Heifers are a hit at Kitsons Stars
A TOP price of 7,200gns was paid at the inaugural Kitsons Stars sale of bulling and show heifers at Darlington on behalf of Anthony Kitson, Yorkshire.
With the sale averaging £3,699, this top price was paid for a 17-month-old Limousin cross heifer bred by John and Craig Robertson, Logierait, which sold back to Scotland with E. Maciver, Killen. Bought by Messrs Kitson when it stood champion at the Royal Northern Spring Show in February, this Sarkley Roscoe daughter is out of a British Blue cross cow by Warehams Mickey.
Second highest prize of 7,000gns was paid for a 19-month-old pure Limousin heifer which sold to an undisclosed buyer. Ivyfarm Vimto was bred by J.W. Wilkinson, Leyburn, and is sired by Huntershall Rosco.
Bidding on MartEye, Messrs Maciver paid a further 4,900gns for a 17-month-old British Blue cross which was bred by Messrs Brass, Soulby.
A Charolais cross heifer bred by Aberdeenshire's Stewart Youngson sold to G.C. and K.J. White and Son, Middleton in Teesdale, for 4,500gns.
Lot one got the sale off to a good start with a 4,800gns bid from Dean Allen, Thornton-le-Dale, for a 23-month-old Limousin cross bred by G. and J. Greenlaw, Aberdeenshire.
Another bred by Messrs Robertson was bought back by the family for 4,200gns, with a similar situation seeing Graham Cameron, Argyllshire, buy back one of his breeding for the same money. Also at 4,200gns when sold to Rodney Brothers, Masham, was a red Limousin cross bred by Messrs Hendry, Keith.
A further five heifers realised 4,000gns at the sale which was held on the eve of North East Live.
Auctioneers: Darlington Farmers Auction Mart.
Record North Country Cheviots at Lairg
RECORDS were broken as North Country Cheviot rams set their highest ever average of £2,071.92 for 254 sold at Lairg, thanks in part to a top price of £20,000 paid twice.
First to make that money was Kintail Extra Special from Graeme McRae, Ferintosh, which sold to David Rock for the Hethpool flock, Wooler. Estra Special is by Allanshaws Ben Nevis, which was bought for £12,000 in partnership with Scott Renwick, Inverbroom.
Messrs MacRae sold two more five-figure tups by Ben Nevis including Kintail Eagle for £16,000 to Joyce Campbell, Armadale, as well as Kintail Eye Catcher for £10,000 to Achentoul Farms, Kinbrace.
The other ram at £20,000 ram was Scott Renwick's own Inverbroom Executive which was also by Allanshaws Ben Nevis. Buyer this time was Pete Tweedie for his Buchtrig flock, Jedburgh.
A further two Inverbroom rams by the Allanshaws tup sold for £14,000 with the buyers being Norman and David Douglas, Whitehope flock, Yarrow, and George Irving, Benger, Yarrow.
Hitting £18,000 was Robbie Stevenson's Backakelday Frontier-sired Tournaig ram from his flock on Orkney, which sold to Andrew Elliot, Durness.
Messrs Douglas received £14,000 for Whitehope Earthquake, a son of Suisgill Vanguard which sold in a two-way split to Messrs Dunlop, Commonside, Hawick, and Sorbietrees Farm, Newcastleton.
Females met a strong demand, peaking at £470 for gimmers from Michael Kirk's Hollandmake flock, with ewes to £250 for a pair of black ewes from Murdo and Heather Macdonald.
Auctioneers: United Auctions.
Male champion heads up Hereford sale
A BULL with an impressive show record headed up the Hereford Cattle Society's Autumn offering at Shrewsbury when it stood champion at the pre-sale show and went on to claim the top price of 5,600gns.
That was Landscombe 1 Frankel, a 20-month-old Maxstoke 1 Willis son from R.A. Mitchell, Dorchester. Its dam line is full of home breeding, being out of the Lanscombe 1 Wizard-sired Lanscombe 1 Cilla. A winner at Bath and West, Royal Cornwall and Royal Three Counties shows, it sold to Julian Neagle, Chandlers Ford.
