BARKER’S Yorkshire Butchers, the new trading name for the Skipton Auction Mart-based wholesale meat operation run by Simon Barker, purchased both the top price steer and heifer at the mart’s latest weekly Monday prime cattle sale this week.

The former was a 595kg Limousin-cross from the Threshfield holding of Charles and Richard Kitching, which made £1,401, or 235.5p/kg, the latter a 600kg Simmental-cross from Bill Cowperthwaite, of Malham Moor, at £1,383, or 230.5p/kg.

Countrystyle Meats Farm Shop & Restaurant in Lancaster picked up a pen of outstanding cattle, including six of the seven leading price per kilo entries, among them the top price heifer, a 540kg Limousin-cross from the Critchley family in Hutton, Preston, at 247.5p/kg, or £1,337.

While cattle were a little easier on price, the 17 under 30-month entries again proved popular with regional retail butchers, including Ellisons in Cullingworth and Skipton-based Keelham Farm Shop, while Halifax wholesale butchers J&E Medcalf were also among the purchasers.

A light entry of 12 cull cows saw trade a little sharper across the dairies, while the odd beef-cross was similar in value, peaking at £1,091 for a Charolais from David Asquith, of Otley. The overall selling average was £706.50 per head, or 94.51p/kg.

Trade for the 2,832 prime lambs penned for sale was harder going for commercial types, though better skinned smarter sorts fared better, producing an overall average of £72.83 per head, or 160.9p/kg.

Mike Allen, from Staithes, topped the day’s prices with a £112 per head Texel pen claimed by William Rathmell, manager of Brayton Farm Shop in Selby. Tony and Kay Kiernan, of Longridge, presented a great run of 100 fed lambs, their pens selling to a top of £106 for Beltex knocked down to Kendalls Farm Butchers in Harrogate and Pateley Bridge,

The 460 cull sheep produced an average of £53.54 for cull ewes, which topped at £99.50 per head for Texels from Henry Atkinson, of Felliscliffe, while cast rams averaged £55.50.

The same morning’s weekly sale of 46 rearing calves produced a high of £365 for a British Blue-cross bull from the Marshall family in Dacre, closely followed at £360 by another from Church Farm Enterprises in Burton Leonard.

The 14 Blue bulls averaged £265, with 16 same way bred heifer calves levelling at £170 each, peaking at £240 from Rainhall Farm in Barnoldswick. The overall Continental-cross selling average was £221.

Native calves averaged £160, selling to £250 for an Aberdeen-Angus bull from CJ&DD Drake, of Thornton, Bradford. While black and white youngsters comprised mainly smaller calves averaging £45 and topping at £65 for a bull calf from the Dean family.