Red Rose raiders in Skipton prime time coups

Red Rose farmers successfully mounted another cross-border raid to pillage the championship spoils at Skipton Auction Mart’s November prime shows. (Mon, Nov 4)

 

Father and son Richard and Mark Ireland, from Whalley, sent out the prime lamb champions, while Jimmy Baines, who farms in both Trawden and Clitheroe, was responsible for yet another prime cattle title winner. Both victors fell to Keelham Farm Shop in Thornton, Bradford.

 

The Irelands, who run their pedigree Texel flock at Heys Farm, were repeating their championship success at the corresponding show last year, with their victorious 2013 pen of five pure-bred Texels all by a home-bred shearling ram that became the joint top price achiever when selling for 2,000gns (£2,100) at CCM Auctions’ annual multi-breed sheep show and sale of pedigree and pure-bred rams and females last month.

 

Keelham Farm Shop paid the day’s top price of £118 per head, or 262.2p/kg, for the Irelands’ 45kg prime lamb champions and also had the top call of £1,602, or 271.5p/kg, for the 590kg prime cattle victor, a Simmental-cross heifer bred from a Continental cow. It was the latest of Mr Baines’ many title wins at Skipton

 

Keelham’s James Robertshaw also added the 460kg reserve champion, a Limousin-cross heifer bred by Brian Lund, of Walshaw, Hebden Bridge, to his list of purchases at £1,175, or 255.5p/kg, and the same vendor’s third prize Limousin-cross heifer at £1,260, or 254.5p/kg, before swooping again in the prime lamb show to secure the second prize 45kg Suffolk-cross pen from James Earnshaw, of Flasby, at £82 per head.

 

Keelham, which remains one of the single biggest buyers of primestock champions and prizewinners at the North Yorkshire venue, remains on track to open its second farm shop in Gargrave Road, Skipton next year, just a stone’s throw from the auction mart, which will remain a happy hunting ground for the progressive business.

 

Jim Baines also achieved four figure prices with two further heifer entries, a British Blue-cross at £1,084, or 223.5p/kg, and a Limousin-cross at £1,037, or 225.5p/kg. The former fell to Halifax meat wholesalers J&E Medcalf and the latter to Simon Duerden, of Blacko in Pendle.

 

Clean cattle over 30 months averaged £814 per head, or 127.19p/kg, peaking at a per head high of £877 for a Shorthorn heifer from Jeremy Daggett, of Hartlington, and a by-weight top of 177.5p/kg for a Longhorn heifer from Hellifield’s John Mellin.

 

A show class for cull cows resulted in championship success for Draughton’s Joe and Nancy Throup. Their twice-calved Blonde-cross victor sold for £853, or 125.5p/kg, though it was the second prize beef-bred entry, a British Blue-cross from D&S Hollings, of Pecket Well, that performed best on price when selling for £968, or 126.5p/kg.

 

The first and second prize dairy-bred cull cows were both shown by Decrar Farming in Bielby, York, their brace of black and whites selling for £815 and £812 respectively.

 

The 51-strong cast cattle entry saw cull cows averaging £633.86 per head, or 94.17p/kg, with Skipton Auction Mart’s general manager Jeremy Eaton noting: “Trade for cast cattle remains steady nationally due to lack of demand for manufacturing meat in both home and export markets. There is little doubt that meat and farm assurance is helping to sell cattle under these circumstances, while several feeding orders are helping to keep leaner types at a satisfactory trade, even for non-assured cattle.”

 

Back with the Wynnstay-sponsored prime lamb show, judge Paul Watson, of Hellifield, was also in action at the ringside, going to £100 per head to secure the second prize and reserve champion Continental pen of 43kg Texel-cross from Trawden’s Hayley Baines.

 

Further Watson acquisitions were the third prize 43kg Continental pen of Charollais from Frankland Farms in Rathmell at £99 each, or 230.2p/kg, and the first prize pen of horned lambs, 39kg Dalesbreds from Ken Lister, of Starbotton, at £62 per head, or 159p/kg

 

Mrs M Bailey, of Silsden, presented the red rosette-winning 43kg Suffolk pen, which fell for £84.50 each, or 196.5p/kg, again to Calderdale meat wholesalers J&E Medcalf, buying on behalf of Far Barsey Farm Shop, Halifax. The third prize 42kg pen from CD&RF Kitching, of Threshfield, achieved £75.50 per head when joining wholesale buyer Roy Schofield in Worsley, Manchester.

 

The show class for Mule lambs saw the first prize 48kg pen from the Booth farming family in Feizor, Settle, sell for £77 per head to St Merryn Foods in Merthyr Tydfil, a price equalled by the second prize 54kg pen from Skipton’s John Addyman, which joined regular buyer Andrew Atkinson in Felliscliffe. The 46kg third prize winners from Calton’s Robert Crisp sold for £73 apiece to Rossendale’s Bobby Booth.

 

Another solid entry of 4,663 prime sheep saw the 4,285 prime lambs among them sell to an overall average of £74.34 per head, or 175.2p/kg, up 3p/kg on the week. Skipton Auction Mart’s livestock sales manager Ted Ogden commented: “Lowland lambs were dearer on the week, especially the best end, with five wholesale firms keen to source Beltex types, which achieved well over 200p/kg.

 

“The commercial end of the Continental lambs was 5p to 10p dearer on the week, with 43-46kg entries regularly achieving £32 to £36 over the weight and well-fleshed lighter weights around 36-38kg also good to sell at around £30 to £32 over the weight.

 

“Suffolk lambs were generally £26 to £30 over the weight, with a few smarter show pens above this figure. Mule lambs produced a similar trade on the week, mostly around £25 to £27 for the 40-45kg weights, while horned lambs were generally a touch better to sell.”

 

A total of 378 cast sheep were also forward, with cull ewes selling to a top of £103.50 per head for a Texel pen from ES Fearnley and SE White, of Skyrehome, and averaging £32.07 overall. Cast rams averaged £45.50 each