SKIPTON Auction Mart’s fortnightly sale of young feeding bulls, store bullocks and heifers and breeding cattle saw 600 head put forward in total on Wednesday, September 25.

Feeding bulls held a solid trade, with an average of £988 despite a steady finished price. A few 2018 spring calves were beginning to show, with a lot reaching prices of £800-plus. Late autumn bulls were reaching £1,000-plus and the best of the heavy bulls up to £1,200.

The week saw a better show of feeding cows, which assisted in an increased average of £790 on the fortnight. Continentals carrying flesh went for £1,000-plus and the first cross lean continental suckler cows £700-plus. Two high quality cast bulls from an entry of five saw a British Blue at £1,530 and a Limousin at £1,400.

Store cattle were mixed in quality with the best smart retail quality types going for £1,000 to £1,200, and best suckler bred types around 10mo in the £800s and £900s. Natives found the usual good enquiry for Angus and Hereford, with bullocks going to £1,075, and HF Blks went to £890 from Duncan Holme.

The next fortnightly sale will be on Wednesday October 9, 2019.

Strong show of calves

The weekly rearing calf sale saw a strong show on Monday with 126 through the door.

The best calf on display came from Joss Lancaster, of Horton-in-Craven, who saw £415 bid for his particularly strong British Blue bull.

Andrew Ayrton, of Eastby, also saw some strong prices for his well-presented blue bulls at £395 each. Pickersgills, of Hawksworth, broke £400 for a Limousin bull bred from their pure Friesian cows. A heap of strong continental heifers found a healthy trade with the best heifers going for between £300 - £360.

Natives were again good to sell with Angus bulls averaging £262.5 topping at £270 for a calf from PJ&JE Bolland, of Airton. Heifers were equally as strong, averaging £176. Black and White calves were a very good trade, with 54 through the ring and Richard Spence, of Sutton, seeing the best of trades topping at £185 for a strapping Black and White bull.

The overall Continental average was £306.78. The overall native average was £202.45 while Black and Whites averaged £51.65.

A total of 3,420 prime sheep was also penned for sale on Monday. Trade levelled at 160.7p/kg for 2,993 lambs with an SQQ of 162.3p/kg. The best end of Beltex sired and ¾ bred Continentals went for 185p to a top of 257.1p (42kg £108) from Ellis Bros, of Addingham Moorside,.

Lambs from JM Hall, of Airton, made at 235.9p and 217p from N&AD Boynton, of Ripon. T&C Robinson, of Tosside, made 230p to Hartshead Meat Co, of Mossley.

The best heavy lambs were in the £90s, with nice heavies mid-late £80s, and commercial heavies late 70s to early 80s.