Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 11th May 2023. Forward were 207 Cattle, 1260 Sheep and 17 Pigs.
65 Prime Bulls sold to 330ppk or £2729
35 Prime Steers sold to 329ppk or £2308
107 Prime Heifers sold to 344ppk or £2266
82 New Season Lambs sold to 483ppk or £209
900 Prime Hoggs sold to 361ppk or £191
278 Cast Ewes & Rams sold to £200
17 Prime Pigs sold to 140ppk or £191
Prime Bulls (65) – A similar trade on the week, perhaps a smidgen less however a sale average of 276ppk and £1890 included twenty-eight over £2000 and eighteen reaching at least 300ppk still appears healthy. A brilliant 21-month-old British Blonde stole the show, weighing 827kg the super sort from T & D I Allen & Son, Chatterley Farm, Wolsingham topped the market selling for 330ppk and £2729. Good runs from several vendors chased the Chatterley charge over the line as S & J Dent & Son claimed three of the top five prices per kilo, both T W Clark & Son and J J Horn sold bulls over £2400 and regular sellers D Richardson & Co and the consistent A G Watson & Sons also produced excellently finished bulls on the day. Friesian feeders were again well rewarded, tops this week came from serial winners R Hall & Son, Brotton at 257ppk and £1576 from W E & C A Anderson, Caldwell.
T & D I Allen & Sons, Wolsingham sold 2 to average 326ppk and £2489
S & J Dent & Son, Darlington sold 5 to average 312ppk and £1987
W I Suddes & Son, Cornsay sold 4 to average 311ppk and £2006
J H & M & N W Brown, Darlington sold 4 to average 301ppk and £1853
A G Watson & Sons, Rushyford sold 5 to average 298ppk and £2142
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 330 322 T&DI Allen & Son. 326 317×2 305 298 S&J Dent & Son. 316 306 299 290 285 AG Watson & Sons. 316 303 298 289 JH&M&NW Brown. 313 C&R Metcalf. 313 310 286 274 270 TW Clark & Son. 311 310 308 WI Suddes & Son. 302 270 JK&CE Farming. 298 JJ Horn. 297 265 JR Knox & Son. 288 280 274 D Richardson & Co Ltd. 287 278×2 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 276 JB&N Harrison & Sons. 275×2 WE&CA Anderson.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £2729 £2250 T&DI Allen & Son. £2445 £2206 £2199 £2052 £2022 TW Clark & Son. £2443 JJ Horn. £2285 £2137 £2135 £2122 £2031 AG Watson & Sons. £2237 £2235 £2212 £2167 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £2230 £1902 JR Knox & Son. £2205 JB Harrison & Sons. £2189 £2036 £1999 £1956 WI Suddes & Son. £2181 £2143 £2059 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £2092 JK&CE Farming. £2073 £2066 £2006 £1911 S&J Dent & Son. £2005 JH&M&NW Brown.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 257 243 234 R Hall & Son. 238 228 JK Gregory. 236 231 218 C&M Atkinson & Sons. 235×2 WE&CA Anderson. 234 228 JM&S Walton. 219 JC&P Tallentire.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £1576 £1290 WE&CA Anderson. £1562 £1490 £1467 R Hall & Son. £1553 £1495 JM&S Walton. £1499 £1468 JK Gregory. £1329 JC&P Tallentire. £1299 £1298 £1276 C&M Atkinson & Sons.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 258 C&M Atkinson & Sons. 244 237 JK Gregory. 244 JC&P Tallentire.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £1754 C&M Atkinson & Sons. £1671 JC& Tallentire. £1623 £1520 JK Gregory.
Clean Cattle (142) – As with the bull’s things look a fraction easier in the clean cattle rings across the country this week, thus said thirty beasts sold over 320ppk as our hot heifers averaged a pleasing 298 pence per kilo and a very heavy show of steers levelled at 279ppk; the whole kit and caboodle returned an average of £1770 per head. Top priced heifer selling to H Taylor & Sons, Darlington for 344 pence per kilo was a beautiful Limousin from J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse, three vendors shared second spot as J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery, R Hirst, Neasham and the Askwiths of Crook all with Limousin’s each reached 338ppk. The tremendous home bred cattle of W J Scott Ltd, Low Leam Farm, West Woodburn dominated the leading steers per kilo scoreboard; the pick of the pen a brilliant 605kg British Blue sold for 329ppk. The finest fifteen sold over £2000, leading the heifers at £2266 was an excellent British Blonde from J B & N Harrison & Sons, Lanchester with regular raiders Messrs Hirst, Hodgson and Marshall in hot pursuit. The aforementioned team from Low Leam scooped four of the top five gross values on the steer leader board however not the one at the top, that honour went to a brilliantly finished Limousin from R A & B A Ridley & Son, Dipton Foot which sold for £2308. See below some of the day’s top pen averages.
