Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 21st November 2024. Forward were 241 cattle and 1876 sheep.
89 Prime Bulls sold to 351ppk or £2818
25 Prime Steers sold to 363ppk or £2605
125 Prime Heifers sold to 417ppk or £2548
2 Cast Cows sold to 278ppk or £2299
1567 Prime Lambs sold to 381ppk or £176
309 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £233
Prime Bulls (89) – The trade remains fast and this week’s fine show averaged an excellent 302ppk and £2157 per head as bulls from three nations descended on Darlington with both the Scottish and Welsh present to challenge for the top spots. Top of the day was a fabulous 803kg British Blue from D Alderson, Bowl Turner, East Cowton when he sold for a superb 351ppk and £2818. Chasing the leading bull per kilo were the consistent Cumbrian’s T N & J Hall of Ainstable Hall at 349ppk and N White, Barf House, Marrick at 346ppk with two more from Ainstable and another from Bowl Turner also selling over 340ppk. The closest gross value challenger came out of the same good yard as our topper, behind him the Ainstable Hall pen followed along with the Brown’s of West Hartburn Farm and first-time vendors D & E Davies, Dolydd Dwr who travelled all the way up from West Wales. Plenty of native breeds on display today and they too were in demand peaking at 306ppk for an Aberdeen Angus shown by C H & S E Armstrong, Middle Moor Farm or £2530 for a well finished Hereford from J A & M Boyes Ltd, Strathmore House. Friesian feeders this week were led by regular sellers G W Dobson & Son, Wood Close Farm with top prices of 261ppk and £1816 whilst a couple of cast cows which followed the bulls saw a superb Limousin from R & A Stodart Ltd, Inverarity well worthy of a mention as she sold for 278ppk and £2299. Below are a few of the day’s top bull pen averages.
D Alderson, East Cowton sold 2 to average 345ppk and £2800
TN & J Hall, Ainstable sold 5 to average 327ppk and £2403
JH&M&NW Brown, Darlington sold 3 to average 328ppk and £2569
D&E Davies, Llanybydder sold 3 to average 327ppk and £2502
AG Watson & Sons, Rushyford sold 5 to average 325ppk and £2497
BA&C Pearson Ltd, Thornaby sold 3 to average 318ppk and £2352
TW Clark & Son, Durham sold 3 to average 317ppk and £2438
R&M Paterson, Dunblane sold 3 to average 317ppk and £2074
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 351 341 D Alderson. 349 345×2 333 320 TN& J Hall. 346 N White. 339 335 331 321 AG Watson & Sons. 338 310 R&M Paterson. 336 320 313 LR Welsh & Co. 336 326 324 JH&M&NW Brown. 335 326 323 D&E Davies. 330 318 308 BA&C Pearson Ltd. 328 326 306×2 305 D Richardson & Co Ltd. 327 316 309 TW Clark & Son. 315 305 R Hall & Son. 309 K&TK Atkinson. 309 CH&SE Armstrong. 308 305 JK&CE Farming. 300 P&E Roger.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £2818 £2783 D Alderson. £2675 £2521 £2428£2265 TN&J Hall. £2614 £2594 £2499 JH&M&NW Brown. £2590 £2559 £2358 D&E Davies. £2586 £2571 £2539 £2455 £2334 AG Watson & Sons. £2484 £2362 £2311 D Richardson & Co Ltd. £2472 £2439 £2403 TW Clark & Son. £2457 R&M Paterson. £2435 N White. £2428 £2356 £2273 BA&C Pearson Ltd. £2378 £2250 £2216 LR Welsh & Co. £2216 CH&SE Armstrong. £2196 JK&CE Farming.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 261 239 GW Dobson & Son. 258 R Hall & Son. 241 JC&P Tallentire. 219 D Walker.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £1816 £1744 GW Dobson & Son. £1605 JC&P Tallentire. £1535 R Hall & Son. £1254 D Walker.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 306 291 CH&SE Armstrong. 304 297×2 288 JA&M Boyes Ltd. 295 290 R Hall & Son. 271 JV Hodgson & Son. 270 R&A Stodart Ltd. 268 253 G Te-Lintelo.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2530 £2340 £2260 £2254 JA&M Boyes Ltd. £2351 R&A Stodart Ltd. £2221 £2193 G Te-Lintelo. £2125 £1893 R Hall & Son. £2029 JV Hodgson & Son. £1995 £1827 CH&SE Armstrong.
OTM – Top prices ppk 278 198 R&A Stoddart Ltd.
Lead Grossing OTM £2299 £1603 R&A Stoddart Ltd.
