Store Cattle
The fortnightly sale of store cattle at NWA J36 saw another strong trade for all classes and types and many more could have easily been sold.
The sale topped at £980 for Aberdeen Angus x heifers from G Cuthbertson, New Hutton with a British Blue x from J & J Postlethwaite, Sedbergh achieving £920. Yearling heifers sold to £760 for a Blonde x from SJ & NS Wood, Windermere with others regularly at £700-£750. Steers sold to £895 for Blonde crosses, again, from SJ & NS Wood with others generally £780-£850.
There were several weaned sucklers forward (5-7 months old) which were easily sold with heifers to £690 and steers to £650 from DN Smith, Cartmel Fell. Young suckler bulls achieved £735 from R Keith, Grange over Sands.
Cast Cows/OTM Cattle
Well-fleshed cattle remain a competitive trade with beef bred cows generally 140p/kg – 100p/kg, peaking at 167.5p/kg for a Limousin x from Forest Hall Farm, Selside, with dairy cattle to 144.5p/kg from ME Wannop & Sons, Morecambe. Medium cows regularly sold 110-125p/kg with only the leanest less. Top grossing cow today was a Hereford cow from I & AJ Armer, Burneside achieving £1152.
All cows sold averaged 125p/kg.
Calves
A wonderful entry of calves were forward today with an abundance of buyers keen to secure replacement stock. Beef calves regularly sold between £280 and £340 for both heifers and bulls, native bred and Continentals.
The sale topped at £375 for a British Blue x heifer from DW Cottam, New Hutton with younger heifers at £275 to £300. Simental x heifers from ME Wannop & Sons, Morecambe sold to £288 with others at £260 to £275. Continental bull calves regularly sold over £300 with Simental x to £345, British Blue x to £338 and Limousin x to £330.
Several consignments of native sired calves were forward and eagerly bid for with Hereford x bulls to £355, again, from ME Wannop & Sons Ltd who sold heifers to £278 and Aberdeen Angus x heifers to £260. Younger native bred calves generally sold to £180 - £240.
Dairy bulls sold to £100 for Holstein Friesian from DW Cottam, mediums to £60 - £85 with smallest calves £25 - £45.