Calves

There was an entry of 92 Rearing Calves with buyers competing for all types, with quality and strength continuing to sell at a premium. Bull calves sold to a top price of £270 for a British Blue x from HJ Robinson & Son, Preston Patrick with others selling to £225 from D Galbraith, Grayrigg. Native bred bull calves sold to £240 for Aberdeen Angus x from The Inman Family, Witherslack with others at £235 from FB Dunning & Son, Orton. Hereford bull calves sold to £210 from Lawkland Hall Farming Ltd. Younger bull calves generally selling between £130 and £180 with the stronger end selling between £210 and £260. A reduced number of heifer calves forward today sold to £250 for British Blue x from D Galbraith, with others selling to £230 and £225 achieved for a British Blue x from J Hornby & Son, Stank. Younger heifer calves generally sold between £110 and £150.

Increased competition today for dairy bull calves with a new buyer ringside and keen to attend future sales. Holstein Friesians sold to £75 from HJ Robinson & Son with younger rearing sorts to £58 from JJ & MA Park & Son, and generally selling between £42 and £55.

The fortnightly sale of stirks saw 22 forward sold to a top price of £580 for a 4-month-old British Blue bull from MA & JA Winn, who sold others at £500. Heifer stirks sold to £335 for British Blue x from P Eastham, who sold Limousin x heifers to £305. Recently weaned beef bull calves sold to £210 from MA & S Johns, who sold others to £190.

Cast Cows

There was a good number of cull cows forward, again, as farmers offload surplus stock ahead of winter housing. The sale topped at 129.5p/kg for a well-finished British Friesian from JW Hargreaves, Broughton in Furness with others selling to 127.5p/kg from R & J Dodgson, Natland. Medium beef cows sold to 114.5p/kg for a Hereford from JE Wightman, Lupton with other cows for further finishing selling between 105-112p/kg. Leaner cows generally sold between 80-95p/kg depending on age and quality, with the very leanest cows at realisation.

Top-grossing cow was a Hereford from JE Wightman, achieving £883 with a Holstein Friesian from R & J Dodgson grossing £826.

Several cull bulls forward today sold to 109p/kg and £1213 for a Charolais from TM & D Dodson, Crosthwaite with a Hereford selling to 107.5p/kg and £939 from P & ME Coates, Ulpha.

Beef Breeding

The monthly sale of beef breeding had a top price of £1300 achieved for a British Blue x heifer with a 6-week-old Limousin bull calf from TLB & J Knowles, Selside. A consignment of Aberdeen Angus x with Angus x calves at foot sold to £920 from JE Wright & Son, Knutsford who sold others at £820 and also in-calf cows to £730. Today’s sale also included a dispersal of the ‘Pear Tree’ herd of pedigree Dexters which saw a top price of £350 achieved on several occasions for in-calf cows for both long legged red cows and short legged black cows.

Store Cattle

There was a seasonal entry of Store Cattle forward for the mid-monthly sale, which are now starting to show the effects of the recent bad weather. Steers sold to £880 for a Limousin x from MW & M Procter & P Wareing, Colton who sold other steers to £745. Other well-grown steers sold to £875 for a named sire Aberdeen Angus from G Cuthbertson, New Hutton. Younger steers sold to £670 for British Blue x, again, from Messrs Procter & Wareing. Heifers sold to £650 for a Hereford x from MJ Waller, Lupton with others achieving £570 to £620.

The next sale will be on Thursday 31st October which includes the second prize show and sale of 300 suckled calves plus the fortnightly sale of all classes of store cattle.