Improved trade for rearing calves at CCM Skipton Increased interest at the ringside resulted in an improved trade for the 44 rearing calves at Skipton Auction Mart’s latest weekly Monday sale. (Mon, April 8) British Blues were once again to the fore, with Daniel Lancaster, of Horton-in-Craven, topping at £425 with a bull calf, followed by a brace of bulls from Fred Houseman, Church Farm Enterprises in Burton Leonard, at £415 and £410, creating a healthy section average of £338.

Forward: 62 Prime cattle comprising 19 Clean Cattle (under 30 mos), 1 Bull (under 30mos), 3 Clean Cattle (over 30 mos) & 39 Cast Cattle. 5,065 Prime Sheep (comprising 58 Spring Lambs 4,706 Prime Hoggs & 301 Cast Ewes & Rams). Also 396 Breeding Sheep (111 Ewes with 175 Lambs & 110 Geld Gimmer Hoggs). 44 Rearing Calves. 2 Dairy Cattle. 5 Loads of produce.

Rearing Calves to £425 (44) A handy show of calves this morning with certainly more interest ringside this week. British Blues once again to the fore with Daniel Lancaster topping at £425 with a cracking bull with church farm enterprises not far behind at £415 and £410 creating a helathy average of £338. Limousin calves from Hayton Stocks found a good gear also finding new homes at £390 and £340 for a bull and a heifer.

286 Breeding Sheep – 111 Ewes with 175 Lambs A decent show of sheep with lambs and a good trade throughout. Best outfits of twins £200 to £215, but strong outfits of singles £150 to £195. Commercial singles £120 to £140 and commercial twins £160-£190. More required each week now as more buyers come out looking for sheep. Please ring the office with entries each week by 12noon Fridays for inclusion in the online catalogue.

Forward – 123 head cattle: 13 Bulls & 123 Bullocks & Heifers 74 Sheep & Goats

Forward: 609 head of cattle Comprising: 609 Feeding Cattle (164 Young Bulls, 47 Beef Feeding Cows & Cast Bulls, 398 Bullocks & Heifers)

Forward: 57 Prime cattle comprising 27 Clean Cattle (under 30 mos), 1 Clean Cattle (over 30 mos) & 29 Cast Cattle. 3184 Prime Sheep comprising 2914 Prime Hoggs & 270 Cast Ewes & Rams. 43 Rearing Calves. 325 Breeding Sheep comprising 129 Ewes with 196 Lambs. 2 Loads of produce.

Rearing Calves to £375 (43) B&W av £99.44 Cont av £309.64 Native av £184 Handy show of calves this morning and despite a quiet ringside of buyers a good steady trade was seen for all on offer. Best bulls were maybe a touch easier on the week with Fred Houseman of Church Farm Enterprises topping at £375 with a respectable average of 323.64 for Blue bulls. A nice run of limousin’s from Pickersgills sold away to a top of £290.

Breeding Sheep – 129 Ewes with 196 Lambs A nice show of sheep with Continental and Suffolk cross ewes with nice lambs at foot in high demand, twins £200 to £225, singles £140 to £175, twins at £225 RJ Umpleby, Killinghall also £225 and £220 DP Moore, Triangle, Sowerby Bridge. Mule sheep were a mixed selection, with a shortage of best types and Mule outfits definitely benefit from lambs being just a shade older. Top Mule sheep £200 for Shearling Twins from David White Hebden.

Henry’s hoggs on a high at CCM Skipton prime lambs show As anticipated, trade for the 2,914 prime hoggs penned for sale at Skipton Auction Mart’s latest Monday sale took a very nice lift on the week to level at 210p/kg across the board, or £95.31 per head, with an SQQ average of 222p/kg. Similar numbers the previous week sold to an overall average of £90.32, or 198.1p/kg (SQQ 210.6p).

Barden Fawcetts claim CCM Skipton prime cattle victory A ten-month-old heifer by a British Blue stock bull, Heather View Jack, out of a beef-cross Brown Swiss suckler cow, was crowned champion at Skipton Auction Mart’s April prime cattle show and sale, the annual Easter fixture. (Mon, April 1) It was consigned by father and son, John and Joe Fawcett, of Dale Head Farm, Barden. Weighing in at 535kg, the victor sold for the day’s top per kilo price of 269.5p, or £1,442, to retail butcher George Cropper Jnr for his Sandersons Butchers shop in Manchester Road, Baxenden.