Caygill champion number two at Craven Dairy Auction Jonathan Caygill, who runs the Rylstone pedigree Holstein Friesian herd at Manor Farm, picked up his second Craven Dairy Auction championship of the year at Skipton Auction Mart’s opening February show and sale. (Monday, Feb 12) Mr Caygill repeated his title-winning success at the mart’s first dairy show of 2018 last month with his first prize home-bred newly calven heifer, Jeeves Lynn, by the Genus sire, Ked Outside Jeeves.

Rearing Calves to £430 x2 (91) Good number of calves on offer today with 91 through the ring and a healthy trade too. Chadwick and Leaver of Southfield, Burnley topped the prices twice, with two tremendous british blue bulls at £430 each at only 1 month and 12 days of age. Small heifers seemed to be the trade of the day with Aberdeen Angus heifers averaging £231.25. and Lim heifers averaging £303.33. Black and whites easier on the week but trade was good for the quality on offer with plenty of fleshy types past the £100 barrier.

Craven Dairy Auction A small show today but a cracking trade and a good show of quality even though there wasn’t many on offer. The three Pedigree Bulls drew a large crowd and some fierce bidding, especially Ingleview Casper. A well fleshed bull boasting a strong back pedigree sold for £2200 to Mark Goodall of Tong, Bradford. Another bull entry from Brian Moorhouse didn’t quite reach the mark in the ring but sold outside for £1800. In the milkers David Fort topped the day with a lovely, sweet 30kg heifer selling for £1820 to AG Parker of Emley. A run of handy Incalf heifers from Stephen Simpson of Bishop Monkton got away nicely topping at £1300 and averaging £1233.

Craven Dairy Auction (22 head) First sale after the New Year and Jonathon Caygill from Rylstone takes the top honours with a cracker of a homebred heifer selling for £2100 to AG Parker of Huddersfield. Reserve Champion a super 2nd calver from Thomas and Elizabeth Simpson of Red House Farm, Ripon made the top price of the day giving 42 litres was snapped up by Brian Blezard of Ribchester for £2180 with their second prize cow heading to the same home for £1780.

Rearing Calves to £450 A large show of calves this morning with the New Year show and sale, Mark Houseman of Church Farm Enterprises took the Champion rosette with a tremendous British Blue calf which Judge Tony Binns said “I picked it out soon as I walked in the pen”. The calf that was 6 weeks of age sold for £440 to the Judge Tony Binns, however it was another big dark blue from the JP&KE Hartley of Bolton Abbey which took the top price of the day at £450 selling to Simon Thompson of Driffield. More than half of the British Blue bulls on offers today saw £400+ with Pickersgill brothers from Hawksworth reaching £400 twice for their Limousin consignments.

Craven Dairy Auction (8 head) A quiet show for the final sale of the year however a healthy trade was had by all. Top calls of the day came from Robin Jennings and Robert Crisp with both heifers reaching £1800. The homebred pedigree heifer from Robin Jennings was giving a mighty 36kg and was snapped up by regular supporter Mark Goodall. Mr Crisps heifer was giving 24kg and was very quick to milk also raced to £1800 when selling to Peter Sowray of Bishop Thornton.

Curtain falls on 2017 Craven Dairy Auction year The final Craven Dairy Auction of 2017 produced another championship win, their fifth of the year, for Brian and Judith Moorhouse, who run the Aireburn pedigree herd at Hesper Farm, Bell Busk. (Mon, Dec 18) The couple claimed another title with their first prize newly calven heifer, Aireburn Baloo Miss America, by the Genus sire, Sahara Baloo. The 14 days calved 27-litre heifer sold for £1,650 to the Clarke family in Hampsthwaite.

Rearing Calves to £570 (92) B&W av £85.17 Cont av £358.66 Native av £240 A cracking trade for the Christmas Show and Sale of calves with Continental bulls a superb trade. John Rushton of Elslack was the man with the goods today with his cracking British Blue bull taking top honours in the pre-sale show with Paul Drinkall of Gargrave doing the officiating. The Champion, 43 days old sold for a majestic £570 the top call of the day with Reserve Champion from the Sowray Bros selling for £490. John & James Dugdale of Settle had a tremendous bull at £530 and another at £430 with two further calves from Sowray Bros at £470 and £450. The British Blue bulls averaged £409.28. Best B&W’s were well fought over with 10 over £100 and topping at £190 for a belter from Richard Spence of Sutton in Craven.