Close behind at 5,400gns was six-year-old Moorside 1 Jane 16 which sold to R.F. and Z.M. Chilman, Presteigne, Powys, along with its twin Netherhall 1 Matty-sired heifer calves at foot and AI'd back to Blakelaw 1 Calzaghe. Jane itself is by Coley 1 Pilot and out of a CCR 57G Stamina-sired Jane from G. and M.C. Shepherd's herd, Preston.
Messrs Shepherd received a further 4,600gns from S. and R. Irving, Caldbeck, Wigton, for Moorside 1 Jane 24, a March 2024-born daughter of Netherhall 1 Oz Daffy bred from the aforementioned Jane 16th. It was AI'd with sexed female semen to Netherhall 1 Matty.
Averages - bulls, £4,357.50; show heifers, £3,255; sale only females, £4,383.75.
Auctioneers: Halls.
Bulls lead Lakebarrow dispersal
A HOME-BRED bull sold for 4,000gns to top the Lakebarrow herd dispersal of pedigree Red Ruby Devon cattle at Cutcombe Market on behalf of Henry Rawson, Exford.
Selling for the top price to R.J. and K.L. Down for their Drift herd, Stoneleigh, was Larkbarrow Accomplished 2 by Bollowal Back Row VG88.
Another bull by the Back Row sire, Larkbarrow Woodland 4 sold to S. Drew, Bude, for 3,600gns.
In-calf heifers topped at 2,200gns three times – for Larkbarrow Daisy 34 which sold to Messrs Dyer and Co, Bridgwater; again for Larkbarrow Lily 2 which sold to R. and C. Whitcombe, Edgarley; and lastly for Larkbarrow Lottie 16 which sold to M.J. Miller and Son, Andover.
Maiden heifers reached 1,980gns when W. Steven and Son, Weddon Cross, paid that for Larkbarrow Rocket 8, while cows sold to 1,900gns for Larkbarrow Bonnie 6 which went to Wall Farming, Highbridge.
Averages - Cows, £1,857; in-calf heifers, £2,161.25; maiden heifers, £1,488.30; stock bulls, £3,223; 2025 male calves, 1,029; 2025 heifer calves, £873.
Auctioneers: Exmoor Farmers and Andrew Lane.
Southie record at Longtown
A SOUTH Country Cheviot record was set at Longtown when a show-winning gimmer from Messrs Goodfellow, Biggar, sold for £2,900.
Champion at Abington Show earlier in the year, it is by the £5,500 Glenochar Riot which also sired the £1,100 pen of four gimmers sold on the day.
Cheviot ewes reached £460 twice for two pens of 10 from Messrs Paton, Biggar, with ewe lambs to £125 for a pen from Messrs Douglas, Selkirk.
The first North Country Cheviot gimmer in the ring topped the section at £1,100 for Messrs Allen, Alnwick, with the same home leading the ewe lamb entry at £290 for a pen of five.
North Country Cheviot ewes sold to £360 for a pair from N. Macdonald, West Blackmyre.
A pen of North of England-bred gimmers from The Lamperts, managed by Craig Ballantine, led the Blackface section at £360.
The champion pen of gimmers from Wanwood Partners, Alston, sold for £315 with ewes to £195 from Chapel and £185 for the first prize pen from Messrs Wanwood.
The first prize pen of ewe lambs from B Cheesbrough, Lanehead, headed up the entry at £165.
A small selection of Swaledales reached £180 for a pen of one-crop ewes from Messrs Telford, Roadhead.
Auctioneers: C. and D. Auction Marts.
Edstaston lamb leads Oktoberfest
A EWE lamb from Robert and Jeanette Gregory's Edstaston flock, Shrewsbury, led the Oktoberfest sale of Charollais females held at Worcester.
By the 12,000gns Boyo Commander and out of a home-bred Knockin Shockin daughter, Edstaston Diamonte is a full sister to this year's Carlisle sale leader, the 14,000gns Edstaston Dakota. It joined Dave Roberts' Boyo flock, Shrewsbury.
Ewe lambs proved popular as a 2,600gns bid secured Ben Baker's Springhill Butterfly Effect-sired BB Destiny from near Penpergwm. Bred out of a Gwyndy ewe by Boyo Vancouver, it sold to F.A. and C. Elsworthy's Elsridge flock,Tiverton.
