Skipton rearing calf trade excels yet again
Rearing calf selling prices at Skipton Auction Mart continue to exceed all expectations.
While dairy trade remains adversely affected by the uncertainty over milk prices, the mart’s calf trade is anything but, with some heady prices again achieved for dairy-bred entries and all calves in the 57-strong turnout dearer still on the week at Monday’s latest fixture. (June 22)
In the Continental-cross section, British Blue youngsters were again out in force, with an average age of 35 days and quality of the highest order on parade.
The outstanding high of £640 fell to an exceptional home-bred Blue bull calf from Queensbury dairy farmer Richard Sutcliffe.
The top price achiever, purchased by Calderdale’s Martin Hutchinson, of Mixenden, is by a bull bought by Mr Sutcliffe as a two-year-old at Skipton’s annual pedigree British Blue showpiece in 2013. The Eclatant son was bred locally by George and John Stapleton’s Craven herd at High Skibeden Farm, Skipton.
The same vendor, who is currently milking 150 dairy cows, also achieved £545 with another Blue bull calf and £500 with a Blue heifer calf. Both fell to regular buyer Robert Foster, of Wetherby.
Cowling’s Martyn Jennings also sold a Blue bull calf for £565, again to Mr Foster, while multiple past Skipton rearing calf show champions, the Sowray brothers, from Bishop Thornton, presented nine top-notch Blues – five bull and four heifer calves, several by the well-known Cogent sire, Gaultier.
They averaged £520.26 overall, topping at £560 for a bull calf and £550 for a heifer calf. The former fell to Lincolnshire’s Nigel Mason, the latter to Mrs J Stevenson, of Thornton, Bradford.
Ian Wellock of Kirkby Malham, was also well supported with eight one-month-old British Blue bull and heifer calves that averaged over £400.
In the Limousin section, Robert Metcalfe, of Brearton, hit £510 for a fine bull calf. Monday’s overall Continental-cross selling average was £471 per head.
A fantastic show of black and white calves met the same flying trade seen the previous week, with the pick of the bunch a 1mth and 8-days-old Friesian bull calf from Michael Heron, of Bramhope, hitting what is believed to be a new record Skipton high of £280 for a black and white when falling to AG Thompson, of Driffield.
The same buyer also paid £260 for a Holstein bull calf from Anthony Bolland, of Bolton Abbey, with the total black and white entry, which had an average age of 27 days, selling well into three figures, with an overall average of £139.68 per head.
Native breed entries also performed with credit, with JP&KE Hartley, of Beamsley, presenting a quality run of eight Aberdeen Angus bull and heifer calves that sold to respective highs of £290 and £285 at an average of £254 per head. Native entries averaged £238 overall.