Prime Clean Cattle (150) – It’s looking good for the imminent turkey traders around Darlington as surely no butcher in County Durham will have beef on special offer come Christmas at this rate, an absolute flyer once again and simply miles ahead of the competition; the steers averaged 322ppk whilst a smart show of heifers blew the roof off to level at a massive 360ppk (yes that does say three hundred and sixty) and well over £2000. Six super heifers from six splendid vendors broke the 400 pence barrier, eleven followed in the 390’s, sixteen sold in the 380’s and a further twenty-two in the 370’s. The five folk with the fortunate misfortune to reach 400ppk and somehow not top the mart were W J Scott Ltd, Messrs W A Fettes, Askwiths, N White and Renton Highlaws; sitting atop of the pile were the renowned Roxburghshire raiders W M Fleming, Moss Tower with a stunning 511kg Limousin selling at 417 pence per kilo. The butcher’s steers followed suit and sold very well, out in front was an excellent Limousin from W J Scott Ltd, Low Leam weighing 607kg and selling at 363 pence, three followed in the 350’s including another from Low Leam plus one apiece for local feeders the Askwiths and J R Spink. Naturally some grand old gross values were achieved, the top four sold over £2500 and included three heifers from Scotland as Messrs W A Fettes, Braes of Enzie (twice) and R & A Stodart Ltd, Inverarity Farm with an OTM led the females but ultimately couldn’t catch a tremendous local steer from T N Callender, Ox Eye Farm at an impressive £2605.
The list of averages below is justifiably long as vendors enjoyed a great day’s trading.
Heifers
JB Luck & Son, Bowes sold 2 to average 392ppk and £2247
A&D Proctor, Morpeth sold 2 to average 388ppk and £2043
WM Fleming, Kelso sold 9 to average 387ppk and £2192
WJ Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 4 to average 385ppk and £2318
WA Fettes, Buckie sold 6 to average 383ppk and £2304
J Layfield, Willington sold 5 to average 381ppk and £2083
TN&J Hall, Ainstable sold 5 to average 373ppk and £2113
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 to average 371ppk and £1918
AC Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear sold 5 to average 371ppk and £2221
W Swinbank & Sons, Caldwell sold 8 to average 368ppk and £2269
R Hirst, Neasham sold 14 to average 368ppk and £2006
Steers
Askwiths, Crook sold 2 to average 348ppk and £2272
WJ Scott Ltd, West Woodburn sold 4 to average 345ppk and £2289
Taylor Bros, Richmond sold 2 to average 336ppk and £1958
W McLaren & Sons, Bo’ness sold 5 to average 333ppk and £1989
T N Callender, Whinney Hill sold 2 to average 332ppk and £2259
Steers – Top prices ppk 363 354 341 326 WJ Scott Ltd. 359 337 Askwiths. 353 JR Spink. 349 344 335 320 319 W McLaren & Sons. 339 334 Taylor Bros. 335 331 310 SH Watson & Son. 334 330 TN Callender. 310 305 283 JB&N Harrison & Sons.
Lead Grossing Steers £2605 £1914 TN Callender. £2495 £2360 £2203 £2097 WJ Scott Ltd. £2347 £2197 Askwiths. £2251 £2228 £2204 SH Watson & Son. £2210 £2110 £1981 JB&N Harrison & Sons. £2184 £1984 £1973 £1957 £1847 W McLaren & Sons. £2033 JR Spink. £1993 £1922 Taylor Bros.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 417 396 395 392 387 384×2 377 WM Fleming. 409 395 370 369 WJ Scott Ltd. 409 385 379×3 371 Messrs WA Fettes. 401 Askwiths. 400 380 379 N White. 400 397 390 389 Renton Highlaws Ltd. 398 388 JB Luck & Son. 398 378 A&D Proctor. 398 396 380 378×2 375 372 370 R Hirst. 396 386 380 373×2 J Layfield. 387 386 375 TN&J Hall. 386 383 381 378 W Swinbank & Sons. 384 JE Suddes & Son. 379 375 AC Simpson & Son. 379 PJ&ES Rogerson. 372 W McLaren & Sons.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2548 £2500 £2251 £2209 £2190 Messrs WA Fettes. £2519 R&A Stodart Ltd. £2449 £2273 £2255 £2235 £2217 £2174 WM Fleming. £2385 £2375 £2331 £2305 £2294 £2269 £2221 W Swinbank & Sons. £2373 £2368 £2324 £2208 WJ Scott Ltd. £2338 £2311 £2210 £2197 AC Simpson & Son. £2293 JE Suddes & Son. £2260 £2234 JB Luck & Son. £2256 £2216 R Hirst. £2245 J Layfield. £2217 £2145 TN&J Hall. £2217 £2187 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £2212 W Henderson & Son. £2181 A&D Proctor. £2164 A Layfield.
