Spring lambs in the ring at Skipton.
Skipton spring lamb throughput up
A 50% increase in spring lamb entries totalling 1,599 went through the ring at Skipton's auction of prime, cast and breeding sheep.
Topping the sale were prime lambs from W.H. Marsden, Leeds, at £212/head for 58kg Texels.
Mark Evans, Steeton, sold lots at £210 and £204 to Lea and Son, Barnsley. Andrew Taylor, Broughton, sold to £205 to Hartshead Meat Co, Ashton-under-Lyne, while Michael Spensley, Elslack, achieved £204. D. and L. Coar, Darwen, made £200 and Mark Crabtree, Harrogate, made £198. There were 37 pens of lambs in the sale selling for £180 or more/head.
Per kilo prices were led by West Yorkshire producer E. Hey, Mytholmroyd, who sold 40kg continentals for 475p/kg or £190 to Knavesmire Butchers, York.
Mark Crabtree sold 43kg continentals at 460p/kg to Croppers Butchers, Accrington.
Other leading prices included P. Bisby, Goole, selling to 433p/kg, Daniel Thackray, Fewston, to 419p/kg and Sally Sleightholme, Acaster, to 416p/kg, with plenty of better-quality lambs reaching 380p/kg plus.
The day's entry of 73 breeding sheep was a dispersal flock of Whitefaced Woodland gimmer hoggs and ewes with Texel lambs at foot from Hunter Lea, Sheffield. Single outfits saw a top of £210/head for a pen of five with another six selling to £202/head. Twin outfits saw highs of £280. A pen of gimmer hoggs sold to £138 per head.
Averages: Prime lambs, £154.06 per head or 357.2p/kg; hoggs, £131.86 per head or 270.5p/kg. Breeding sheep; single outfits, £188; twin outfits, £277.
Auctioneers: CCM
High of 500p/kg for spring lambs
Spring lambs topped at 500p/kg at Brock for 39kg Beltex from A. and S. Coupe, Inglewhite, which sold to Bowland Foods, Preston, with a quarter of the day's entry making more than the 400p/kg mark.
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All classes of lambs saw a lift in trade, with smarter export lambs making between 370 and 390p/kg. Heavy lambs saw a top price of £212p/kg for 55kg Texels from D. Clark, Preston.
Topping the cast sheep section was £235 for Bluefaced Leicesters from G.I. and K. Richmond, with better, heavier ewes generally making between £180-£200.
Averages: Spring lambs, 372p/kg or £160/head.
Auctioneers: Brockholes Arms Auction Mart
Averages steady for feeding cattle
A catalogued entry of 41 feeding bulls and 100 store cattle were presented to a keen ringside of buyers at Barnard Castle. Top price of the day was a Limousin bull at £2,650 from J.W. Dent and Sons, Lartington. A £2,500 bid led the heifers for a Limousin from T. and D.I. Allen and Son, Wolsingham.
Top price steer was a British Blue at £2,380 from G.A. and D.E. Thompson, Garrigill. Over-30-month- cattle peaked at £3,239.50 for a Limousin stock bull from J.W. and E.A. Watson, Langleydale.
Top price per kilo was 375p/kg for a British Blue cow from J.W. Dent.
Averages: Feeding bulls, £1,783.66; steers, £1,615.81; heifers, £1,427.93; OTM cattle, £2,005.59 and 306p/kg
Auctioneers: Barnard Castle and Teesdale Farmers Auction Mart
Quality stores sell well at Hexham
Although lacking numbers, trade for older, forward cattle were strong at Hexham's weekly store sale.
Topping the trade was an Aberdeen-Angus cross steer from J. and A. Thompson, The Ash, which sold for £2,580. The same home also sold Aberdeen-Angus cross steers to £2,360.
Carlisle based producer SWS Agri, sold a run of older stores and topped the heifers with a British Blue cross selling to £2,200. The same home went on to sell Aberdeen-Angus cross heifers to £2,120.
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A smaller entry of continentals were led by a Limousin cross steer from I. Burn and Son, Grange Houses, which sold to £1,990.
Year-old Angus steers from Prendwick Farms, Whittingham, sold to £1,520.
G. Sordy and Son, Alnham, brought a packet of weaned and yearling Angus and Simmental cross calves and sold Simmental cross heifers to £1,900 and Aberdeen-Angus cross heifers to £1.660.
James Swan, Low Eals, sold year-old Aberdeen-Angus cross Galloway heifers to a high of £1,320 and £1,310.
Auctioneers: Hexham and Northern marts
Averages remain steady for older cattle
At the fortnightly sale of cast and over-30-month cattle at Kirkby Stephen cast cows sold to a top of £2,233.89 for a 697kg British Blue cross cow which made 320.5p/kg from Messrs Brown, Great Asby. A 15-year-old Limousin cross cow from the same home made £2,133.60 or 317.5p/kg.
Dairy cows sold to £1,860.14 (230.5p/kg) for a six-year-old Friesian which weighed 807kg from Messrs Beck, Townfoot, Langdale.
The overall sale average was 245.6p/kg and £1,617.50.
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington
Gisburn dairy to £3,750
An Aireburn heifer from G. B. Moorhouse, Bell Busk, Skipton, topped the 75 head in Gisburn Auction Marts' third dairy sale at £3,750.
From the herd's Helena family and by Westcoast Retrolook, the heifer is out of a Superior Production, EX93 dam and 60 tonne, EX90 grandam.
