Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 1st February 2024. Forward were 174 cattle, 2330 sheep and 26 pigs.
66 Prime Bulls sold to 339ppk or £2931
19 Prime Steers sold to 330ppk or £2349
89 Prime Heifers sold to 357ppk or £2126
2036 Prime Hoggs sold to 375ppk or £179
294 Cast Ewes & Rams sold to £200
26 Prime Pigs sold to 200ppk or £192
Prime Bulls (66) – Boom goes the bull ring into February as a phenomenal trade ensued with some staggering returns lifting the averages to an amazing 292ppk and £2054 per head. Over half of the bulls sold beyond 300 pence per kilo and thirty-five the top side of £2000 with the terrific top ten all over £2500. Two vendors reached 339ppk as excellent homebred Limousin’s from both A C Simpson & Son, McNeil Farm and the Renton’s of High Highlaws, Morpeth led the way; a super British Blonde from F & J S Gargett, Westwick Farm followed at 338ppk ahead of more great bulls from the red-hot Renton pen. Further success followed in the gross value race for the Morpeth men when a thumping 977kg Limousin sold for £2931, second place went to an excellent 869kg Limousin from C Harle & Sons, Brandon Hall at £2824 with another from Messrs Renton and a great sort from A C Simpson & Son close behind and both over £2700. Friesian feeders were also flying in February as the eleven forward averaged £1389 and 224ppk with a brilliant top of 274ppk and £1786 from J M & S Walton, Brettanby Farm, Barton. Some of the day’s top averages below undoubtedly leave the deadweight options a million miles adrift, no weight caps or age restrictions and many more bulls are needed every week.
J J Horn, Richmond sold 2 to average 324ppk and £2500
A C Simpson & Son, Witton-le-Wear sold 4 to average 323ppk and £2530
Renton Highlaws, Morpeth sold 8 to average 321ppk and £2523
T A Horn, Great Asby sold 2 to average 321ppk and £1952
L R Welsh & Co, Spennymoor sold 4 to average 315ppk and £2027
C Harle & Sons, Brandon Village sold 2 to average 313ppk and £2558
F & J S Gargett, Barnard Castle sold 3 to average 310ppk and £2519
D Richardson & Co, Melsonby sold 5 to average 308ppk and £2431
Continental Bulls Leading PPK – 339 336 334 331 329 318 300(x2) Renton Highlaws Ltd. 339 328 326 301 A C Simpson & Son. 338 300 F & J S Gargett. 330 320 J J Horn. 328(x2) A G Watson & Sons. 327 S Wilde. 326 325 311 L R Welsh & Co. 326 321 310 D Richardson & Co. 325 318 T A Horn. 325 300 C Harle & Sons. 323 J K & C E Farming. 323 R Hall & Son. 317 A & D Proctor. 303 C Binks & Son. 300 E A Martin.
Friesian Bulls Leading PPK – 274 230 218 J M & S Walton. 265(x2) R Hall & Son. 231 J K & C E Farming. 216 214 D Walker. 207 H W & J Birkbeck.
Continental Bulls Leading Gross – £2931 £2799 £2604 £2442 £2400 £2388 £2378 £2240 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £2824 £2292 C Harle & Sons. £2715 £2623 £2404 £2376 A C Simpson & Son. £2565 £2505 £2489 F & J S Gargett. £2517 £2483 J J Horn. £2516 £2487 £2444 £2427 £2383 D Richardson & Co. £2445 S Wilde. £2420 £2414 £2063 A G Watson & Sons. £2373 £2206 L R Welsh & Co. £2335 J K & C E Farming. £2315 R Hall & Son. £2179 J R Knox & Son.
Friesian Bulls Leading Gross – £1786 £1472 £1294 J M & S Walton. £1741 £1674 R Hall & Son. £1388 J K & C E Farming. ££1249 £1231 £1146 D Walker. £1175 H W & J Birkbeck.
