Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock on Monday 14th April 2025. Forward were 322 cattle, 494 sheep and 1 pig.
58 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 368ppk or £3304
4 Stock Bulls sold to 376ppk or £4053
28 Breeding Cattle sold to £4600
29 Young Bulls sold to £2600
105 Store Steers sold to £2900
98 Store Heifers sold to £2700
111 Ewes & Lambs sold to £405
173 Store Hoggs sold to £156
48 Feeding Ewes/Rams sold to £215
1 Store Pig sold for £40
Cast Cattle – The geld ring remains at the top of its game to see this week’s sale average 277ppk and £1976 per head which as always included a fair proportion of both milkers and feeders. Top cow per kilo at 368 pence was an excellent British Blonde from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm; at the grand old age of fifteen she certainly proved that age is just a number. Following at 360ppk was our top cow in the lump, a cracking 918kg Limousin from B Storey, Byers Green she added up to an impressive £3304. A well fleshed 7-year-old Longhorn cow from G A Willey, Broomfield Farm topped the native breed list this week when she sold for 316ppk and £2578 whilst the black and whites peaked at 308ppk for a youngster from Stainton Hill Farms and £2006 for another fleshy cow down from the Willey family of Broomfield Farm, Chopwell. On to the stock bulls and a third mention for the Chopwell chargers as their Friesian sold for 304ppk and £2638 however stealing the show was a fabulous 1078kg 10-year-old British Blue from GK, KN & GJ Hird, Meadow View when he sold for a massive 376ppk and £4053.
Cast Cows/OTM Leading PPK – 368 P Weightman & Sons. 360 B Storey. 356 GK, KN & GJ Hird. 350 346 303 F Ward. 350 328 316 WJ & AS Bowes & Sons. 338 328 RA & S Darling Farms. 330 R Peart. 326 EW Grieves. 318 304(x2) WM Reed & Sons. 316 G A Willey. 312 JM Greensit & Son. 308 G Walker. 308 Stainton Hill Farms. 292 W & R Kemp & Son. 290 RN Armstrong. 288 AJ Marr & Son. 288 LW Martin. 286 TW & C Emerson.
Stock Bulls Leading PPK – 376 GK, KN & GJ Hird. 304 A Willey. 264 RE Shield. 208 RN Armstrong.
Cast Cows/OTM Leading Gross – £3304 B Storey. £3188 £3046 £2653 WJ & AS Bowes & Sons. £2966 P Weightman & Sons. £2933 £2660 £2069 F Ward. £2754 £2150 JM Greensit & Son. £2578 GA Willey. £2561 £2484 RA & S Darling Farms. £2542 EW Grieves. £2464 G Walker. £2430 LW Martin. £2403 W & R Kemp & Son. £2367 GK, KN & GJ Hird. £2306 R Peart. £2305 WM Reed & Sons. £2137 RN Armstrong. £2006 A Willey.
Stock Bulls Leading Gross – £4053 GK, KN & GJ Hird. £304 A Willey. £2575 RN Armstrong. £2130 RE Shield.
Breeding Cattle – A nice show of breeding cows assembled which included a genuine dispersal from M & R K McKenzie, The Whins, Stillington; with the recent beef boom the trade for all shapes and sizes was absolutely tremendous. Top of the pops at £4600 was a cracking six-year-old British Blue cow with her two-month-old Limousin heifer calf at foot from the very well supported McKenzie dispersal, others of similar description from the same home sold at £4100 and £4000. A run of powerful pure Simmental’s from J M Greensit & Son Ltd, Goskins Farm all due in June and July also impressed seeing heifers to £2800 and cows to £2500 whilst a handful of Belted Galloway’s from R J Hare, Woodleigh Lodge also sold well on the day.
Leading Prices
In Calf Cows – £2800 £2500 £2300 £1820 J M Greensit & Son Ltd. £1000 £900 R J Hare.
Cows & Calves – £4600 £4100 £4000 £3850 £3700 £2900 £2800 £1900 M & R K McKenzie. £2700 J B & L M Knight. £1520 £1280 R J Hare.
Store Cattle – Absolutely incredible scenes again around the store ring as the yearling cattle trade did the unthinkable and jumped again whilst the short keep beasts continued at their quite remarkable recent high rates. Beginning with the young bulls and the top ten sold over £2200, all were aged between 12 and 14 months, the peak came when a cracking quartet of Limousin’s from J C Thwaite & Son, Crag Hill Farm sold between £2540 and £2600. Top prices in the store cattle belonged to a great run of strong Aberdeen Angus steers from G A & C Jopling, Eastgate House; this good home sold six bullocks to average £2593 and top at a whopping £2900. Best of the heifers this week were a super duo of two-year-old Limousin’s from M Gallon, High Crows House selling for £2600 and £2700 respectively. The suckler bred cattle under 12 months were in astonishing form, youngsters to fill grasses this summer are trading regularly £1700 to £2000. Last but not least, a new centre record was set for a Friesian steer today as A Willey of Chopwell farm sold a 21-month-old at an incredible £2400 whilst a somewhat unusual in these parts Wagyu cross from Y Robinson Farming, Picton sold at £1750.
