The Lawsons, accompanied by their daughter Suzy, secured the championship with their first prize 19-days calved home-bred pedigree heifer by the Genus sire Enmark Mammoth, the first of his progeny to be sold at Skipton.

The family became the most prolific dairy champions at Skipton during 2013, winning eight titles in total and also setting a new mart record price of £3,950 for a dairy animal at November’s Christmas Craven Dairy Auction.

Their latest victor, giving 34 litres, did not achieve such heady heights, but sold well at £2,300 to regular dairy buyer James Kayley, of Halton West, who also paid the day’s top price of £2,500 for another Lawson entry, the third prize newly calven heifer. The Lawsons also sold a promising October, 2012-born black and white pedigree dairy bull for 1,800gns (£1,890) to Cowling’s Martin Jennings.

Reserve champion was the second prize newly calven heifer from father and son Richard and Andrew Walker, who run the Morton pedigree herd at Moorlands Farm, East Morton. She is by their stock bull Ingleview Darius, bred in Bentham by Robert Butterfield. Giving 30 litres, the 10-days calved runner-up sold at £2, 050 to Skipton’s John Howard, who also paid £2,200 for a second newly calven heifer from the Walkers.

With continuing strong demand for quality dairy cattle, all milkers among the 15-strong entry sold to well above expectations from the outset, when the first newly calven heifer into the sales ring from Craven Dairy Auction regular Brian Moorhouse, of Bell Busk, was knocked down for £2,300 to regular buyer Brian Blezard, of Ribchester.

Pedigree newly calven heifers averaged £2,103, with an overall heifer average of £2,010. In-calf heifers also sold well, with the first prize winner, a pure-bred Holstein from Easingwold’s Mick Corner achieving £1,850 when joining David Graveston in Clitheroe.

New Skipton vendors G Woodmansey & Son, of Beverley, presented the first prize pedigree newly calven Jersey heifer, which also fell to John Howard for £950.

Show judge was commercial dairy farmer Richard Graham, of Clifton, Otley. Next month’s opening Craven Dairy Auction is on Monday, February 10, with catalogue entries closing on February 4.