Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle and store stock on Monday 8th January 2024. Forward were 355 cattle and 1039 sheep.
152 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 262ppk or £1819
7 Stock Bulls sold to 228ppk or £2252
2 Stirks sold to £610
19 Young Bulls sold to £1475
79 Store Steers sold to £1800
96 Store Heifers sold to £1550
899 Store Hoggs sold to £125
140 Feeding Ewes/Rams sold to £141
Cast Cattle – Good numbers forward at the first sale of cows in 2024, trade excellent throughout with wholesalers and feeders alike bidding keenly. Thanks to thirty cattle over 200ppk and also thirty over £1500 the sale averaged 175 pence per kilo and an impressive £1174 per head. Top per kilo at 262 pence was an Aberdeen Angus heifer from A & A G Moralee, Lowfield Farm, Willington, top of the older cows per kilo at 226ppk was a well fleshed Charolais from W A Wardman Ltd, Thrushwood Farm, Yearby. The Charolias breed also produced the top gross valued cow as A J Marr & Son, Old Ravensworth Farm sold a fine sort weighing 805kg for £1819. Thirty-one dairy cows crossed the scale this week, pick of them all was a fabulous 38-month-old Montbelliarde cow from J E Holliday & Son, Witton Park which sold for 208ppk and £1510. Pick of the stock bulls per kilo was a shapely Limousin OTM from B Watson, Baal Hill Farm, Wolsingham at 228 pence whilst a superb 1161kg British Blonde bull from W A Wardman Ltd gained top gross value at a marvellous £2252.
Cast Cows/OTM Leading PPK – 262 244 A & A G Moralee. 252 222 220 214 210 204 196(x2) D A & M A M Brown. 248 E A & N Thompson & Son. 246 206 Stevens & Son. 238 B Watson. 226 196 W A Wardman Ltd. 226 200 A J Marr & Son. 222 W Emerson. 218 214 D C Souter. 216 212 W M Reed & Sons. 216 212 W & M Knaggs & Son. 214 198 J Layfield. 208 J E Holliday & Son. 206 A P & E Procter. 202 R & W Todd. 202 P & P J Sayer. 202 T N Callender. 198 R E & B J Potter. 198 Leslie Brown. 196 G Beadle.
Stock Bulls Leading PPK – 228 B Watson. 208 J Layfield. 194 W A Wardman Ltd. 174 J M Smith. 160 W & M Knaggs & Son. 156 142 J J Stubbs.
Cast Cows/OTM Leading Gross – £1819 A J Marr & Son. £1758 E A & N Thompson & Son. £1758 Leslie Brown. £1702 £1608 £1485 Stevens & Son. £1689 £1476 W & M Knaggs & Son. £1678 £1595 £1556 £1519 £1489 £1459 D A & M A M Brown. £1622 W A Wardman Ltd. £1597 P & P J Sayer. £1594 £1545 £1542 £1494 J Layfield. £1593 R E & B J Potter. £1570 £1492 M Shepherd. £1555 £1501 D C Souter. £1543 £1457 W & R Kemp & Son. £1541 R Bradley & Son. £1519 £1485 M E & T D Tailford. £1510 J E Holliday & Son. £1505 W M Reed & Sons. £1457 R Simpson & Son.
Stock Bulls Leading Gross – £2252 W A Wardman Ltd. £1969 J Layfield. £1912 W & M Knaggs & Son. £1572 J M Smith. £1509 B Watson. £1422 J J Stubbs.
Store Cattle – The feeding beast trade flew out of the blocks and was off and running for the year at quite some pace, granted some strength on display for large parts but vendors were surely happy with a stunning steer average over £1200 and the heifers close behind at £1141. Starting with the young bulls it was regular selling E Parsons of Newstead Farm, Little Stainton setting the pace with 11-month-old Charolais selling twice over £1400 to top at £1475. The top ten steers all came from another frequent vendor, Mr J H Johnson, White Lea Farm, Roddymoor leading the way with a thumping 22-month-old Limousin at £1800 with both Aberdeen Angus and Limousin’s following from the same run at £1720. Top of the heifer trade came an excellent Limousin from R L Wallker, East Highwood, Langleydale when she sold for £1550, just a fiver adrift were a pair of Aberdeen Angus heifers from the inform White Lea Farm leaving the Roddymoor firm with an average of a stunning £1570 for eighteen cattle sold.
