Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 13th April 2023. Forward were 189 Cattle, 2972 Sheep and 10 Pigs.
71 Prime Bulls sold to 402ppk or £3718
24 Prime Steers sold to 349ppk or £2575
92 Prime Heifers sold to 276ppk or £2271
2 Cast Cows sold to 289ppk or £2245
24 New Season Lambs sold to 404ppk or £185
2511 Prime Hoggs sold to 395ppk or £190
461 Cast Ewes & Rams sold to £200
10 Prime Pigs sold to 120ppk or £92
Prime Bulls (71) – Wow! Seeing is believing, the absolute trade of the century as the bouncing bulls reached levels NEVER seen before. The whole show averaged 297ppk and an incredible £2074, our previous centre records were obliterated as a mind-blowing quartet sold over £3000 with two bulls in the 390’s and for the first time ever a bull sold beyond 400ppk. Starting at the top and what an outstanding achievement today we witnessed by the Paterson family of Upper Auchenlay, Dunblane who produced a magnificent British Blue bull weighing 925kg and selling for 402 pence per kilo and £3718. An extraordinary Limousin bull from another Scottish consignor pushed the remarkable Blue all the way as a terrific 919kg example from R M Adam & Son, Newhouse of Glamis sold for 392ppk and £3602. Local producers A G Watson & Sons, Rushyford produced a brilliant British Blue at 390ppk whilst the other two belting bulls in the £3000 plus club were both Limousin’s as the second from Glamis was followed closely by Trimdon Village’s J C Johnson. The top twenty bulls all sold over £2200 with an amazing twenty-six the right side of 300 pence per kilo, numerous of those in the 300 gang were just continental bucket reared calves out of dairy cows. To the native breeds and £2000 plus was comfortably achievable for the Aberdeen Angus of F S Sturrock & Sons, Elwick whilst the Friesian trade was also exemplary with tops of 281ppk from R Hall & Son, Brotton and an impressive £2020 from G W Dobson & Son, South Wingate. Some lip-smacking averages are listed below.
R M Adam & Son, Forfar sold 2 to average 362ppk and £3436
A G Watson & Sons, Rushyford sold 6 to average 344ppk and £2475
R C Raper & Daughters, Doncaster sold 2 to average 328ppk and £1945
C Binks & Son, Walworth sold 2 to average 322ppk and £2396
J R Knox & Son, Heighington sold 2 to average 322ppk and £2366
J Layfield, Willington sold 6 to average 321ppk and £2309
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 402 R&M Paterson. 392 335 RM Adam & Son. 390 370 363 338 320 285 AG Watson & Sons. 372 326 318 310×2 298 J Layfield. 359 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 351 297 JR Knox & Son. 338 R Hall & Son. 337 320 RC Raper & Daughters. 328 317 C Binks & Son. 328 IR Appleton. 328 JC Johnson. 317 299 JK&CE Farming. 311 298 JM Ramsay & Son. 300 JK Gregory. 300 290 GH Farms Ltd.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £3718 R&M Paterson. £3602 £3269 RM Adam & Son. £3030 JC Johnson. £2769 £2749 £2653 £2323 £2254 £2106 AG Watson & Sons. £2624 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £2574 £2395 £2328 £2255 £2159 £2145 J Layfield. £2473 £2320 C Binks & Son. £2442 £2289 JR Knox & Son. £2252 £2214 J Richmond. £2151 £1971 GH Farms Ltd. £2125 £2058 FS Sturrock & Sons. £2122 JK&CE Farming. £2055 R Hall & Son. £2038 GW Dobson & Son.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices 281 258 R Hall & Son. 263 260 JK Gregory. 259 258 256 240 238 JM&S Walton. 258 GW Dobson & Son.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £2020 GW Dobson & Son. £1857 £1677 R Hall & Son. £1717 £1588 JK Gregory. £1633 £1587 £1580 £1579 £1380 JM&S Walton.
Native Breed Bulls – Top prices ppk 282 274 271 269 268 258 248 FS Sturrock & Sons. 248 JM&S Walton.
Lead Grossing Native Breed Bulls £2111 £2094 £2006 £1996 £1923 £1886 £1785 £1729 FS Sturrock & Sons. £1557 JM&S Walton.
