Craven Dairy Auction (31 head) A small show of milkers today but a boat load of buyers for them. Milkers found some fierce bidding with Peter Baul’s week calved heifer topping proceedings at £1720 giving 25 litres. Incalf cattle were good to sell with D&P Brown of Ramsgill seeing their heifer top the section at £1250 with Duncan Holme next at £1180. Incalf cows from the Brown family of Earby found their 6th Calver incalf cows harder to place topping at £720.

An increased entry of Ewes with Lambs @ foot for this week’s sale attracted a larger ringside of buyers a similar trade was also see to the week before. Best single outfits equivalent of £75-£90 per life. Best twins £65 per life and commercial types £50-£60 per life. Top price for twins today was £200 for a correct Charlollais x Ewe with Beltex lambs from Stephen Pepper of Oxenhope, the same vendor sold Beltex x Charollais Ewes with single Cont x lambs for £180. Messrs Shepherd of Pateley Bridge sold Suffolk ewes with singles for £160 and texel ewes with twins for £180 on two occasions. Richard Umpleby of Killinghall sold two pens of Suffolk ewes with twins for £180.

Forward: 92 Prime cattle comprising 20 Clean Cattle (under 30 mos), 3 Clean Cattle (over 30 mos) & 69 Cast Cattle. 2,703 Prime Sheep comprising 2392 Prime Hoggs, 311 Cast Ewes & Rams. 92 Breeding Sheep. 45 Rearing Calves. 31 Dairy Cattle. 10 Loads of produce.

Peter Baul bags first Craven Dairy Auction title of 2017 Peter Baul’s Ravensgate pedigree Holstein Friesian dairy herd bagged its first Craven Dairy Auction championship of the year at the main February show and sale at Skipton Auction Mart. (Mon, Feb 27)

Pup sets new record price of 2,000gns at Skipton working dogs sale Ireland leads the way, as broken dogs sell to 4,700gns A 4,700gns (£4,935) top call for a broken dog and a 2,000gns (£2,100) new record high for a youngster sold in the unbroken pup pen were the dual highlights of another highly successful working sheep dog sale, the annual winter and opening 2017 fixture at Skipton Auction Mart. (Fri, Feb 24)

Forward: 493 Head, 419 Store Lambs & 74 Breeding Sheep. Overall av £54.26................... Last Wednesday Sale saw a healthy trade for most lambs through the ring with some strong prices right the way through the sale. The long keep lambs looked the strongest trade of the day with short term lambs topping at £68 for some Texel lambs from Ian Mounsey with Texel gimmer lambs topping the day at £82 from D Sayer, Threshfield.

Sowrays on song again in Skipton rearing calf arena Prolific Skipton Auction Mart rearing calf champions, the Sowray dairy farming family, landed yet another title at the February show and sale with their first prize British Blue-cross heifer calf that also went on to make top price in the sale ring of £490. (Mon, Feb 20)

Forward: 47 Prime cattle comprising 18 Clean Cattle (under 30 mos), 1 Clean Cattle (over 30 mos) & 28 Cast Cattle 2,929 Prime Sheep comprising 2515 Prime Hoggs, 414 Cast Ewes & Rams. 64 Breeding & Store Sheep. 90 Rearing Calves. 13 Loads of produce.

Rearing Calves to £490 (90) B&W av £50.41 Cont av £331 Native av £164 A great success at the February show for the Sowray family with their British Blue X heifer taking the Championship and the top price at £490, a heifer winning is a bit of a rarity in recent times however this was an exceptional heifer and went on to top the sale selling to the Abbot Bros of Dacre.

Forward: 908 head of cattle Comprising: 283 Young Feeding Bulls, 8 Beef Feeding Cows, 579 Bullocks & Heifers, 38 Pedigree & Beef Breeding Cattle. Young bulls witnessed a trade a shade easier to a fortnight ago with the difference being in the 400kg bulls. RS Harker & Son leading the prices with a Limousin bull at £1380 and also took the pen of three top price with three limousin’s at £1170. Overall average for all the bulls was £1006. Still plenty of Spring 2016 bulls making between £850 and £1050.

At the Craven Champions Sale 2017, the pre sale show on Tuesday evening saw a wonderful entry of 81 Cattle for the ten classes, judging was undertaken by one the UK’s leading showmen Mr Phil Sellers of Lincoln who has won virtually every major national show during summer and winter with his show cattle. His expertise was called upon all evening with some very strong classes of cattle placed before him, and the quality on offer was a great reflection of the type of cattle available at Skipton on a regular basis.

Sheila Mason the maestro at Craven Champions showcase Title winner sells for new Skipton record store price North Craven’s Sheila Mason was supreme champion with an eight-month-old British Blue-sired heifer at the Craven Champions’ double-header, the annual opening show and sale of store cattle with show potential at Skipton Auction Mart. The title winner also set a new centre record price for a store animal when selling for £3,200. (Tues & Wed, Feb 14 & 15)

Rearing Calves to £350 (51) B&W av £70.43 Cont av £273.4 Native av £211.4 51 Calves through the door today with not the greatest show of calves on offer today. A few handy prices for the better end of the continental bulls and heifers with Richard Spence of Sutton topping with his bull at £350 and his Limousin topping the heifers at £340 with Sowray’s not far behind at £330.

Forward: 67 Prime cattle comprising 13 Clean Cattle (under 30 mos), 1 Clean Cattle (over 30 mos) & 53 Cast Cattle 2663 Prime Sheep comprising 2393 Prime Hoggs, 270 Cast Ewes & Rams 51 Rearing Calves 15 Dairy Cattle 9 Loads of produce

CCM Auctions Conducted their Monthly Sale of Stirks, Weaned Calves and Young Store Cattle Forward – 113 head cattle & 30 Sheep & Goats.