Newbirks Blueblood second calver bags Craven Dairy Auction title
Father and daughter dairy farmers, David and Suzy Lawson, of the Newbirks pedigree Holstein Friesian herd at Mill Farm, Arthingon, won their fourth Craven Dairy Auction championship of the year at November’s second show and sale at Skipton Auction Mart. (Mon, Nov 19)
They secured another in a long line of title wins with their first prize newly calven cow, Newbirks Blueblood 910, by the renowned and much utilised Genus dairy bull, Bassingthorpe Bossman. The 14 days-calved second calver, which came to market giving a productive 48 litres, had also given 10,200 litres as a heifer at 5.8% butterfat.
Tapped out as champion by regular Skipton dairy buyer Aubrey Greenhalgh, of Preston, the milk-rich cow went on to sell for joint top call of £1,980 to another frequent purchaser, Brian Blezard, of Ribchester.
Also making £1,980 was the second prize 30kg fortnight calved heifer from John Ireland, of Thorpe Bassett, near Malton, which sold locally to another familiar face at the dairy ringside, Heslaker’s John Howard.
Standing reserve champion with the first prize newly calven heifer was another former multiple past champion, Mark Smith, who runs the Brackenlea commercial herd at Rookery Farm in Winterburn.
His 16 days-calved 25-litre Brackenlea Snowy Grunter 7 was, like Mr Smith’s recent Skipton victors, by the all-white dairy bull Aireburn Snowy, a top performer on the herd since being acquired from her local breeders, Brian and Judith Moorhouse, of Bell Busk. The overall runner-up sold for £1,600 to JC Marshall in Dacre.
The third prize newly calven heifer from Calton’s Robert Crisp sold for £1,420, again to Mr Howard, while the runner-up in the newly calven cows show class from Barden’s Ian Parkinson made £1,520 when joining Beamsley’s Alan Middleton for his family-run JP&KE Hartley trading partnership.
With 13 newly calven entries forward, pedigree heifers averaged £1,742 and their commercial counterparts £1,512, with newly calven cows averaging £1,666.66. Next up is the Christmas Craven Dairy Auction, on Monday, December 3.
Calvert calves top weekly sale
At the same morning’s weekly rearing calf sale, the quality of the 69 head forward was not as strong as previous weeks, with many of the best calves being held back for the annual Christmas show this coming Monday.
However, the better end still found a ready market, with David Calvert, of West Marton, seeing the best of the trade with two strong British Blue bull calves at £370 and £380, a Limousin bull calf at £350, along with a £260 sale for a young Limousin heifer.
Native entries topped at £275 for an Aberdeen-Angus bull calf from Flasby Estates, with a lesser quality turnout of black and white youngsters selling to a high of £65 for a bull calf from Oakworth’s Samantha Sugden.
Continental-cross entries averaged £213.69 per head, natives £125 and black and whites £32.40