Barden-based Bossman daughter bags Craven Dairy Auction championship
Dales dairy farmer Ian Parkinson, who runs his Holstein Friesian herd at Holme House Farm, Barden, stood champion at Skipton Auction Mart’s latest Craven Dairy Auction show and sale. (Mon, Auf 26)
He secured the title with the first prize newly calven heifer, another well-bred daughter of the renowned Genus sire. Bossman. Twelve days calved and giving 25 litres, the victor sold for top call of £1,900 to Mike Longster, of Fellbeck.
Mr Parkinson also won the newly calven cows show class with a 14 days calved 30 litre second calver again by Bossman. She made £1,550 when again joining Mr Longster.
Father and daughter, Robert and Lucy Lofthouse, of Gilderer Farm, Addingham Moorside, were prominent among the prizes, with their heifer class runner-up tapped out as reserve champion by the co-judges, brothers Stephen and Malcolm Abbott, from Dacre.
By a former high performance stock bull bought out of the Langley herd in Leighton Buzzard, the seven days calved 26 litre heifer was knocked down for £1,620 to Alan Middleton on behalf of the Beamsley-based Hartley family.
A brace of second calvers from the same home also finished second and third in their show class. The 20 days calved 27 litre runner-up, by the Blue Albion stock bull, found pastures new with Richard Crabtree in Clifton, Otley, at second top call of £1,800, while the 18 days calved 28 litre third prize winner, by the same sire as the reserve champion, sold at £ £1,580 to the same buyer.
A handy show of 11 dairy cattle saw newly calven heifers average £1,594 and cows £1,643.
The same morning’s weekly rearing calf sale attracted a 63-strong entry, selling to a top of £405 for a British Blue-cross bull from Horton-in-Craven’s Joss Lancaster. Continental youngsters averaged £309.54, natives £162.16 and black and whites £61.36.
In the weekly primestock arena, a total of 2,866 Spring lambs sold to an overall average of £77.89 per head, or 177.43p/kg, while 422 cast ewes and rams levelled at £53.70.
There was a roaring bank holiday trade for prime cattle, with the usual vendors and retail buyers again in attendance.