Farming Eye

Monday’s Kirkby Classic show and sale of potential show cattle saw a top price of £3000 paid for the day’s champion, a Soleil-sired heifer – Little Miss Attitude – from the Marston family, Easegill Head. She sold to an undisclosed York-based buyer.

Selling at £2350 was the day’s reserve champion another Soleil sired beast from the Marstons. This bullock – Real Deal – sold to Messrs Jowett, Bradford.

And making £2150 was a British Blue heifer – Limited Edition – from the same home, meanwhile, a British Blue steer from Lindsey Fold Farm sold at £2020.

Trade was strong throughout the day, with the heifer average rising by £20.68 and steers gaining £88.60 on last year’s trade. Overall the sale levelled at £1003.33 (Harrison and Hetherington).

by Jonathan Long

Taking th overall championship honours and top price of the evening sale at Kirkby Stephen yesterda for Swaledales was the Sowerby family, Mossdale. This first proze gimmer and overall champion was knocked down to T Robinson and Sons. The same home also sold the third prize gimmer for £2100 and the second prize gmmer both to Breck House Enterprises.

Champion and top price Swaledale at Kirkby Stephen

The pre-sale reserve champion which came through as winner of the ewe class for J H and J Blacnd, Corwden House, then went on to sell for £1600 to I Collinson, while at £1400 was the third prize ewe from T Brogden selling to Messrs Morris-Eyton and Son and then the second prize ewe from the same class was knocked down at £1300 to P Addyman and Son.

by Chrissie Long

Harrison and Hetherington’s annual prize show and sale of suckled calves on Monday saw 522 cattle on offer and a top price of £1790 for a seven month old British Blue cross heifer from Messrs K A Brown and Sons, Asby Hall, which sold to Messrs Dent, Bolton.

Overall bullocks averaged £790.56 (up £51.56 on the year) with heifers being £20.98 up on the year.  The overall average was £749.47 (up £40.54 on the year).

Judge Robert Sharman, Colmworth, awarded the supreme championship to a 6 six month old Limousin cross from Messrs D and C E Marston, Easegill Head, which was knocked down at £1320 to Kevin Ludgate.

The reserve supreme champion went to a British Blue heifer from Messrs K A Brown and Sons, Asby Hall, which later went on the sell for £1260 to Messrs Dent.

by Chrissie Long

Friday’s final day of the Kirkby Stephen Swaledale sale saw a bumper trade topping at £46,000 for Butt Rigg Noble from E C Coates. This shearling was knocked down to Redgate, Tailbert, Fernyford and Harkerside.

Following that at £39,000 was the champion from Messrs Nelson, Bull and Cave, with this shearling selling to A D and P Coates, with a half share retained.

Then making £38,000 was one from Messrs Robinson, Catlow, which was bought by J Ireland, Messrs Lightfoot and E J and R J Wear.

And selling at £18,000 was a shearling from Messrs Lawson, Kirkland Green, which went to J Handley.

Close behind at £15,000 was the best of the day from N Richardson, Big Fernyford. This one was knocked down to J and J E Bradley and Messrs Booth. At the same money was one from Gillside Farm.

Overall the 455 shearlings levelled at £1991.94 (Harrison and Hetherington).

More to follow later….

by Jonathan Long

The second day of the Swaledale Sheep Breeders Association C District sale at Kirkby Stephen saw a strong, solid trade which topped at £16,000 for a shearling tup, Banks EC Pink Eye.

Second best of the day was one from the Richardson family, with their tup Ghyll House Client making £15,000.

Following him at £14,000 was Banks EC Jubilee,then at £13,000 was Kettlepot Vandal from the Beckwith family, while a pair sold at £12,000. The first of these was Billing Warrior from I Collinson.

The other at this price was Grayrigg EN 7, the day’s champion from Richard Harker. Then at £11,000 was Grayrigg Hall EN9.

Selling for £9000 was Turner Hall King Kong from Anthony Hartley, with a trio trading at £8000. Taking the first call at this price was Mossdale Jubilee from P E and K A Sowerby, with Mossdale Jimbo from the same home at the same money.

The final £8000 call came for Outhwaite Harker 5 from Randel Raine. And making £5000 was Bleathgill Popeye from W Buckle.

by Jonathan Long

 Friday’s NEMSA sale of Mule ewe lambs at Kirkby Stephen saw the most electric trade of the autumn sales season yet, with a top price of £580 for the champion pen from Messrs Brown, Asby Hall. These sold to Ron and Fran Wilson.

But while the top of the trade was without a doubt one to be remembered the sale yielded an average which was back by £4.33 on last year at £110.68 for 11,167 sold.

However, that slight drop was to be expected with many lambs having had a harder spring and summer than last year and the shearling ewe trade stagnating at many sales in the south this summer.

After the champions the next top call was £505 bid for the fifth prize pen from Messrs Hutchinson, Kirby Redgate, with these bought by J Gate.

H W and M A Alderson and Son, Howgill Grange, then sold the fourth prize pen from the large vendors show to Martin and Valerie Brown, while at £300 was a pen from Low Dowgill.

Following them at £280 were the first prize pen from the small vendors show – the show for vendors of less than 200 lambs – with these coming from J Shields, Lythside and selling to A and R Little.