Clean Cattle (108) – The clean beef continues to sell well, without doubt a plainer bottom end this week, trade arguably a smidgen easier across the board but still very competitive and sale averages of 314ppk for the heifers and 294ppk for the steers sits us some 20 to 25 pence per kilo up on the same week last year. The best of the heifers remain nicely over 350ppk, top this week was a superb Limousin from Gerard Quinn of J E Suddes & Son which sold to H Taylor & Sons Butchers for 357ppk; second place went to the consistent R Hirst of Neasham Grange at 355ppk with Marrick’s N White a credible third at 354ppk. One steer stood out a mile this week and rightly topped the pence per kilo and pounds per head, a brilliant 712kg British Blue cross from the Askwiths of Low Mown Meadows sold for 330ppk and £2349. Topping the gross valued heifers was a perfectly finished 611kg Limousin from S W Bowe, South Fields Farm, Hunton when she sold for £2126; second place went to the regular selling J V & J A Hodgson with a Limousin at £2084 with a notable third place going to a well fleshed 767kg dairy bred Aberdeen Angus from M Ord & Sons, Fir Tree Farm which added up nicely to £2063. See below some of the day’s leading consignments.
Heifers
N White, Marrick sold 4 to average 340ppk and £1785
S W Bowe, Bedale sold 2 to average 336ppk and £2017
J V & J A Hodgson, Summerhouse sold 12 to average 331ppk and £1977
R Hirst, Neasham sold 14 to average 328ppk and £1875
J E Suddes & Son, Cornsay Colliery sold 5 to average 328ppk and £1895
B Walker, Dalton-on-Tees sold 2 to average 325ppk and £1829
F & J S Gargett, Barnard Castle sold 4 to average 322ppk and £1891
Steers
Askwiths, Crook sold 3 to average 316ppk and £2178
T N Callender, Whinney Hill sold 2 to average 311ppk and £1805
N Edmundson, Langleydale sold 4 to average 304ppk and £1789
Prime Steers Leading PPK – 330 312 307 Askwiths. 323 300 T N Callender. 316 309 300 292 N Edmondson. 299(x2) J R & B Anderson & Son. 286 A J Marr & Son. 284 J K & C E Farming. 277 M Ord & Sons. 275(x2) Jack Henshaw. 274 J & E M Lawson.
Prime Heifers Leading PPK – 357 341 J E Suddes & Son. 355 343 339 338 335 334 329 327(x2) R Hirst. 354 349 344 N White. 348 S W Bowe. 345 338 337 335 333 329 327 W A Armstrong. 344 343 338 335(x2) 334 331 329 327 J V & J A Hodgson. 344 334 F & J S Gargett. 338 B Walker. 338 Askwiths. 327 A J Marr & Son. 332 J H & M & N W Brown.
Prime Steers Leading Gross – £2349 £2109 £2077 Askwiths. £2062 A J Marr & Son. £1875 M Ord & Son. £1866 £1813 £1782 N Edmondson. £1814 J R & B Anderson. £1806 £1805 T N Callender.
Prime Heifers Leading Gross – £2126 S W Bowe. £2084 £2056 £2034 £2030 £2005 £1996 £1974 £1943 £1920 J V & J A Hodgson. £2063 £1966 M Ord & Sons. £2044 £2022 £2012 £1971 A & M J Henshaw. £2037 W A Armstrong. £2018 £1995 £1932 J E Suddes & Son. £1992 £1984 £1980 £1947 £1934 R Hirst. £1988 A J Marr & Son. £1987 £1976 £1957 P & J H Davison. £1975 £1946 J H & M & N W Brown. £1920 J & E M Lawson. £1920 F & J S Gargett.
Prime Hoggs (2036) – Numbers healthy and a trade to rival anywhere in the country as the weighed straight sale averaged 307ppk and £140 per head with an SQQ average of 312ppk. For the umpteenth week running the better bred and better fed enjoyed the big returns with lean hoggs harder to place in general, top this week per kilo was the familiar well-fed sheep of W A Wardman, Thrushwood Farm, Yearby with 40kg Beltex hoggs selling to 375 and 370 pence. Next in line were our Christmas champion brothers from W Ramsay & Sons, Blakeley Hill Farm as they sold 42kg and 43kg Beltex’s to 366 and 367 pence per kilo; a host of the best end sold between 330ppk and 360ppk behind our leaders. The final draw of the season from Mike Hird of Thornley Close Farm, Stockton topped the gross values at £179 with a super pair of 49kg Texel’s with seven other vendors in hot pursuit and selling for at least £170. Amongst the other breeds Blue Faced Leicester’s sold to £150 and a thick meaty run of Scottish Blackface hoggs from L W Martin, Commondale impressed when selling at £128 and £125.
Some great pen averages were again led by A C Simpson & Son with 39 levelling at £160 closely followed by J Layfield at £158 (41 sold) and J & A Layfield at £157 (50 sold). Two vendors averaged £156 as local producer W Denham (18 sold) was matched by Lincolnshire based W Allison & Sons (61 sold). Next mention goes to the remarkable W A Wardman feeding with 135 sold to average 312ppk and £154; impressing also were the stunning W Ramsay & Sons hoggs with 19 averaging 346ppk plus exceptional big runs from Nottinghamshire’s Ian Kirk (177 average 324ppk) plus AWSM Farms, Richmond (140 average 322ppk) and R Atkinson, Scorton (246 average 322ppk).
Leading Prices Per Kilo – 375 370 355 351 348 346 340(x2) 334 W A Wardman Ltd. 367 366 341 336 W Ramsay & Sons. 365 340 J Hird. 355 B G Dale. 354 340 W Allison & Sons. 348 333(x2) R Atkinson. 347 334 J & A Layfield. 345 R O Gilson. 341 340 AWSM Farms. 341 334 J Layfield. 340 Northfield Farms. 340 338(x2) Ian Kirk. 338 K & M M Henderson. 337 T M Darling & Son. 334 W L Robinson & Son. 333 T Duckitt. 333 ABP Wilsons.
Leading Prices Per Head – £179 £160(x2) J Hird. £174 £170 £167 £166(x2) J Layfield. £172 K & M M Henderson. £171 P Bisby. £170(x2) W Allison & Sons. £170 T Duckitt. £170 £168 £167(x2) £166 £165 £164 £163(x2) £161 £160(x4) W A Wardman Ltd. £168 £164 £160(x2) J & A Layfield. £167(x2) £164.50 £160(x2) A C Simpson & Son. £165(x2) W Denham. £161 R O Gilson. £160 T M Darling & Son. £160 ABP Wilsons.
Cast Ewes & Rams (294) – Ewe trade very similar with a slightly poorer quality offering levelling at £94 apiece. Good lowland bred ewes remain easy to sell, lean ewes probably even a touch sharper on the week. Best price today at £200 went to a Suffolk cross from J Layfield, Nackshivan Farm, Willington with the top Texel from W Denham, Dent Gate the best of the rest at £184. Mule ewes topped at £115 from G F Whitfield, Hamsteels Hall Farm whereas hill ewes saw Cheviots to £104, Swaledale’s to £70 and Herdwick’s to £57.
Leading Ewe & Ram Prices – £200 £168 J Layfield. £184 W Denham. £160 N Edmondson. £151 D M McClurg. £150 P Tindale. £149 £140(x2) £132 W A Wardman Ltd. £146 K Tallentire. £146 C Moralee & Sons. £140 R Wood & Son. £140 £133 A B P Wilsons. £134 J W & D W Laing. £132(x2) J Lovegreen.
Prime Pigs (26) – February sees the great pork consuming nation of China celebrate their new year, 2024 will be the year of the dragon. February 2024 in DfAM will most likely celebrate the month of the pig given that a huge show of twenty-six assembled today. It’s a long shot but does anyone have a 30ft long pig costume we could borrow for the new moon arriving? We only need it for 15 days from next Friday onwards.
Leading PPK – 200 180 160 140(x2) C Weightman. 180 165 J Mitchell & Son.
Leading Gross – £192 £128 £126 C Weightman. £142 £130 J Mitchell & Son.
