Skipton champion lambs sell for a record breaking £800/head

The Leach family, Hebden Bridge, successfully retained the supreme prime lamb championship for the third year running at Skipton's Farmers Guardian supported Christmas showcase

clock • 3 min read
Skipton champion lambs sell for a record breaking £800/head

Their champions, a trio of 44kg Beltex crosses went on to sell for a record £800/head to Robertshaw's Farm Shop, Thornton.
Reserve lowland and reserve overall champions were 39kg three-quarter Beltex lambs from Anthony and Ema Thompson, Foulridge. They sold for £210/head to Claire Mellin on behalf of Cropper Family Butchers and Deli, Accrington, which who also paid £240/head for the young handlers champion, a 49kg black Beltex lamb from 11-year-old Isobel Thompson, who also received the Hannah Brown Memorial Trophy.

The untrimmed championship went to James Towler and Sammy Fawcett, Grindleton, with a 50kg Beltex cross Texel trio which made £210/head to Hamlets Butchers, Garstang.

Ellis Bros, Addingham Moorside, were reserve championship with their a 39kg Beltex cross pen which made £175 to Croppers.

Clinching the hill lambs championship for the fourth year running were the Hutchinson family, Faceby, with a trio of 50kg Scottish Blackface wethers, which sold for £230/head to the judge, Ross Greenwood of Craven Farm Butchers.

The Hutchinsons also won the untrimmed Suffolk cross class with 58kg lambs which made £182 to Swaledale Foods, Skipton.

Reserve hill champions were Kevin Wilson and family, Blubberhouses, with 49kg North of England Mules which made £152/head again to Swaledale Foods.

The 188 butchers lambs averaged of £173.65/head or 391.1p/kg (SQQ 431.5p/kg).

Prime cattle champions

A Limousin cross British Blue heifer from father and son, Francis and Andrew Smith, Masongill, took supreme honours in prime cattle show and sale, while also realising the day's top price of £4,565 (799.5p/kg) to co-judge James Robertshaw, Robertshaw's Farm Shop, Bradford.

The 19-month-old 571kg heifer bred by K. and A. Brown and by Limousin sire, Cloughhead Napoleon, earned them their first ever Christmas haltered fatstock crown followed by the champion female rosette and then overall victory.

 

Reserve champion went to John Stephenson, Bordley, with a 544kg Limousin cross heifer which sold for £2,499 (459.5p/kg) to Ross Greenwood, Craven Farm Butchers, Gargrave.

The Stephensons took the un-haltered championship with a 14-month-old 586kg British Blue heifer which sold for £2399 (409.5p/kg) to Kitson and Sons Butchers for its north-east shops.  Kitsons also paid £2,310 (384.5p/kg) for the un-haltered reserve champion, a 601kg heifer from the Baines family, Gisburn.

The champion steer weighing 563kg was from Jim and Christine Scriven, Elslack, and sold for £2385 (424.5p/kg) again to Craven Farm Butchers.

Reserve steer from June Dowie and Jennifer Hyslop, Settle, weighed in at 650kg and was knocked down for £2414 (371.5p/kg) to Hartshead Meats, Mossley.

Champion carcases

Martin and Val Brown, Leyburn, clinched a supreme and reserve championship double in the lamb carcase competition with a brace of Continental class-winning Beltex cross carcases.

The victor had a live weight of 45kg, deadweight 26.4kg, killing out percentage of 58.7% and AHDB grading of E3-, the reserve LW 36kg, DW22.3kg, KO61.9% and E2.

 

The title winner topped the section at £620 (£23.48p/kg) and the reserve made £500 (£22.42p/kg) both to for Cropper Family Butchers and Deli.

A total of 29 carcases, the majority Beltex, sold to an overall average of £208.98/head or £9.34p/kg.    

Champion pigs

Daniel Thackray, Fewston, retained the supreme pig title he won in 2023 and 2021 with three 90kg pure-bred Pietrain cutters which sold for the top price of 325p/kg (£292.50/head) to James Robertson.

 

The reserve champion rosette went to D. and A. Livestock, Harrogate, with their 116kg Large White trio shown by David Walmsley.  They sold to Stephen Taylor, of W. Taylor and Son, Bamber Bridge, for 232p/kg (£269/head).

A total of 24 prime pigs with an average weight of 106.37kg levelled at £224.91/head (211.4p/kg).

Auctioneers: CCM.

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