Messrs Hayton, Asvy Grange, then sold the third prize pen from the large vedors show at £250 to the Browns, while at £240 were the second prize pen and reserve champions from W and C W Dent which sold to F G Marshall.

Another pen from the Hutchinsons then sold at £225, with others from Lytheside at £210 and a pen from Messrs Brown, Asby Hall at £200.

Average; 11,167 ewe lambs £110.68 (Harrison and Hetherington).

by Jonathan Long

Demand for breeding cattle has been strong again in the last few days, with both Hawes and Kirkby Stephen Marts reporting good trades for cows and calves and breeding bulls.

At Kirkby Stephen yesterday the top call was a £5700 bid for a 25 month old British Blue bull from Messrs Tiplady, Powis House, which sold to Messrs Allinson, West Briscoe.

Meanwhile in the cow and calves on offer the top trade was achieved for a Limousin cross heifer with a Limousin sired bull calf at foot from Messrs Taylor, Swathburn. This one sold at £2480.

The overall average for cows with calves at foot was £262.12 up on the year, with the heifers and calves average being £240.97 up on the year.

Other leading prices in the heifers with calves at foot included another pair of Limousin cross heifers from Messrs Taylor at £2400 and another similarly bred from the same home at £2380.

Best of the British Blue cross heifers with calves at foot was one from Prospect Farm at £2250, with one from Swathburn at £2200. In the cows and calves the best price was a Limousin cross from Blandswath at £2050.

Meanwhile at Hawes on Saturday heifer and calf trade was led at £2550 by a British Blue cross with a heifer calf from J W and M E Taylor, with a Limousin cross with a bull calf at foot from J and E Waggett at the same money.

In the bulls on offer the best call was a £3400 bid for a Limousin from A and J A Iveson, with another of the same breed at £2020 for J and E Waggett.

by Jonathan Long

The impending Easter celebrations have bought with them the first of the annual Easter prime lamb shows up and down the country, with good prices achieved at many centres.

At Exeter on Monday a total of 684 lambs were forward for sale, with the overall SQQ levelling at 231p/kg and the price/head averaging £93.48.

Championship honours in the show fell to J D Musgrave, Yealmpton, with a pair of 45kg Charollais crosses which sold at £116 (257p/kg).

Overall trade was similar to the week before, although the average slipped by 1.5p/kg and £2/head. Topping the trade in p/kg terms was a pen of 41.4kg lambs from A Salter at 266p/kg.

Meanwhile, further north at Kirkby Stephen yesterday a smaller show of just 12 lambs saw the championship go to a Texel cross lamb from the Bainbridge family, Bonnygate. This 44kg lamb sold at £130 (295.5p/kg) to Steadman’s butchers, Kirkby Stephen. Overall average for the new season lambs was 263.25p/kg.

by Jonathan Long

Swaledale ewes sold to a high of £4800 at Kirkby Stephen yesterday evening, with the top price paid for the second prize gimmer from P E and K A Sowerby’s Mossdale flock. This one went to A Skidmore.

Second best of the flying trade was a £4500 bid for the reserve pre-sale champion and first prize gimmer from the late Wayne Winspear, Cragg View, with this one being knocked down to Messrs Sowerby.

Reserve champion from The late Wayne Winspear sold for £4500

Another in-lamb gimmer from Cragg view then went at £4200 and another traded at £3000. And the same vendors enjoyed a roaring trade in the in-lamb ewes too, making £3100 for one, with another from the same home at £2600, and the champion selling for £2300 to Messrs Lightfoot. Others made £2200 and £2000 for the same vendor.

Selling for £2700 was the second prize ewe from Messrs Sowerby, she went to T Brogden. Making the same money was the dearest ewe hogg of the sale, the fourth prize hogg from W M Hutchinson and Sons, Redgate. This was knocked down to M E Simpson, with the same vendors trading the first prize winner at £2400.

Other leading prices including another in-lamb gimmer from Cragg View at £2100.

Averages;  Ewes £1678.18 (+£492.18), gimmers £1571.82 (+£743.82), ewe hoggs £954.54 (+£419.54) (Harrison and Hetherington).

by Jonathan Long

The strong store cattle trade coupled with the usual demand for show potential calves combined to result in a blistering trade at the Kirkby Classic show and sale of calves yesterday.

Leading the trade, which saw the heifer average jump by £240 on the year and the steers rise by £215.25, was a Limousin cross heifer Ninky Nonk from the Marston family of Easegill Head. This one, a daughter of Soleil,  stood champion in the pre-sale show and sold at £2900 to D Hall.

Limousin cross heifer and overall champion Ninky Nonk led the trade at £2900

Second best of the day was a brace of £1500 bids. The first of these came for a Limousin cross heifer from John Smith-Jackson, Hightown, with the other at this price being a British Blue cross heifer from W A and G R Sedgley, Lindsey Fold Farm.

Then at £1480 was another Blue cross heifer, this time from Ravenseat. And just shy of that and leading the bullock trade was a Blue cross steer from Gaisgill Row selling at £1465.

Best in the Limousin cross steers was one at £1430 from Powis House and at £1400 was the second prize Limousin cross heifer from Easegill Head, Pink Ponk.

Reserve championship honours in the pre-sale show went to nine month old Limousin cross bullock, Little Mark from Messrs White, Rigg Farm, selling for £1100 to Andrew Geary.

by Jonathan Long