At 1,500gns was a Manor House lamb by Oakchurch Ruben from George Hoggard, Kirton, Nottinghamshire, which sold to Jeremy Price, Hereford.
Shearling ewes peaked at 1,100gns for a Cavick gimmer from Mitchel and Elizabeth Britten, Wymondham, Norfolk.
By Loanhead Vanquish and scanned with triplets to Glyn Coch Corach Rambler, it sold to Kenny Titmus for his Wychelms flock, Bedfordshire.
Averages - 23 shearling ewes, £874.24; 12 ewe lambs, £1435.00.
Auctioneers: McCartneys.
Record entry of Shetlands at York
IT was a fitting 40th anniversary celebration for the Shetland Sheep Society as a record entry of 155 sheep peaked at 510gns for a Moorit gimmer shearling from Donna, Adria and Rachel King's Blackford flock, Norwich.
It sold to Gavin Ingram and David Alcorn, Biggar, who in turn sold the top priced male at 500gns – a katmoget bleset sokket shearling originally bred by Clare Bailey, which sold to Liz Benn, Cumbria.
Messrs King also sold their grey katmoget shearling ram, Blackford Acer, for 330gns to Messrs Ingram and Alcorn, while their best lamb from the pre-sale show, Blackford Amelia, sold to Kate Sharp, Humbie, for 305gns.
Averages - 3 aged rams, £84; 9 shearling rams, £198; 1 ram lamb, £87; 10 shearling ewes, £95; 6 ewe lambs, £87.
Auctioneers: York Auction Centre.
Swale ewe record at Kirkby Stephen
A NEW Swaledale female centre record was set at Kirkby Stephen when the champion pen from Messrs Hutchinson, Bowes, sold for £800/head, which helped push the ewe average up more than £37 on the year.
The pen of 10 two and three-crop ewes sold to Messrs Richardson, Buxton, with Messrs Hutchinson's run of 90 selling to average £293.28.
Next best at £360 was a pen of 10 two and three-crop ewes from Messrs Beckwith, Barras, selling to Messrs Walker, Skipton.
This was followed at £285 for a similarly aged pen of 12 from Messrs Bland, Cotegill, which sold to Messrs White, Derbyshire.
Shearlings reached £260 for a pen of six from G. Tunstall,.............. which sold to Messrs Metcalfe, Otterburn, while the pen of 10 lambs from D, Birbeck, Kirkby Stephen, led the gimmer lamb trade at £155 when knocked down to Messrs Wilkinson, Bishop Auckland.
Averages - Aged ewes, £203.61; shearling ewes, £176.56; ewe lambs, £100.56.
Auctioneers: Harrison and Hetherington.
Gisburn dairy trade peaks at £3,950
LEADING the way at Gisburn's first dairy sale of the month with a £3,950 price tag was a newly calved pedigree heifer from K.E. Robinson and Son, Carnforth.
Audbrook Amelia 168 was an OCD Chronicle daughter and added to the family's average of £2,942 for six, aided further by a £3,250 bid for a Lesperron Croteau Zoom Red daughter from their Kilnhall herd.
Newly calved non-pedigree heifers sold to a top of £3,800 for D.A. Wilcock, Blackrod, while J. and B. Rowland, Preston, sold at £3,700.
Second highest pedigree price of £3,550 was paid for a Koepin Oh Robin Red daughter from G.B. Moorhouse, Skipton, who also sold a second calver for the same money to top the pedigree cow section.
J.J.M. and H.J. Walmsley, Pilling, saw their Fordswood Secretariat Mitzi daughter sell for £3,420.
The pedigree in-calf heifer trade topped at £2,850 for a Cogent Koepon Ruben heifer from Lingber herd owners D.E. and P.A. Newbould, Gisburn.
Non-pedigree in-calf heifers reached £2,500 for entries from both H. Gornall, Longridge, and Mrs Kirkham, Goosnargh.
Averages - Pedigree newly calved heifers, £2,797; non-pedigree newly calved heifers, £2,636; pedigree newly calved cows £2,950; pedigree in-calf heifers £2,488, non-pedigree £2,312.50.
Auctioneers: Gisburn Auction Marts.