Leading Prices
Young Bulls – £2600 £2580 £2540(x2) J C Thwaite & Son. £2470 £2430 £2400 J & E M Lawson. £2400 £2280 £1420 T W Brown & Sons. £2240 J M Greensit & Son Ltd. £1980 £1960(x2) £1800 £1780 £1700 Wilkinson & Son. £1720 £1580 £1520 £1300 A Gregg. £1680 Little Newsham Farms. £1600 Barrs of Broughton. £1420 £1200 I R Appleton. £1380 R J Hare. £1300 £1100(x2) W T Hall.
Store Steers £2900 £2880×2 £2300×3 GA&C Jopling. £2580 £2300 £2220 W Walker & Sons. £2420 £2360×2 JG Wilkinson & Son. £2400 £2150 £2080 £2030 £1960 £1880×3 A Willey. £2300 £2100 £2080 £2050 £2000×2 £1980 B Storey. £2100×3 £2080 W&JM Clifford. £2020×2 £1980 R Errington & Son. £2010×2 £2000 £1960 L Claughan. £1950 GA Willey. £1920×2 R Foord. £1920×3 £1820×3 £1810×2 A&AG Moralee. £1860×3 SC Barron. £1850 I Newton.
Store Heifers £2700 £2600 £2200 M gallon. £2500 £2160×2 £1980 £1960 Wilkinson & Son. £2380 £2060 £1980 B Storey. £2300 £2060 JG Wilkinson & Son. £2300 JM Greensit & Son Ltd. £2100 £1980 GW&L Marsay. £2100 £1940 GH&RG Stobbs. £2000×2 RN Foord & Son. £1980 C&M Burnett. £1940 BJS Farms. £1900×2 £1840 £1760 B Watson. £1900 R Errington & Son. £1900 £1800×2 £1710×4 G Beadle. £1890 GA&C Jopling. £1880 £1840 £1820 £1740 J Norman. £1800 Y Robinson Farming. £1790 C Hall.
Breeding Sheep – The ewes and lambs are beginning to appear in larger numbers, trade looks sharp with stronger lambs and younger ewes in particularly high demand. Two Suffolk ewes with strong twin Texel crossed lambs from E Scott & Sons, Middridge Grange led the days trading when they sold for £405 per family. The same good home topped the continental ewes with seven Texel’s suckling twins at £398 whilst the pick of the Mule prices came from James Burns, Coquet Close who sold seven three shear ewes with fourteen lambs at £368. Whole sale average £298.90 which equates to £121.53 per life.
Ewes & Lambs Leading Prices
Suffolk – £405 E Scott & Sons.
Texel – £398 E Scott & Sons. £375 £295 T T Hall & Son. £325 I Hedley. £260 £220 A F Smith.
Continental – £355 £280 R M Guy. £345(x2) £290 J D E Demuschamp. £342 T T Hall & Son. £315 £275 £242 J Wigham.
Mule – £368 James Burns. £335(x2) £240 E Scott & Sons. £315 W & C Iceton. £295 £218 D M & P M Nelson & Sons. £235 R M Guy.
Cheviot – £230 R M Guy.
Store Hoggs & Feeding Ewes – The confidence remains strong in the hogg trade, short keep types in particular continue to trade at excellent levels. Top of the day was a thumping single Texel hogg from E Walsh, Francis Street which sold for £156. Next in line were fourteen strong Texel’s from A P Martin, Brandon House Farm at £141. Mule hoggs topped at £122 for a pen of twenty-two from W & C Iceton, East Thorngarth whilst elsewhere we saw Herdwick’s to £112, Cheviot’s to £100 and horned hoggs to £80. Feeding ewe trade remains excellent, this week we saw tops of £215 from E Wilson, White Hills, top of the tups was a North Country Cheviot from R M Guy at £215 whereas Mule ewes sold to £174 and a fleshy pen of Swaledale ewes from G A & C Jopling, Eastgate House impressed at £124.
Leading Prices
Store Hoggs – £156 £112 E Walsh. £141 £124 A P Martin. £129 £128 £100(x2) J Wood. £122 W & C Iceton. £121 £107 E Wilson. £106 J Jones.
Feeding Ewes/Rams – £215 £168 £152 E Wilson. £204 £138 R M Guy. £184 £170 Luke Turnbull. £180 £148 £128 D G & P D Ayre. £174 £134 A P Martin. £170 £144 £142 ABM Farms. £148 J Jones. £124 G A & C Jopling. £122 J Wigham. £104 C Harle & Sons.
