Craven Dairy Auction Christmas Show 42 head to £2500. Weekly Calf Sale 72 head to £400 B&W av £56.46 Cont av £246 Native av £165

75 Rearing Calves 31 Dairy Cattle A packed market full of livestock at CCM Skipton today with all three selling rings in operation and nearly every pen was used at some stage in the day with stock for sale. There were 309 different sellers and buyers present in the mart successfully trading away, so take a look at today’s report then bring your stock next week to Skipton.

Stainbank herd clinches another Craven Dairy Auction championship Robin Jennings, who runs the Stainbank pedigree dairy herd in South Stainley, near Ripon, was champion again at the early November Craven Dairy Auction show and sale at Skipton Auction Mart, repeating his success at the corresponding fixture the previous month. (Mon, Nov 10) He again clinched the title with the first prize newly-calven heifer, Longstar Lavanguard, Franchise, acquired as a stirk from her Lancashire breeder. By Comestar Lavanguard, the victor, 15 days calves and giving 28 litres, sold for £1,820 to Wharfedale-based buyers.

Craven Dairy Auction (22 head) Harder work throughout today with the milk cheques starting to make a dent in the buyers pockets with cattle less right the way through the sale. Top end struggled to make record prices with Robert Crisp and Jeremy Taylor enjoying the best of the trade reaching £1860 for some strong heifers. Middle of the road heifers were good to sell just not to a massive price. With all animals averaging £1641, a straight trade with buyers and sellers satisfied with the outcome in the dairy industry’s current difficult trading conditions.

Skipton regular presents champion rearing calf Sutton-in-Craven farmer Richard Spence produced the champion and top price at Skipton Auction Mart’s autumn rearing calf show and sale. The Skipton regular’s British Blue-cross heifer, by the Cogent sire Echo out of a top-quality British Friesian cow, reached the heady heights of £620 when selling to Vickers and Richardson, of Scarborough. Mr Spence also sold a same way bred bull calf for £490 to prolific buyer Robert Foster, of Wetherby.

85 Rearing Calves to £460 B&W av £57.08 Cont av £321 Native av £203 Good show of calves today with quality present right the way through the sale, there were strong prices for all stamps of calf with the top price coming from Richard Spence of Sutton who made £460 for a British Blue Bull. Other notable prices were £240 from David Holmes for a Shorthorn Bull and £430 for a British Blue Heifer from Church Farm Enterprises. A strong trade which looks good coming in to Next Weeks CALF SHOW!! Judging: 10.30am Sale 11am Prizes for all Classes and Strong trades expected

Jennings continues a tradition of success at Skipton Auction Mart Robin Jennings, who runs the Stainbank pedigree dairy herd in South Stainley, emerged as champion at the early October Craven Dairy Auction show and sale at Skipton Auction Mart. His title-winning newly calven heifer, four weeks calved and giving 31 litres, was by the Genus sire, Lutz-Brookview Burt, out of the home-bred Stainbank Honeysuckle. It sold for £1,980 to judge and regular Skipton buyer, Wick Williams, of Nantwich, Cheshire.

Craven Dairy Auction (44 head) A definite struggle for the most part but patience paid off with just a little push and shove strong heifers started to sell to a straight price. With an ever darkening cloud looming over the Dairy industry things looked ominous with the shippon full and over flowing, however a murmur of interest prior to the sale evolved into a good, straight trade with cows and heifers taking their time but eventually reaching a good price.

Craven Dairy Auction (29 head) A hard day selling with a lot of strong dairy cattle hard sold, the knock on effect of the downturn in the dairy sector. Robert Crisp took top honours with David Lawson taking a deserved second in the show ring. But all eyes were on the sale ring with concerns how much cheaper the milkers would be. Thankfully a responsive ringside made the cattle a straighter trade than first predicted with a respectable overall average for 1st Class and Pedigree Heifers of £1751 and Cows £1606.

90 Rearing Calves to £450 B&W av £52.35 Cont av £303.14 Native av £145 Good show of calves considering the show the previous week. With plenty of calves and a bank holiday crowd trade was buoyant. Calves were not quite as flash as the week before particularly Black and Whites with some selling calves too young and under fleshed, but any on the money and just either side of a month old were snaffled up by a number of buyers and would go well into the £80’s. The best black and white was shown by Messrs Atkinson of Bishop Thornton reaching the heights of £135 for a well fleshed Holstein Friesian calf.

Swires bag back-to-back Craven Dairy Auction championships Back-to-back championships were bagged at Skipton Auction Mart’s main August Craven Dairy Auction by commercial breeders, father and son Malcolm and Robert Swires, of Haverah Park, Beckwithshaw.

94 Rearing Calves to £700 B&W av £71.98 Cont av £389.8 Native av £188.7 Skipton Calf show was once again a huge success with a large ringside of buyers making a fantastic trade in all sectors with a trade not seen since the spring. Once again the Sowray Family of Bishop Thornton struck gold with a fantastic Blue Bull at 41 Days old making a record breaking £700, Yes that’s right and heading its way to the east coast. Other noted vendors were the Houseman’s of Burton Leonard and Colin Whitelock of Gargrave both making big prices with some fantastic continental calves.

Forward - Craven Dairy Auction (39 head) A large entry forward with good consignments from Keith Downs and Malcolm and Robert Swires going a long way to ensure the use of the overflow stalls. With shippon full to bursting it was not an easy task for the judge eventually pinning the top rosette to a fine heifer from the returning Swires family. The heifer calved 10 Days and giving 32 litres was eventually knocked down for £2,000 to regular supporters Alf and Andrew Townsend, the father and son team also bought the reserve champion from the same family for £2120, a fantastic 2nd Calver with 40kgs on her.

Craven Dairy Auction (34 head) A big show with a lot of cattle unentered arriving and making a good shippon full of newly calved heifers. Despite the shippon full trade was strong especially for those well presented cattle like those of Robin Jennings and Shaun Hickey who made £2300 and £2250. Other vendors also met a stiff trade with Chris Broadwith of Thornton Watlass pushing into the top prices with a lovely heifer reaching a deserved £2250.

Craven Dairy Auction (52 head) Yet again a big entry for Skipton Dairy Auction with 52 Head forward. Despite a number of buyers away snatching 2nd Cut silage or Hay trade remained good, with topping prices of £3,000 for the Champion from David and Claire Lawson, and £2,000 for an Incalf 2nd Calver from J Whittaker, Laneshawbridge. The champion chosen by Stephen Coates of Baildon Moor was a Newly Calven Pedigree Heifer giving 32L from the Lawson family and was hard fought over by keen supporters of Lawson Cattle and was snapped up by the Jeanes family.