Amy trades with her partner Russell Peel at Fiddlers Green Farm, owned by her stepfather Nick Dalby, a familiar face at the Skipton prime cattle and sheep ringsides, and secured top honours with her first prize 620kg Limousin-cross heifer acquired from Trevor Stoney, of Bewerley, Pateley Bridge, and paraded this year at local agricultural shows.

It sold for the day’s highest price of 299.5p/kg, or £1,857, to show judge Chris Hodgson, of CH Meats in York. He bought the victor, plus a further prize winner, on behalf of Kitsons Butchers, who are now regularly sourcing top-notch prime cattle and lambs at Skipton for their two shops in Northallerton and Yarm. “Our customers demand the best,” said Anthony Kitson.

Mr Hodgson, who runs his own farm in Rillington, near Malton, and has an abattoir in York, also acted as prime sheep show judge, assisted by his partner Nicola Allen, awarding the title to a pen of five virtually pure 41kg Beltex lambs from the Robinsons, of Middle Brayshaw Farm.

They sold for the day’s leading price of 248p/kg, or £102 per head, to Andrew Atkinson, of Felliscliffe, buying on behalf of Hartshead Meats in Mossley, Manchester, who also acquired the second prize 50kg Suffolk pen from Geoff Lawn, of Skipton, at £76.50 each.

Mr Hodgson himself bought four pens of Beltex and Texel-cross prime lamb pens for Kitsons Butchers.

Back with the prime cattle, Malcolm Metcalfe, of Baldersby Park, was responsible for the first prize bullock and reserve champion, a 520kg pure-bred Limousin, which fell for 276.5p/kg, or £1,438, to weekly Skipton buyer Keelham Farm Shop, which secured five beef cattle in total at the October highlight. As usual, all will be prepared for sale at their two shops in Skipton and Thornton, Bradford.

Keelham’s James Robertshaw was also in action at the prime lamb ringside when acquiring both the second and third prize Continental pens from Seth Blakey, of Bolton-by-Bowland, and Bordley’s Kevin Huck at £78 and £86 per head respectively.

Another butcher buyer at the prime cattle ringside was Paul Ellison, of Ellisons Butchers in Cullingworth, Keighley, who made two acquisitions – a Limousin-cross heifer again from Mr Metcalfe at £1,307, or 269.5p/kg, and a Blonde-cross heifer from Trawden’s Jim Baines at £1,225, or 247.5p/kg.

The first prize and reserve champion 47kg Suffolk prime lamb pen from Simon Spensley, of Gargrave, made £70 per head when joining Swaledale Foods in Skipton, who also paid £68 each for the first prize Mule lambs pen from Pateley Bridge’s Bernard Simpson.

The 3,016 prime lambs forward met with a much better trade than anticipated, producing an overall selling average just shy of 150p/kg, 5p up on the week, or £65.35 per head. There were also 288 cast sheep forward, with cull ewes averaging £43.35 each and cast rams £51.50.

Standalone shows for cull cows saw the first prize beef-bred entry from E&S Baines, of Sawley, Clitheroe, sell for a section-topping £1,283. The 63 cast cattle forward sold to an overall average of £704.45 per head, or 107.56p/kg.

A total of 53 rearing calves were also on parade, these selling to a joint high of £400 for bull calves from Gargrave’s John Blackwell and Robert Metcalfe, of Brearton. Continental youngsters averaged £311.70, native calves £194.10 and black and whites £96.35.