At £3,600 was a Stantons Adorable daughter from Great Eccleston based Bowlandview herd owners J. and I. Garth. From their Erica family, the heifer is out of a 10,830kg dam and an EX91(3) 60 tonne grandam.
Jenninngs Farmers, Ripon, then had two of their five Abbeyhouse heifers at £3,500 and £3,450. The first a Westcoast Alcove daughter, and the next by Bankhouse Arthur, boosting the vendors' consignment average to £2,794.
Also topping the £3,000 mark were R. B. and R. C. Webster and Sons, Stocksbridge, Sheffield, with a Denhamhill heifer at £3,350, followed by R. M. Shackleton, Broughton, Skipton at £3,300, and M. and J. Bristol, Newton-in-Bowland at £3,150.
M. and S. Tominson, Salwick, Preston, led the non-pedigree heifer trade with three, 30kg entries, at £2,920, and £2,800 twice.
A 40kg second calver from R. and M. Cowgill, Little Hoole, Preston sold at £2,550 to lead the pedigree cows, with F. Yates and Son, Oldham selling a Lydgate second calver at £2,450.
A strong entry of in-calf heifers peaked at £2,500 for the best of eight non-pedigrees from A. R. and C. A. Parkinson, Chipping, Preston, whose next two made £2,400 and £2,320. Two pedigree heifers from D. W. and M. N. Ishmael, Orrell, Wigan, in-calf to the Angus, also made £2,320 apiece.
Averages: Pedigree newly calved heifers, £2,713; non-pedigree newly calved heifers, £2,296; pedigree newly calved cows, £2,375; non-pedigree newly calved cows, £1,535; pedigree in-calf heifers, £1,924; non-pedigree in-calf heifers, £1,680; maiden heifers, £918.
Auctioneers: Gisburn Auction Marts
Carlisle milkers average £3,039
Trade at the June Border and Lakeland Club sale at Carlisle topped at 3,800gns to average £3,039, as the demand for autumn milk increases.
Top price at 3,800gns went to Berryholme Parfect Asset, consigned by the Wright family, Kendal, selling to Stu Forshaw, Lancashire. Asset, by Parfect, will be the 10th generation to classify EX, with its third dam the Regiment daughter, Apple.
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Another heifer from the Berryholme herd sold for 3,500gns, this time Berryholme Chief Amy which sold to Hew Howie, Stranraer. It will be the seventh generation to classify EX, going back to Encore's daughter, Tri-Day Ashlyn.
At 3,300gns was the day's overall champion, Newtonmoss Milano Lulu, from Messrs Fisher, Penrith. By Milano, it will be the 13th generation of EX or VG cows going back to Tora Triple Threat Lulu. The buyers were Messsrs Gaitskell, Carlisle.
Another three also made 3,300gns. The first was Newcroft Atomic Elite 2, from J.D. Greenop, Wigton, which sold to Willes Farming, Bideford, North Devon.
Holehouse Actor Patsy Red topped a run of eight at 3,300gns to average £3,012 from Messrs Logan, Ayrshire. It was bought by Mt Montgomery, Glasgow.
The fourth at this price was Denmire Ferraro Marie 821 from Messrs Dennison, Ulverston, which sold to Messrs Talbot, Preston.
The reserve champion, Espland Nashville Rhapsody, made 3,200gns. Consigned by Alan Cannon, Appleby, who sold four heifers to average £3,031, it sold to Messrs Talbot.
Averages: 55 heifers in milk, £3,039.16; 3 cows in milk, £2,782.50
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington
Quality sells well at Penrith dairy
Trade at Penrith's monthly dairy offering was strong, with nine animals achieving more than £3,000 and quality consistent throughout.
Sale leader at £3,400 was a second-calved Fleckvieh from J.M. and J. Fisher and Daughters, Holme Wrangle, which sold giving 35 litres to J.E. Bellas and Son, Croft Ends.
The same buyer also bought a pair of second calved British Friesian cows from first-time vendors Messrs Williamson, Appleby, at £3,300 and £3,250. At 10 days fresh, they sold giving between 30-35 litres.
D.W. Cannon and Son, Low Abbey, sold a three in excess of £3,000, topping at £3,300 for a Holstein cross Ayrshire heifer which sold to T.W. Fawcett, Blencowe, giving 30 litres.
J. and B. Donald, Lamonby, were first in the ring with some correct and milky heifers which topped at £3,100 for a Montbeliarde cross, with a further two achieving £3,000 each.
The Dairy Shorthorns topped at £2,950 for a roaned heifer, Winbrook Vi 191, from G.A. and D. Dent, Kirkby Stephen.
Auctioneers: Penrith and District Farmers Auction Mart.
Beauty Sally tops Potstown dispersal
A 4,000gns bid led the Potstown Holstein dispersal, held on behalf of the Owen Family, Lockerbie, at Carlisle.
Newhouse Farming, Dumfries, took home the sale leader, the May-calved milking heifer Potstown Chronicle Sally. By OCD Chronicle, it sold givng 42kgs.
Another recently calved heifer by Progenesis Metallica sold for 3,800gns, also purchased by Newhouse Farming.
The last lot through the ring, Potston Retrolook Tina, by Westcoast Retrolook , made 3,500gns, again to Newhouse Farming.
Averages: 49 cows and heifers in milk, £1,960.71; 19 heifers in milk, £2,743.81; 8 faulted three quartered cows, £1,214.06
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington
