elwick and Craven Farms, York with near misses for Wytherstone Farms, Pockley plus J R & J Crowe, Spennymoor and young Miss Camilla Bailes from Elwick. Chasing the leader for the top spot per kilo were a tidy trio from J V & J A Hodgson, The Grange along with the weekly run from J C Simpson, Hill Top Farm and also H T Davies & Partners, Bolam.
A few of today’s leading averages:
JR&J Crowe sold 17 (48.53kg) average 400.73ppk & £194.47
I&A Holmes sold 48 (50.13kg) average 384.87ppk & £192.92
GF Whitfield sold 15 (49.73kg) average 373.86ppk & £185.93
F Shield sold 17 (47kg) average 391.99ppk & £184.24
Cole Hill Farm Ltd sold 26 (46.96kg) average 389.27ppk & £182.81
Lambs – Top prices ppk 427 402 387 GF Whitfield. 415 393 381 JV&JA Hodgson. 414×2 408 397 395 JC Simpson. 407 404 HT Davies & Partners. 406 393 390 AWSM Farms. 404 402 397 388 JR&J Crowe. 404 395 394 391 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 400×2 F Shield. 400 JG Hall. 400 385 PR Weaver. 395 386 384 Craven Farms. 395 JK Gill & Son. 392 390 388 386 381 I&A Holmes. 391 JE Suddes & Son. 387 JA&A Herbert. 386 Wytherstone Farm. 385 C Binks & Son. 384 T Grix. 384 382 PJ Tindale.
Lead Grossing Lambs £205 £197 £187 £186 £182 GF Whitfield. £201 £198 £196 £195 £190 £183 I&A Holmes. £200 £196 £190 Craven Farms. £199 £193 £188 £182 Wytherstone Farm. £198×2 £191 £189 JR&J Crowe. £198 £197 £186 £180 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £196 £188 T Grix. £195 DR Smith. £192 PJ Tindale. £192 £191 D&PH Brown. £190 Thonbrough Farm. £190 L&S Barker. £189 C Binks & Son. £188 £178×2 JC Simpson. £188×2 F Shield. £188 WA Wardman Ltd. £186 JK Gill & Son. £186 TW Clark & Son.
Cast Ewes & Rams (223) – Meat makes all the difference as the fit ewes remain a fast trade. All included today’s sale averages £141. Top call of the day was £254 achieved by six well fleshed continental ewes from C Wise, Manor Farm, Little Stainton, following at £236 were fourteen heavy Suffolk crosses from J C Simpson, Hill Top East and a smashing single Suffolk from Craven Farms, York at £231. The York based firm also topped the Mule ewe trade this week with a fleshy old girl reaching £186 whilst half a dozen incredibly fleshy Easycare ewes from A &D Heyes, New Field Farm also impressed at the same price of £186.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep – £254 £228(x2) £220 £216 £192 £179(x2) C Wise. £236 £208 £175 J C Simpson. £231 £209 £186 £181 £180 Craven Farms. £220 £200 Hannah Robinson. £213 £182 J G M Brown & Co. £200 O Conner. £200 J R & J Crowe. £191 J Thompson. £189 P J Tindale. £186 A & D Heyes. £185.50(x2) £180 R Lawson & Son. £179 R A Patterson & Son. £176 M 7 J Smith. £172 J R Tiplady. £171 Swalebank Farms Ltd.
