Critchleys champions again in Skipton prime cattle show arena
The Critchley family, from Mercer Farm, Hutton, Preston, who have been in sparkling form all year in the prime cattle show arena at Skipton Auction Mart, returned to championship-winning ways at the October show. (Mon, Oct 2)
The Critchleys - father Richard and his three sons, Robert, John and Thomas – rattled up four consecutive title wins between March and June this year, then followed up with three successive reserve championships.
They regained top billing with their first-prize heifer, a 600kg British Blue-cross-Limousin picked out by show judge James Robertshaw, then claimed by him in the sales ring for £1,617, or 269.5p/kg, the top per kilo price.
Mr Robertshaw again arrived with an extensive shopping list, snapping up nine under 30-month prime cattle in total from the 30 on offer for his multiple award-winning family-run Keelham Farm Shops in Skipton and Thornton, recently crowned Retailer of the Year in the 2017 Farmshop & Deli Awards.
Also among the Keelham haul at £1,323, or 240.5p/kg, was the first prize steer, a Blue-cross home-bred from Jim and Christine Scriven, of Park House Farm, Elslack. It was by their main stock bull, Croftend Gaffer, bred in Appleby by Andrew Bellas.
September champion Willie Timm, of Manor Farm, Selby, was again to the fore when claiming the reserve championship with his 515kg Blue-cross heifer, sold for £1,352, or 262.5p/kg, to independent retail butcher Anthony Kitson.
He runs Kitsons & Sons Butchers shops in Northallerton, Stockton-on-Tees and Hutton Rudby, and last month launched his brand-new Five Houses Farm Shop and Kitchen in Crathorne, near Yarm.
Kitson & Sons also paid the day’s leading gross price of £1,629 for a Blue-cross heifer from FM Shepherd & Sons, of Bewerley, Pateley Bridge.
The second prize Blue-cross steer from Threshfield’s Charles and Richard Kitching headed the section by-weight prices at 244.5p/kg when joining Countrystyle Meats Farm Shop in Lancaster, who took home two cattle.
The title-winning Critchleys were also responsible the third prize Limousin-cross heifer, which joined Hamlets Butchers in Garstang for £1,412, or 241.5p/kg.
Cull cattle trade proved ahead of expectations and though short of meated dairy breeds, the best of these were still able to nudge 120p/kg and steaking types 95-115p/kg. Beef crosses were short on quality, but the best, a British Blue-cross from Keith and Jeanette Marshall, of Skipton, sold well at £1,306, or 155.5p/kg. The 40 cull cows on parade sold to an overall average of £694.26 per head, or104.4p/kg.
Mick Hewitt lands second prime lamb title
The champion prime lambs, a pen of five 42kg home-bred Beltex-cross from Giggleswick’s Mick Hewitt, of High Paley Green Farm – he also won the July title – sold for £138 per head, or 328.5p/kg, to Alan Beecroft, of Countrystyle Meats Farm Shop in Lancaster,
Show judge Andrew Atkinson, of Felliscliffe, awarded the reserve championship to the second prize Continental pen, five home-bred 44kg Beltex-cross Texel from Mike Allen, of Staithes, near Whitby. They made for £109 each when joining Kitson & Sons Butchers.
Tony Kiernan, of Longridge, presented a good run of lambs that topped at £117 per head when claimed by Kendalls Farm Butchers, of Harrogate and Pateley Bridge, while Vivers Scotlamb in Annan purchased the next highest price pen at £114 from Malham Moors’s Bill Logan.
Skipton-based Swaledale Foods paid £90 each for the first prize 51kg Suffolk-cross lambs from James Earnshaw, of Flasby, with the first prize pen of 50kg Mules from Stephen Fawcett and family in Drebley selling for £77 to the judge.
Sheep were forward in similar numbers and generally were a better selection than the previous few weeks, producing an overall selling average for the 2,838 prime lambs on offer up 14p/kg on the week at £76.18 per head, or 174.7p/kg.
Also on offer were 373 cast sheep. Cull ewes averaged £41.95 and cast rams £56.50.