Heifers
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 to average 335ppk and £1735
R Hirst, Neasham sold 10 to average 324ppk and £1941
S & J Dent & Son, Darlington sold 2 to average 322ppk and £1778
J L Marks, Bishopton sold 2 to average 319ppk and £1755
J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse sold 20 to average 316ppk and £1832
I Marshal & Sons, Bishop Middleham sold 4 to average 3214ppk and £1975
J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery sold 5 to average 312ppk and £1835
Steers
W J Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 8 to average 310ppk and £2103
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 to average 303ppk and £2020
J L Marks, Bishopton sold 2 to average 301ppk and £1698
Steers – Top prices ppk 329 318 315 310 308 307 302 297 WJ Scott Ltd. 309 298 Askwiths. 309 295 JL Marks. 300 299 291 284 IM Maughan. 293 278×2 272 264 250 RA&BA Ridley & Son Ltd. 281 276 K&J Heslop. 278 270 JB&N Harrison & Sons. 266 255 TN Hodgson & Sons. 264 J Pallister & Sons.
Lead Grossing Steers £2308 £2098 £2037 £1993 £1907 £1904 RA&BA Ridley & Son Ltd. £2276 £2250 £2242 £2182 £2042 £1990 £1935 £1909 WJ Scott Ltd. £2178 £2073 JB&N Harrison & Sons. £2041 £1999 Askwiths. £1973 £1809 £1716 TN Hodgson & Sons. £1879 J Pallister & Sons. £1799 £1597 JL Marks. £1789 £1776 £1667 £1647 IM Maughan. £1749 £1615 K&J Heslop.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 344 334 329×2 326×2 325×2 324 321 319 318 317 316 306×2 JV&JA Hodgson. 338 323 307 JE Suddes & Son. 338 332 Askwiths. 338 337 335 328×2 320 R Hirst. 337 JL Marks. 326 317 JJ Kemp & Son. 325 321 314 307 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 325 A Swinbank & Son. 325 320 S&J Dent & Son. 320 316 312 310 I Marshall & Sons. 319 313 WJ Scott Ltd. 314 GC&JC Pullan. 310 K&J Heslop. 305 W Swinbank & Sons. 304 B Walker.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2266 £1926 £1875 JB&N Harrison & Sons. £2069 £1996 £1974 £1971 £1958 £1943 £1939 £1933 R Hirst. £2012 £1984 £1965 £1939 I Marshall. £2003 £1993 £1965 £1953 £1952 £1927 £1921 £1885 JV&JA Hodgson. £1951 JL Marks. £1943 £1906 GC&JC Pullan. £1925 £1906 GC&JC Pullan. £1915 £1899 W Swinbank. £1902 £1882 JE Suddes & Son. £1877 K&J Heslop. £1872 £1839 B Walker. £1839 WJ Scott Ltd.
New Season Lambs (82) – New buyers bring about flyers; spring lambs a massive trade, weighed straight and even including eight lightweight Valais Blacknose’s the sale averaged a huge 385ppk and £172 per head. As the crop of 2023 slowly emerge from the depths of a miserable March and an awful April the light shone brightly today at the end of the tunnel. Rambo drew first blood as John Simpson of Caldwell with his first draw of the season sold half a dozen 46kg lambs at £209 (454ppk) before the same good homes next six weighing 42kg made a brilliant 483ppk (£203). Some beauties from the Burn’s of Stamfordham sold thrice to £200 whilst local producers Martin Gaskin, Alan Kirk and Anna Herbert all found their way in to the £190’s.
Lambs – Top price ppk 483 454 JC Simpson. 464 363 Anna Herbert. 445 336 W Kirk & Sons. 423 387 385 349 M&A Gaskin. 408 384×2 375 359 I Burn & Sons. 407 397 361 353 BR&R Routledge. 333 J Bolton. 319 317 R Tookey & Sons.