Clean Cattle (116) – With the dust not settled from the outstanding bull trade, up stepped the clean for their bite of the cherry and they too duly reached heights not seen before; the heifers averaged a superb 317ppk and the steers 302ppk, the whole show levelled at £1888 apiece. Four heifers sold over 370 pence per kilo, a further half dozen in the 360’s and eight more over 350ppk. Top of todays very high tree were Robin and Imogen Hirst of Neasham Grange with excellent heifers at 370ppk, 374ppk and their best a beautiful 577kg British Blue which sold for 376ppk. The other heifer at 370ppk hailed from the Askwiths of Low Mown Meadows, the same good home also produced our top steer per kilo with a cracking 620kg Limousin selling for 349ppk. Great gross values are a given on such a flying trade, a brilliant thirty-seven cattle sold over £2000, best of all in the heifer race was a superb 649kg Limousin from W J & A S Bowes & Sons, Great Stainton when she sold for £2271, the red hot Hirst’s and also J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse enjoyed the next eight leading heifer values between them. The leading values in the steers beggar belief and unquestionably destroy the deadweight options available, pick of the pack a brilliant 751kg Limousin from Gerard Quinn of J E Suddes & Son, Rowley Farm reached £2575 with a top trio from I Marshall & Sons, Hope House Farm just adrift selling between £2432 and £2515. Todays list of top averages is not for the faint hearted, for those of a nervous disposition, don’t look down.
Heifers
Askwiths, Crook sold 3 to average 367ppk and £2072
R Hirst, Neasham sold 10 to average 358ppk and £2107
B Walker, Dalton-on-Tees sold 2 to average 344ppk and £2101
J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery sold 3 to average 337ppk and £1839
East Newbiggin Farm, Heighington sold 3 to average 330ppk and £1754
J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse sold 12 to average 326ppk and £2032
Steers
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 to average 342ppk and £2266
P J & M P Gilhespy, Ponteland sold 2 to average 326ppk and £1956
I Marshall & Sons, Bishop Middleham sold 3 to average 325ppk and £2475
J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery sold 2 to average 319ppk and £2226
P R & V Barlow & Son, Shelford sold 2 to average 316ppk and £1968
Lead Grossing Steers £2575 £1877 JE Suddes & Son. £2515 £2478 £2432 I Marshall & Sons. £2368 £2163 Askwiths. £2213 £1705 AJ Marr & Son. £2190 £1794 S Weightman & Son. £2061 £1983 £1884 TF Bothroyd & Son. £2043 £1869 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £2028 £1908 PR&V Barlow & Son. £1895 D&CA Henry. £1790 FS Sturrock & Sons.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 376 374 370 365 360 359 356 345 340 336 R Hirst. 370 368 364 Askwiths. 369 AJ Marr & Son. 366 359 350 349×2 329 327 JV&JA Hodgson. 356 JE Suddes & Son. 355 324 P&JH Davison. 350 JJ Kemp & Son. 350 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 348 326 East Newbiggin Farms. 344×2 B Walker. 344 339 333 329 WF Hustwit. 340 PR&V Barlow & Son. 338 Foxton Livestock. 337 JE Suddes & Son. 334 K&MM Henderson. 332 324 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 329 W Swinbank & Sons. 321 GH Farms Ltd.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2271 £2011 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £2268 £2233 £2184 £2181 £2169 £2146 £2042 £1990 R Hirst. £2230 £2192 £2179 £2163 £2112 £2012 £1978 £1972 £1968 JV&JA Hodgson. £2166 AJ Marr & Son. £2163 £2039 B Walker. £2153 £2023 £2007 £1940 £1915 WF Hustwit. £2114 £2064 £2038 Askwiths. £2101 £1972 P&JH Davison. £2005 J Henshaw. £1949 £1934 JJ Kemp & Son. £1943 £1914 W Swinbank & Sons. £1922 JE Suddes & Son. £1902 Foxton Livestock.
Cast Cattle – Top prices ppk 289 PR&V Barlow & Son. 190 J Elliott.
Lead Grossing Cast Cattle £2245 J Elliott. £1991 PR&V Barlow.
New Season Lambs (24) – The springers are beginning to appear and thus far look a fine trade, today the sale averaged 357ppk and £167 per head. As was the case a fortnight ago it was the Charollais breeders who enjoyed the limelight, top price per kilo went back to Hunmanby, East Yorkshire with Tom and Judith Hunter when they sold 44kg for 404ppk to Yorkshire Halal. Top gross value at £185 went to a hefty 62kg lamb from Deborah Whitcher, Whenby, York which sold to J A Jewitt Ltd, Spennymoor. The happy Hunter’s left with a great average of £178, the Whenby wonders averaged £165 and a good pen of Suffolk’s from P K & H C Dowson, Stokesley’s first draw sat not far adrift averaging £160.
