Skipton Christmas cull shows popular
Annual Christmas shows for cull cows and ewes again featured in the festive line-up at Skipton Auction Mart.
Cull cow champion was Brian Lund, of Walshaw Farm, Walshaw, Hebden Bridge, with a home-bred pure 41-month-old Parthenais by the Genus sire Atomic that went on to head the selling prices at £1,361, or 186.5p/kg, when bought by show judge Ross Greenwood, of Carleton.
He also paid £1,205, or 155.5p/kg, for his chosen reserve champion, the second prize Continental cow, another Parthenais from M Bentham, of Thornton, Bradford.
The first prize dairy-bred entry from Airton’s Paul Bolland also headed the black and white prices at £1,019, or 116.5p/kg. The 70-plus cull cows forward remained in good demand when averaging £696.76 per head, or 100.26p/kg.
The cull ewe show attracted a full alley of 450 sheep, with judging by Mohammed Alam, of Lancashire Direct Halal Meat in Blackburn, split into three classes. He awarded the championship to a four-strong Texel pen from Ken and Hazel Gamble, of Brickyard Farm, Easingwold, who were landing the title for the second year in succession. They sold for £114.50 each to Yorkshire Halal Meats for its supermarket in Alice Street, Keighley.