Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 4th September 2025. Forward were 170 cattle and 1660 sheep.
73 Prime Bulls sold to 413ppk or £3506
20 Prime Steers sold to 448ppk or £3132
77 Prime Heifers sold to 495ppk or £3082
1400 Prime Lambs sold to 375ppk or £180
260 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £250
Prime Bulls (73) – The bull average fell 8ppk and £30 per head on the week to see them level all in at 369ppk and £2663 today. Undoubtedly the heavy weights and best shapes would look less money than they have done in recent weeks, the lighter weight bulls and particularly the first dairy crosses however would be every bit as good, if not better than witnessed for some time. Still eight bulls surpassed 400 pence per kilo as LW Martin, Wayworth Farm and Messrs Hird, Meadow View joined two toppers from Rochester & Murray, Glebe Farm and a real quality quartet from the Renton’s of High Highlaws. The hot stuff from Highlaws ran out with the top three prices per kilo with the best proving to be a stunning 747kg Limousin reaching 413 pence. Even with the bigger bulls proving harder to place, still sixteen sailed over £3000, top of them all at an impressive £3506 was a thumping 918kg Limousin from BA & C Pearson Ltd, Stainsby Hill Farm. The Pearson pen followed at £3239 with a 818kg Limousin ahead of the Renton’s of High Highlaws at £3194 and JJ Horn, Bushy Park at £3171. Aberdeen Angus topped the native breed lists this week when AG Watson & Sons, Nunstainton Grange sold to 398ppk and JA & M Boyes Ltd, Strathmore House to £2740. Friesian feeders this week all tried in vain to catch the fleshy sorts of MA & PD Foster, Smithy House Farm who led the pack with tops of 329ppk and £2289. Below are a handful of the top pen averages.
Rochester & Murray sold 2 average 405ppk and £2771
Renton Highlaws Ltd sold 5 average 398ppk and £3105
GK, KN & GJ Hird sold 3 average 392ppk and £2809
BA & C Pearson Ltd sold 3 average 387ppk and £3118
J Layfield sold 3 average 385ppk and £2766
LW Martin sold 3 average 384ppk and £2765
Continental Bulls Leading Prices Per Kilo – 413 409 418 400 Renton Highlaws Ltd. 406 405 Rochester & Murray. 404 393 GK, KN & GJ Hird. 400 394 L W Martin. 396 BA & C Pearson Ltd. 394 ER & GI Younger. 392 JM Ramsay & Son. 391(x2) AG Watson & Sons. 390 J Layfield. 388 JA & A Herbert.
Native Breed Bulls Leading Prices Per Kilo – 398 AG Watson & Sons. 364 JA & M Boyes Ltd. 356 GS Dowson. 338 335 JA & A Herbert.
Friesian Bulls Leading Prices Per Kilo – 329 310 308 MA & PD Foster. 320 ER & GI Younger. 312 GS Dowson.
Continental Bulls Leading Gross Values – £3506 £3239 BA & C Pearson Ltd. £3194 £3146 £3133 £3085 £2968 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £3171 J J Horn. £3144 LS Staley. £3129 £3096 £3088 £3006 £2979 £2910 £2890 £2849 AG Watson & Sons. £3088 ER & GI Younger. £3052 £3051 £2913 D Richardson & Co. £3017 GK, KN & GJ Hird. £2899 J Layfield. £2856 LW Martin. £2839 Rochester & Murray. £2839 PJ & ES Rogerson.
Native Breed Bulls Leading Gross Values – £2740 JA & M Boyes Ltd. £2463 AG Watson & Sons. £2214 £2203 JA & A Herbert.
Friesian Bulls Leading Gross Values – £2289 £2214 £2073 MA & PD Foster. £1897 ER & GI Younger. £1872 GS Dowson.
Clean Cattle (97) – The handier weights are smoking hot, unbelievable returns for the butcher’s shop beasts, all included the heifers averaged a stunning 432ppk and £2564 whilst a plainer offering of steers than usual checked in at 383ppk and £2574 per head. It must be said that in similar fashion to the bull trade some resistance was apparent for the heavy weights however the 520kg-620kg cattle just got dearer and dearer as the sale progressed. Not once or twice but thrice heifers hit the heights of 495 pence per kilo as two from JV & JA Hodgson, The Grange joined one from W Swinbank & Sons, Greystones. The second string from the Swinbank’s followed closely at 493ppk with PJ & MP Gilhespy, Low House hot on their heels at 490ppk; no less than fifteen further heifers sold in the 470’s and 480’s. A tie also occurred at the top of the steer race per kilo with two vendors reaching 448 pence, credits go to Anthony Swinbank & Son, Springwell and Taylor Bros Ltd, Belle Isle. Top of the gross values this week was a hefty British Blue steer from CW Gray, Low Hall Farm when he tipped the scales to 799kg and sold for £3132; top heifer in the lump was the aforementioned 390ppk cracker from the Gilhespy family of Low House at 629kg she realised £3082. A super sort from Rochester & Murray, Glebe Farm followed when their Limousin heifer sold for £3054 narrowly ahead of an onslaught from the successful Swinbank’s and the hot Hodgson’s with numerous heifers between them either side of £3000.
