DALES dairy farmer Ian Parkinson, who runs his Holstein Friesian herd at Holme House Farm, Barden, stood champion at Skipton Auction Mart’s latest Craven Dairy Auction show and sale on Monday.,

He secured the title with the first prize newly calven heifer, another well-bred daughter of the renowned Genus sire. Bossman. Twelve days calved and giving 25 litres, the victor sold for top call of £1,900 to Mike Longster, of Fellbeck.

Mr Parkinson also won the newly calven cows show class with a 14 days calved 30 litre second calver again by Bossman. She made £1,550 when again joining Mr Longster.

Father and daughter, Robert and Lucy Lofthouse, of Gilderer Farm, Addingham Moorside, were prominent among the prizes, with their heifer class runner-up tapped out as reserve champion by the co-judges, brothers Stephen and Malcolm Abbott, from Dacre.

By a former high performance stock bull bought out of the Langley herd in Leighton Buzzard, the seven days calved 26 litre heifer was knocked down for £1,620 to Alan Middleton on behalf of the Beamsley-based Hartley family.

A brace of second calvers from the same home also finished second and third in their show class. The 20 days calved 27 litre runner-up, by the Blue Albion stock bull, found pastures new with Richard Crabtree in Clifton, Otley, at second top call of £1,800, while the 18 days calved 28 litre third prize winner, by the same sire as the reserve champion, sold at £ £1,580 to the same buyer.

A handy show of 11 dairy cattle saw newly calven heifers average £1,594 and cows £1,643.

The same morning’s weekly rearing calf sale attracted a 63-strong entry, selling to a top of £405 for a British Blue-cross bull from Horton-in-Craven’s Joss Lancaster. Continental youngsters averaged £309.54, natives £162.16 and black and whites £61.36.

In the weekly primestock arena, a total of 2,866 Spring lambs sold to an overall average of £77.89 per head, or 177.43p/kg, while 422 cast ewes and rams levelled at £53.70.

The annual ‘Craven Continentals’ breeding sheep fixture at Skipton Auction Mart on Friday featured standalone shows for both Suffolk and Continental rams of all breeds.

Champion in the mainstream Suffolk show classes was a ram lamb from mother and daughter, Glynis and Jane Soulsby’s Williamsgill pedigree flock in Temple Sowerby, Penrith.

The title-winner is a home-bred by Strathbogie Invictus, acquired two years ago from Scottish breeder James C Innes, of Huntly, Aberdeenshire, for 1,400gns.

Fresh from the field, the champion found a new home across the border in Pendle with a brand-new Suffolk breeder, Amanda Fitton, of Hughwood Farm, Roughlee.

Strathbogie bloodlines also figured in the reserve champion Suffolk, the second prize ram lamb from local breeder Stephen Bolland, who runs the Wharfe flock, currently with 16 breeding ewes on the ground, in Bolton Abbey.

Suffolk ram lambs traded to an overall average of £336.

Like the ram lambs, Suffolk shearling rams sold to a top of 650gns, this for the third prize winner from Galphay’s Pamela Lupton, claimed by Cowling’s Andrew Ogden.

The second prize shearling ram from RS Morphet, of Stainburn, made 250gns, with a trio of Suffolk shearling rams from South Yorkshire’s John Key, who runs the Midhope flock in, Midhopestones, Penistone, doing well at 450gns each. The section selling average was £332.

In the Continental rams show class, judged by Matt Mason, from Appletreewick, the victor was a Texel shearling from Ann Robinson’s commercial flock, currently running some 200 ewes, at Woodcock Hill Farm, Pannal, Harrogate. By a home-bred tup, the victor achieved the day’s top price of 950gns when joining D&A Livestock in Haverah Park.

Alan Harker, of Long Preston, sold his third prize winner, another Texel, for an eye-catching 700gns, plus another at 520gns.

A total of 130 rams was penned for sale for what is now regarded as a very worthwhile annual fixture in the Skipton sales calendar, with a selective crowd at the ringside including plenty of fresh faces.

Also forward were 543 breeding ewes.

The day began with a reduction sale from the Watson family’s Gillians Laithe Texel flock in Hellifield, with their run of sheep topping at £600 for a 2 shear ewe and most selling from £200 to £300 each.

Look out for a new show and sale for pedigree Suffolk females on November 2.