Prime Lambs (1567) – Sharper again as the lambs move themselves some 50 or 60 pence per kilo ahead of the same week last year and in doing so for the second time in three weeks show a noticeable benefit to selling lambs later on in the week; as always meat is key with the coin predominantly in the loin. Todays weighed straight sale averaged 316ppk with an SQQ of 322ppk which equated to £147 per head. Top of the day both per kilo and per head were a super run of Beltex lambs from J V & J A Hodgson, The Grange, Summerhouse who sold 49kg lambs at £176 and 38kg lambs at 381 pence per kilo. Ten other pens sold at £170 or more which remarkably included four pens on the bounce from J C Simpson, Hill Top East whilst challenging the remarkable Hodgson run closely for the top prices per kilo were AWSM Farms of Hutton Magna, P M Hill of Ugthorpe and R Atkinson, Scorton. Mule lambs were also in demand this week selling to a top of £138.50 for 49kg whilst even the Greyface Dartmoor’s and Shetlands forward looked very well rewarded, when they want them, they want them! A few of the day’s top runs are listed below.
JC Simpson, Caldwell sold 25 to average £170.00 (298ppk)
J & A Layfield, Hamsterley sold 48 to average £164.67 (309ppk)
JK & CE Farming, Piercebridge sold 11 to average £159.73 (315ppk)
JV & JA Hodgson, Summerhouse sold 54 to average £158.60 (348ppk)
W Denham, Langleydale sold 23 to average £158.41 (311ppk)
PJ & MP Gilhespy, Ponteland sold 54 to average £158.22 (330ppk)
Cole Hill Farms, Elwick sold 32 to average £157.50 (305ppk)
R Atkinson, Scorton sold 164 to average £156.07 (341ppk)
Lambs – Top prices ppk 381 359 357 350 349 347 340×2 336×2 JV&JA Hodgson. 359×2 341 334 333 327 AWSM Farms. 359 334 330 PM Hill. 348×2 347 342 341 340 336 331 R Atkinson. 344 330 JD Brannen. 339 331×3 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 337 Edwards & Cadman. 334 K&PM Lough. 334 327 J&A Layfield. 332 W Kirk & Sons. 331 JC&A Hutchinson. 330 WA Wardman Ltd. 330 JA&A Herbert. 329 JK&CE Farming. 329 DR Smith. 328 JK&CE Farming. 327 I Burn & Sons.
Lead Grossing Lambs £176 £171 £170 £165 £161.50 £161 £160 JV&JA Hodgson. £171 £170 £167 £166×3 £165 £163.50 £163×2 J&A Layfield. £170 Edwards & Cadman. £170×4 JC Simpson. £170 £165.50 £162 W Denham. £168 £163 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £168 JK&CE Farming. £167 £161 RO Gilson. £167 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £167 C Dawson. £166 £162 I Marshall & Sons. £165 £161 WA Wardman Ltd. £163 LD Laws. £162 PM Hill. £162 W Kirk & Sons. £162×2 R Wood & Son. £162 £160 M&A Gaskin.
Cast Ewes/Rams (309) – With the cattle and lambs in fine form the old ewes rounded off an excellent day as they too took a noticeable lift to see them all in average £116.25. Topping the day at £233 were a terrific pair of continental ewes from W & M Knaggs & Son, East Newbiggin Farm who sold eleven on the day to average over £200; the notable Knaggs run followed with half a dozen others at £230 ahead of a single from PJ & MP Gilhespy, Low House at £225 and a fleshy duo from PM Hill, Old Hall Farm at £205. Top of the tups at £189 was a strong Texel from F Myers & Sons, Kirkbank at £189 whereas Mule ewes averaged a pleasing £99 to a top of £141 for a pen of ten from TM & A Bellas & Son, Timpton Hill and horned ewes sold to £72 for a pen of thirteen from W Tyreman & Sons, Lodge Farm.
Lead Grossing Cast sheep £233 £230×2 W&M Knaggs & Son. £225 £166 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £206 £176 £144.50 £139 £137 PM Hill. £195 £186 £157 £151 £140 £134×2 £133 WA Wardman Ltd. £190 A Wilson. £190 £181 £169 JC&A Hutchinson. £189 £149 W Denham. £189 £183 £152 F Myers & Sons. £178 £144 £133 W.K M.M Lamb. £177 £145 JV&JA Hodgson. £161 GC&JC Pullan. £159 £149 AWSM Farms. £158 £144 £137 F Johnson. £150 M Madrell. £149 JA&A Herbert. £145 TM&A Bellas & Son.
