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MONDAY 25TH AUGUST - DAIRY PRESS REPORT

Swires bag back-to-back Craven Dairy Auction championships Back-to-back championships were bagged at Skipton Auction Mart’s main August Craven Dairy Auction by commercial breeders, father and son Malcolm and Robert Swires, of Haverah Park, Beckwithshaw.

The Swires secured the title, their 25th in total at Skipton in recent years, with their first prize newly calven heifer, like their opening August victor a home-bred daughter of the Cogent sire Loader. Fifteen days calved and giving 37 litres, the title winner sold to the Sowray brothers, of Bowes Green Farm, Bishop Thornton, for the day’s joint high of £2,300.

 

This price was equalled by the reserve champion, the second prize newly calven heifer from another regular Craven Dairy Auction champion Brian Moorhouse, who runs the Aireburn pedigree Holstein herd at Hesper Farm, Bell Busk.

 

His Aireburn President Rilla, by his own Aireburn President, has three generations of VG/EX behind her. Ten-days calved and giving 30 litres, she joined regular buyer James Kayley in Halton West.

 

In addition, the Swires were responsible for the third prize newly calven heifer, again by Loader, who sold giving 35 litres to Alf Townsend, of Southfield, Burnley, for £2,100, also selling a further heifer at £1,950, once more to the Sowrays.

 

They also stepped up with the red rosette-winning newly calven cow, a second calver giving 43 litres. By a Myersdale dairy bull bred by former UK Dairy Farmer of the Year Geoff Spence in Brompton, Northallerton, she fell for £1,800 to WP Gratton, of Burnt Yates.

 

The Stainbank herd of South Stainley’s Robin Jennings was also to the fore with a newly calven heifer sold for £1,900 to H Goodall & Sons, of Tong, Bradford.

 

Heifers would have been dearer had not it been for a run of second class entries, though these, too, met with a straight trade, selling at prices ranging from £950 up to £1,350. With 49 head of dairy cattle forward, newly calven pedigree heifers averaged £1,820 per head and their commercial counter parts £1,684.

 

Abbeyhouse top price at dairy bull show

In a standalone dairy bull show, all but one of the seven entries were successfully sold at a packed bank holiday ringside, with top price of 1,850gns (£1,942.50) falling to the third prize pedigree Holstein from the Abbeyhouse herd of Jennings Farmers, at Hill House, Fountains.

 

Shown by Andrew Jennings, the June, 2013-born Abbeyhouse Perez, by the Semex sire Pine Tree Sid, joined local buyer Malcolm Dibb in Kilnsey.

 

Champion was Roydmoor Marlon from the South Yorkshire pedigree herd of the Dickinson family at Far Royd Moor Farm, Thurlstone. The two-year-old, by the Genus longevity bull, Ked Outside Jeeves, was shown by father and son Alan and Richard Dickinson.

 

He is a maternal brother to Roydmoor Marcus, who was sold for 1,780gns by the Dickinsons at the corresponding fixture four years earlier. Already run with maiden heifers due October onwards, the victor, ready for further work, fell for 1,350gns to E&A Bairstow, of Wilsden.

 

The Ingleview pedigree herd of Robert and Elaine Butterfield at Laing Haw Farm, Bentham, champions in 2013, produced another classy young individual in their 14-month-old home-bred bull Ingleview Benito, which was awarded the reserve championship.

 

By the Cheshire-bred AI sire Toc-Farm Goldsun, Benito, shown by hersdsman David Minish, found a new home in Hellifield with Roger Dakin when knocked down for 1,300gns. Holstein bulls averaged £1,523 overall.

 

Both shows were judged by Threshfield’s Angus Dean, with BOCM Pauls again sponsoring.