Calves & Stirks £610 £460 DC Souter.
Store Bulls £1475 £1415 £1295 £1290×2 E Parsons. £935 £880 £795×3 £785 G Beadle. £810 JW Richardson.
Store Steers £1800 £1720×3 £1670 £1620×2 £1580×4 £1480×3 JH Johnson. £1595 £1460 AP&E Procter. £1455×2 £1400 £1370 £1345 £1330 £1325 £1320 £1310 £1260 £1250 A Gregg. £1425×2 GE Raw. £1410 £1345 GL&M Steel. £1360 JR&L Harding. £1300 £1190 I Newton & Son. £1280 Ivanhoe Livestock. £1275 £1185 GW&M Singleton & Sons. £1240×2 RG Swinbank.
Store Heifers £1550 £1450 £1405 £1335×2 RL Walker. £1545×2 £1270×2 JH Johnson. £1450 £1360 £1340 £1250 W Denham. £1440 £1400×2 £1380 £1280 JG Wilkinson & Son. £1390 £1315 HC Donald. £1360×2 £1230 R Errington. £1350 J&S Thomspon. £1340×2 £1290×4 Wilkinson & Son. £1305×2 JR&J Crowe. £1270 AP&E Procter. £1255 £1200 Ivanhoe Livestock. £1250 JR&L Harding. £1250 £1180×2 M&RK McKenzie.
Store Sheep – An excellent kick off to 2024 with a store hogg show which included plenty of hill breeds and also the seasonal sweepings up from some averaged a pleasing £89.68. Strong hoggss in particular excelled themselves, a well grown pen of twenty-nine Texel’s out of Mule ewes from Windlestone Grange Farm, Rushyford led the way selling for £125.50; the same good home also sold Texel’s to £124 followed by D R Smith, East Roughlea who sold both Suffolk’s and Texel’s over £120, a feat which was also achieved by a brilliant little Beltex from M W Cook & Son, Kildale and further Texel’s from G E Raw, Toft Hill. All creeds and colours were in demand seeing Herdwick crosses sell to a top of £99, Mule hoggs to £98, Zwartbles to £91, Cheviots to £90, Blackface to £63 and Swaledale’s to £49. Feeding ewe trade remains firm, with something for everyone and someone for everything.
Store Hoggs Leading Prices
Texel – £125.50 £124 £107 Windlestone Grange Farm. £123(x2) 114 D R Smith. £122 £117 £114(x2) G E Raw. £115 W & J Herbert. £115 A Wilson. £110 D Alderson. £105 D E Stones. £104 K A & V Armstrong.
Beltex – £122 £95 M W Cook & Son. £99.50 A Lowson.
Suffolk – £121 D R Smith. £116 £94 £86 J J M Lonsdale. £95 G W Dobson & Son. £93 D Alderson.
Continental – £113 P Wall. £100 £94 W Wearmouth & Son. £95 M R Souter. £91 T & R Dent. £89 D Wearmouth. £88.50 A Wilson.
Herdwick – £99 £94 £59 H Wise.
Mule – £98 W Wearmouth & Son. £95 D Clarke. £95 J J M Lonsdale. £77 D Alderson.
Zwartbles – £91 D Chapman.
Cheviot – £90 £81 G H & R G Stobbs. £80 C & M Atkinson.
Welsh – £76 £73 B R & S Fell.
Blackface – £63 D Wearmouth.
Swaledale – £49 J J M Lonsdale. £30 A Teward.
Feeding Ewes/Rams Leading Prices
£141 £119 £91 P Wall. £138 L J Daley. £134 T & C Smith. £118 £84 £82 Adam Lowson. £106 £100 M Radford. £99 C & M Atkinson. £96 W & J Herbert. £96 T Andrew. £92 C Harle & Sons. £89 D Wearmouth. £87 T B Walton.