Lead Grossing Lambs £209 £203 JC Simpson. £200×3 £169 £158 £149 I Burn & Sons. £199 £192 £190 £181 M&A Gaskin. £196 £148 W Kirk & Sons. £195 £149 Anna Herbert. £168 £150 R Tookey & Son. £167 £163 £159 £145 BR&R Routledge. £140 J Bolton.
Prime Hoggs (900) – New accounts also operated in the hogg ring which induced a super trade for the well fed and best bred this week, as the hoggs begin to dry up and the springer numbers haven’t quite yet sprung the sheep trade looks set to stay strong. A peculiar show with what felt seemed like every breed under the sun involved look down in price on paper but in reality, trade would be stronger on the week. Two tidy Beltex from A S Whitfield, High Castledene led the race per kilo when selling for 361 pence. Top gross value went to ten topping 57kg Texel’s from A Crowder, Butsfield at £191 with four pens from A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear in the £180’s along with a good pen of nineteen excellent Suffolk’s out of Mule’s from G C & J C Pullan, Tunstall.
Hoggs – Top prices ppk 361 356 334 331 324 317 305 AS Whitfield. 357 339 323×2 317 297 TN Callender. 346 335 327 320 318 312 311 303 296 AC Simpson & Son. 343 JK&CE Farming. 338 318 302 300 297 J&A Layfield. 335 322×4 320 A Crowder. 333 313 Tallentire. 323 WE Frank & son. 321 308 F Hare & Sons. 319 296 PM&FM Hill. 318 Ivanhoe Livestock. 308 W Walker & Sons. 307 DK Barker. 300 J Gilson. 300 297 GE Raw.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £191 £171 £161×3 £160 A Crowder. £186 £180×3 £179 £178 £177 £175×4 £170 £168.50 £165 AC Simpson & Son. £180 £155 GC&JC Pullan. £176 £156 J&A Layfield. £175 £170 JK&CE Farming. £175 £170 £162 Tallentire. £174 FR&AL Lyth. £173 JG&M Brown. £171 £154 PM&FM Hill. £171 £160 £150 SW Bowe. £168 TN Callender. £168 WE Frank & Son. £162 £154 AS Whitfield. £162 L Collingwood. £160 R Herbert. £160 P Stott. £160 G Bird & Sons. £160 M Hogg.
Cast Ewes & Rams (278)- Ewe Trade today proving much dearer, however a plainer show of sheep bringing the average down to £101. Top honours today were shared between a strong Texel tup from T Nesbitt & Son, Alwent Hall making £200 and a great Texel ewe also achieving £200 from PM&FM Hill, Old Hall Farm. Closely following, were a pen of three powerful Texel ewes from FR&AL Lyth, Mount Pleasant Farm, making a cracking £194. Another Texel from P Cockburn of Newbiggin farm made a price of £172, whilst A&CA Stanwix, Gayles Hall Farm, sold a Beltex ewe at £170. Suffolks today were sold to a top price of £164, Mules to £133, Black faced to £85 and Swales to £88.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £200 T Nesbitt & Son. £200 £164 PM&FM Hill. £194 FR&AL Lyth. £172 £152 P Cockburn. £170 A&CA Stanwix. £162 £134 WE Frank & Son. £156 £147 £145 £144 BR&RI Routledge. £152 R Peart. £149 £139 x2 £138 £134 AS Whitfield. £148 I Hedley. £145 Rose A Farms. £144 HF Hindmarch. £144 Ivanhoe Livestock. £143 J&A Layfield. £140 £136 R Valks. £140 x2 WL Robinson. £140 £134 x2 C&M Atkinson & Sons. £140 PR&KM Brown. £140 C&R Metcalf. £139 JK&CE Farming. £134 PJ Tindale.
Prime Pigs (17) – Swine time! Pigs to £191 in Darlington, who would have thought it. Save on the maths below, the pen of four weighed 290kg apiece, that’s a monumental amount of pork pies, hold my coat and pass me the ketchup.
Pigs – Top prices ppk 140 110 J Mitchell & Son. 74 70 66 C Harrison.
Lead Grossing Pigs £191 £184 £172 C Harrison. £105 £82 J Mitchell & Son.