Aireburn herd crowned Craven Dairy Auction Christmas champions A cracker of a newly calven heifer from husband and wife Dales dairy farmers Brian and Judith Moorhouse, who run the Aireburn pedigree Holstein herd at Hesper Farm, Bell Busk, was crowned supreme champion at the annual Christmas Craven Dairy Auction at Skipton Auction Mart. (Mon, Dec 4)

Forward: 63 Rearing Calves; 26 Dairy Cattle

Craven Dairy Auction (21 head) A strong show of milkers on show today and pre-sale judge Edward Fort had his work cut out finding his favourite. In the end he picked a cracker of Grafeeti heifer from Brian Moorhouse of Bell Busk which sold for the sale high of £2150, which sold to Brian Blezard of Ribchester. Reserve Champion went to the returning Samantha Sugden of Laycock again a grafeeti daughter and giving 29kg sold to the Richard Sutcliffe of Queensbury. Other noted heifers came from Peter Baul of Bishop Thornton selling his sweet 30kg heifer to the Sowray Bros for £1800, Brian Moorhouse’s other consignment a 30kg Miguel daughter out of a 85 point cow sold for £1950 again to the Sowray Bros. David Fort of Glusburn sold three cows with the best, a 3rd Calver giving 30 litres reached £1800 to Stephen and George Breare of Silsden Moor

Craven Dairy Auction (19 head) Andrew Townsend did the honours in the judging ring today and he was right on the money. 1st Prize and Champion went to a cracking heifer from Robert Crisp of Calton, Malhamdale. The homebred heifer giving 28 litres sold for £2100 to the judge. Georgie Fort presented the reserve champion heifer, Hawbank Ballisto Buttergill that was calved 18 days and giving 30kg sold for £2050 to William Oldfield of Gisburn.

Crisp class shines though with another Craven Dairy Auction champion Malhamdale dairy farmer Robert Crisp bounced back with another championship coup at Skipton Auction Mart’s latest Craven Dairy Auction show and sale. (Mon, Nov 6) Just a fortnight after bagging a champion and reserve champion double at the previous dairy show, Mr Crisp, who runs his commercial dairy herd at Nelson Farm, Calton, claimed yet another title with his first prize newly calven heifer, like many of his previous victors by a well-bred son of the renowned Genus dairy sire, PIcston Shottle.

Sowrays back on top at Skipton rearing calf showcase The Sowray farming family from Bishop Thornton claimed another rearing calf title, also adding the reserve championship, at Skipton Auction Mart’s autumn show and sale. (Mon, Oct 23) Brothers Shaun, Peter and Paul Sowray, who run their Holstein Friesian dairy herd at Bowes Green Farm, and have secured multiple Skipton championships, again dominated the show classes, seeing their first prize British Blue-cross heifer calf, a daughter of the Genus sire, Brookfield Dev, go on to be crowned overall victor, then fall for a sale day high of £410 to Malcolm and Stephen Abbott, of Ings Farm, Dacre, Harrogate.

Autumn Calf show saw a strong turnout of both vendors and buyers with 124 calves through the door. The Champion calf from Sowray Brothers of Bishop Thornton was a cracking British Blue Heifer which went on to sell for £410 to regular supporters Malcolm and Stephen Abbott. Calves in general were a strong trade with best calves possibly a touch easier today however straight middle of the road calves were a cracking trade with black and white calves selling to a strong average of £86.49 and topping at £220 and £200 from Stephen Marshall of Summerbridge. Contninental bulls were still the best supported with strong runs from regular supporters Church Farm Enterprises, C&SB Whitelock, Sowray Bros and C Watson all on the receiving end of a healthy trade. Native bulls remained strong to sell with an average of £274 and £330 twice for calves from JP&KE Hartley of Beamsley and from JR&EJ Griffiths of Penistone. Overall a great day in the calf ring at Skipton.