Further improved at home by Mr Metcalfe, the 545kg victor sold for £1,382, or 253.5p/kg, the day’s leading by-weight price, to Keelham Farm Shop’s James Robertshaw, who has now bought all three prime cattle champions at this year’s monthly shows and remains the most prolific buyer of prime cattle on a weekly basis at the mart.

At the latest fixture, Mr Robertshaw bought nine of the 21 under 30-month clean cattle forward for sale. His other acquisitions included:

The day’s top gross price Limousin-cross bullock from James Drake, of Carleton, at £1,407, or 236.5p/kg, along with a second Limousin-cross heifer from the same vendor at £1,325, or 232.5p/kg.
The top price by weight heifer, a 465kg Limousin-cross from Don Leeming of Ramsgill, at
243.5p/kg.
The second prize Limousin-cross bullock from Bill Cowperthwaite, of Malham Moor, at £1,308, or 229.5p/kg.
The second prize Limousin-cross heifer from Silsden Moor’s Simon Bennett at £1,204, or 238.5p/kg.
The third prize Blonde-cross heifer from Roger Wood, of Cross Roads, for £1,307.

As usual, all Keelham’s beef cattle buys will be fully matured to maximise their flavour and eating quality before going on sale at their two shops in Skipton and Thornton. Stanforths Butchers in Skipton also made three acquisitions.

The cast cattle section attracted a 50-strong entry, all but one of them cull cows, which defied earlier predictions and remained a firm trade to average only a fraction of a pence less than the previous week, despite heavy marketing of culls around the UK. The overall selling average was £685.80 per head, or 97.04p/kg.

In a standalone cull cow show class, Ken and Lynne Throup, of Silsden Moor, won the dairy section with a black and white – they sold three on the day to a top of £820 - while C Lumb & Son, of Barkisland, Halifax, presented the first prize beef-bred entry, a Limousin that made £962, or 122.5p/kg.

The top beefer on price was a British Blue from Joe and Helen Drinkall, of Anglezarke, Chorley, which made £990, or 124.5p/kg.