A few of today’s leading clean cattle averages:
W Miller sold 6 (547kg) average 475ppk & £2602
W Swinbank & Son sold 6 (609kg) average 470ppk & £2863
JV&JA Hodgson sold 8 (590kg) average 460ppk & £2720
PJ&MP Gilhespy sold 7 (602kg) average 454ppk & £2736
R Hirst sold 8 (568kg) average 453ppk & £2578
Steers – Top prices ppk 448 A Swinbank & Son. 448 437 429 Taylor Bros. 424 416 402 358 G&JY Marshall. 399 392 390 373 360 350 340 CW Gray. 376 354 340 CW Gray. 392 A&CA Stanwix.
Lead Grossing Steers £3132 £2961 £2916 £2900 £2856 £2819 £2761 CW Gray. £2665 £2635 £2506 A Crowder. £2517 £2453 £2412 Taylor Bros. £2481 A Swinbank & Son. £2420 £2395 £2196 £2134 G&JY Marshall. £2174 £2148 A&CA Stanwix.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 495×2 478 476 460 438 JV&JA Hodgson. 495 493 476 474 470 W Swinbank & Sons. 490 476 467 457 448 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 480 478 468 459 448 444 428 R Hirst. 480 478×3 476 464 W Miller. 479 WL Robinson & Partners. 475 Rochester & Murray. 469 458 EW Grieves. 468 434 WF Hustwit. 464 RA&S Darling Farms. 463 438 JE Suddes & Son. 450 A Swinbank & Son. 428 FW Hodgson. 427 JC Thwaite. 425×2 G&JY Marshall.
Lead Grossing Heifers £3082 £2951 £2760 £2717 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £3054 Rochester & Murray. £3045 £3022 £2998 £2994 £2782 W Swinbank & Sons. £3019 £2934 £2801 £2741 £2651 £2629 JV&JA Hodgson. £2879 £2854 £2747 £2666 JE Suddes & Son. £2875 £2652 £2641 £2542 R Hirst. £2830 RA&S Darling. £2777 £2662 WF Hustwit. £2803 FW Hodgson & Son. £2711 £2673 EW Grieves. £1703 £2633 £2630 £2592 £2590 W Miller. £2665 £2615 G Carins. £2663 WL Robinson & Partners.
Prime Lambs (1400) – Thick flesh remains the key ingredient as the lamb trade slightly stutters its way in to September, down a couple of pounds per head on last week, it is worth remembering that the sale average today of 305ppk and £142.51 per head still remains 16ppk and £9.35 in front of the same week last year. A remarkable statistic this week, weighed straight as always, we saw just twenty-six lambs offered weighing under 40kg, credit therefore must certainly go to the vendors for their patience during this summer’s grass shortage and for drawing lambs to fit the market. Topping the prices per kilo at 375 pence, not for the first time, were the young Davies sisters from Houghton Grange with an excellent trio of 40kg Beltex lambs. No notable high flyers in the pounds per head stakes however £160 to £180 was very frequently achieved, top of them all was a smart 53kg Texel from P Tindale, Preston Tilery.
Some leading averages on the day below.
J Milbank & Sons, sold 37 (50kg) Average £160
PJ Tindale, sold 19 (46kg) Average £158
AWSM Farms, sold 122 (49kg) Average £157
C Binks & Son, sold 21 (51kg) Average £157
M&A Gaskin, sold 80 (51kg) Average £157
Lambs – Top prices ppk 375 S&S Davies. 367 344 337 333 326 323 J Layfield. 364 341 340×4 339 PJ Tindale. 362 355 346 329 HT Davies & Partners. 356 C Binks & Son. 355 S Richardson. 346 331 J&RA Speed. 346 T&R Quinn & Son. 340 337 326 325 JC Hope & Son. 338 JCW Taylor. 334 325 JA&A Herbert. 330 JD Brannen. 329 O Chapman & O Parkin. 327×2 326 325×2 320 AWSM Farms. 327 D Barron. 326 325 J Pallister & Sons.
Lead Grossing Lambs £180 £175 £167 £163 PJ Tindale. £176 JCW Taylor. £176 £170 R Wade & Son. £172 AW Sanderson. £172 £160 A Tindale. £171 £166 £162 £160×2 £159 AWSM Farms. £170 £157 C&N Waters. £170 £163 RO Gilson. £170 RA Patterson & Son. £169 £165 £162×2 £160×2 J Layfield. £168 D&PH Brown. £167 £166 J Milbank & Sons. £164 £162×2 £159 C Binks & Son. £163×2 £162 M&A Gaskin. £162 J&A Layfield. £162 TW Clark & Son. £161 £158 JA&A Herbert.
Cast Ewes/Rams (260) – The ewe trade remains good, as with the lamb’s flesh is paramount to the buyer’s needs. All in, today’s sale averaged just over £110 per head for a show probably considered below par. British Rouge were in the news as a fine pair from E Smith, Greencroft led the prices when selling for £250 per head. Strong continental ewes sold £170 to £205 whilst the biggest of the Mules topped at £176. Elsewhere, Teeswaters ewes sold to £211, tups topped for Texel’s at £203 whilst Easycare’s went as high as £180; Cheviot ewes to £144, Blackface to £100 and Herdwick’s to £80.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £250 £181×2 E Smith. £211 £198 G Horner. £206 £176 £163 £157 RE&L Frank. £203 £196 £145 K&PM Lough. £194 W Denham. £191 ND Morgan. £186 £161 £140 D&PH Brown. £185 £149 JP&R Ward. £184 T&R Quinn. £180×3 £170 £140×2 AW Sanderson. £172 R Wade & Son. £166 J&A Layfield. £161 HT Davies & Partners. £160 JC Hope & Son. £154 £130 O Chapman & O Parkin. £154 JCW Taylor. £148 F Shield.