Spring Lambs – Top prices ppk 404 387 T&J Hunter. 377 367 357 318 PK&HC Dowson. 361 347 344 318 298 D Whitcher.
Lead Grossing Spring Lambs £185 £177 £175 £170 £148 D Whitcher. £178×2 T&J Hunter. £170 £158 £156 £150 PK&HC Dowson.
Prime Hoggs (2511) – Hogg trade the best seen so far this season, some superstars on display with the other end of the spectrum also well represented averaged a weighed 100% straight 306ppk with an SQQ average of 317ppk. Hogg of the day and top price per kilo at 395 pence was an excellent 41kg Beltex from C A & J G Skidmore, Toronto; good sorts from local feeders J A Gilson and K & P M Lough followed closest with Aberdeenshire based M Barrack not far adrift. Marauding Midlander Phil Weaver led the gross values with an outstanding run of Texel tup hoggs, the top trio at 69kg sold for £190 with the twenty-six tups from this home averaging over £180, only Ponteland based Tony Watson prevented the Nottinghamshire raider claiming all the top slots. Hill bred hoggs were plentiful and well rewarded today as Blackface sold to 318ppk from L W Martin, Commondale and £149 from M Barrack, Aberdeenshire. Swaledale’s peaked at 285ppk from J A Gilson, Quebec and £118 from G A & J Allison, Bilsdale. Mule hoggs reached 317ppk also from J A Gilson to a top gross price of £150 from another Aberdeenshire consignor G Gall. Trade of the day for the hill bred hoggs however possibly belonged to Richard Bailes, Cole Hill Farm, Elwick with a terrific run of 128 Cheviot’s averaging 41kg and £140 with tops of 365ppk and £146.
Hoggs – Top prices ppk 395 CA&JG Skidmore. 386 355 338 JA Gilson. 382 350×2 K&PM Lough. 380 359 357 356 351 341 M Barrack. 372 369 344 AS&G Donaldson. 369 335 334 T Watson. 366 352 340×2 335 PR Weaver. 365 347 TN Callender. 365 335 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 361 339 Emma Watson. 352 342 335 G Gall. 350 342 T&R Quinn & Son. 346 334 JC Smith. 346 JH&D Wise. 345 E Smith. 342 337 IM Maughan. 340 R Stapleton. 339 GA&J Allison. 339 East Newbiggen Farm. 339 TW Clark.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £190 £185 £184 £183 £180 £166 £165×2 PR Weaver. £184 £178 £171 £170 T Watson. £171 MJ Blacklidge. £170 JA Gilson. £170 JC Smith. £170 AS&G Donaldson. £170×2 £167 £164 D&PH Brown. £170 £167 £165×2 £162 Ian Kirk. £168 £166 £164 M&CL Dale. £168 M Barrack. £167 IM Maughan. £167×2 £166×3 J&A Layfield. £165 JK&CE Farming. £164 C Binks & Son. £164 Emma Watson. £164 £162 CA&JG Skidmore. £164 JH&D Wise. £164 C&E Gaskin. £163 G Gall. £162 C Wise. £162 I Lancaster. £161×2 K&PM Lough.
Cast Ewes & Rams (461) – As with the hoggs the ewe trade lifted ahead of the end of Ramadan next week. Top of the tree were two vendors at £200 when a great Texel ewe from Whitby’s P M & F M Hill matched the price earlier set by a fine tup from R W Shann & Sons, Sedgefield. Best of the Mule’s at an impressive £164 came from R G Richardson, Sunderland whilst an insanely improved horned ewe trade saw half a dozen Blacface ewes from W Tyreman & Sons, Danby reach the holy grail for horney’s of £100.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £200 RW Shann & Sons. £200 £186 £182 £146×3 PM&FM Hill. £180×2 3160 C Wise. £180 E Scott & Sons. £180 £156 T Watson. £172×3 M&A Gaskin. £170×2 £150 B&SM Rutherford & Son. £168 JL Gill & Son. £164×2 RG Richardson. £164 £155 Emma Watson. £160 TM Darling & Son. £160 Ainsty Farms Direct. £160 W Denham. £155 £152 P&CM Graham. £154 S Thompson & Son. £150×2 C Moffett. £150 E Henderson. £150 MW Reed. £150 JJ Horn. £150×2 I&A Holmes.
Prime Pigs (10) – With records smashed in the cattle ring and sheep a super trade our pork scratching flavoured buddies somewhat let the side down as the their trade remained boringly similar.
Pigs – Top prices ppk 120 115 J Mitchell & Son.
Lead Grossing Pigs £92 £88 J Mitchell & Son.
