Brian Lund double at Skipton prime cattle showcase
A pair of home-bred Limousin-cross heifers from Calderdale’s Brian Lund secured championship and reserve championship honours at Skipton Auction Mart’s March prime cattle show and sale. (Mon, March 2)
Mr Lund, who farms 350 acres of hill land at Walshaw Farm, Hebden Bridge, clinched the latest in a long line of successes at Skipton with a pair of home-bred Limousin-cross heifers by his well regarded stock bull Bo, who was bred in neighbouring Kirklees by Almondbury’s Janet Sheard and has also been responsible for quite a number of the vendor’s past Skipton champions.
His latest 565kg victor was snapped up for £1,551, or
274.5p/kg, both the leading gross and by-weight prices, by show judge Simon
Duerden, of Blacko, buying on behalf of Nicholson’s Butchers in Nelson. The
reserve champion fell for £1,496, or 269.5p/kg, to Saltaire butcher Dick Binns.
The third prize heifer, a Blonde-cross from Trawden’s
Jimmy Baines, made £1,567, or 263.5p/kg, on joining D Greerley in West
Houghton, Bolton. Bingley’s Keith Downs was also to the fore when selling a
Limousin-cross heifer for £1,512, or 258.5p/kg, to multiple buyers Keelham Farm
Shop in Thornton, Bradford.
Prime cattle under 30 months averaged 223.59p/kg for
entries up to 590kg and 216.60p/kg for those above this weight.
A standalone show for cull cows produced a red
rosette-winning success in the beef section for a Limousin-cross from Embsay’s
John and Claire Mason, sold for £1,135, or 156.5p/kg, while the
first prize dairy-bred entry, a black and white cow from Alf Townsend, of
Southfield, Burnley, made £918.
The second prize beef animal, a British Blue-cross
from Alan Woodhouse, of Clapham, headed the class prices at £1,187, or
161.5p/kg, as did the second prize dairy-bred entry from N&J Thwaite, of Hellifield,
at £966, or 125.5p/kg.
The 36 cull cows entered averaged £761.70 per head,
or 115.46p/kg overall, which was a similar trade to the previous week, though the
recent uplift in price brought out a higher percentage of lean lightweight
dairies, which sold extremely well.
Calves
again sell well at Skipton
There was a turnout of 55 rearing calves at
Skipton’s weekly Monday sale, with month-old youngsters notably strong on price
and trading to a high of £450 for a British Blue-cross bull calf from Fred and
Mark Houseman, of Church Farm Enterprises in Burton Leonard, whose run of
top-notch calves, both Continental and native, proved in major demand
throughout.
Michael
Heron, of Bramhope, also caught the eye with a three-week-old black and white bull
calf that made £158. All calves continue to sell well, with the averages -
£309.80 for Continentals, £202 for native breeds and £73.57 for black and
whites - not quite reflecting the strength of the price to the class of
calf.