Calves
There was a good entry of 82 calves and stirks at J36. Leading the way was WH Kitching & Sons, Hale selling a British Blue bull to £465 with other British Blue bulls to £420 from A Spence, Consett. All British Blue bulls forward averaged £398.
Native bred bull calves were in strong demand, with a top of £350 from HJ Robinson & Son, Preston Patrick with 4-week-old Aberdeen Angus bulls selling to £330 from MJ & K Ayrton, Lancaster. Month old Stabiliser x bull claves sold to £300 from DR & C Galbraith, Grayrigg. Strong Aberdeen Angus heifer calves from CM & CS Chapplehow, Clifton Dykes peaked the heifer section at £405. A young show of British Blue heifer calves were forward but all sold well with a top of £305 from JR Handley, Whinfell. Many more strong beef calves sold in the mid to late three hundreds with the medium type beef calves selling between £220 and £280.
There continues to be a very strong trade for all dairy bred bull calves at J36 with Fleckvieh bull calves from R & J Dodgson, Natland selling away to £225. A run of Dairy Shorthorn bull calves from Messrs Robinson, Old Hutton sold to £153 and £143. Black and White bull calves were the trade of the day with 10 black and white bull calves selling over £150, with a top of £195 from JM Barton & Son, Lupton and others to £182 from RG & JA Clark, Endmoor and £180 from MJ & K Ayrton, Lancaster. Medium types were selling between £50 and £75. All dairy bull calves averaged £125 for 45 sold.
A run of weaned calves sold to £500 for a Limousin bull (4 months old) black and whites to £365 (5 months old).
Cast Cows
Cull cows continue to be a fast and competitive trade with more needed at each sale to fulfil buyers’ requirements. Beef cows sold to 157.5p/kg for a Limousin x from GM Redmayne, Ings who sold others at 154.5p/kg. Other beef cows generally 130p/kg to 145p/kg with keen interest in cows suitable for further feeding.
Dairy cows sold to a high of 147.5p/kg from JM Barton & Son, Lupton who sold others at 141.5p/kg. A run of cross bred cows from JJ & MA Park & Son, Helsington sold to 137.5p/kg, Fleckvieh x and 134.5p/kg for Montbeliarde x. All cows averaged 128p/kg with two thirds of the sale being dairy cows.
Top grossing cow today was a Holstein Friesian from JM Barton & Son reaching a total of £1185.
Several OTM heifers forward today sold to 181.5p/kg and £972 for a Dairy Shorthorn from JR Handley, Whinfell.
Store Cattle
Another strong trade was experienced for store cattle with a large number of buyers in attendance keen to secure cattle. Once again, it was a pleasure to see both new and returning customers both buying and selling today.
Steers sold to a top price of £1110 for an Aberdeen Angus x from MJ Shepherd, Newbiggin with other first cross steers sold to £1050 for a Limousin x from S & M Cooper, Ulverston and £1000 for an Aberdeen Angus x from G Cuthbertson, New Hutton. A pair of yearling Limousin x suckler bred steers from JT Procter, Flookburgh sold to £1060. Suckler bred Aberdeen Angus x steers (13 months old) from RG Robinson, Farleton sold to £860. Younger cattle were extremely well sold with 12 month old British Blue x steers to £860 from FP & G Slater, Witherslack who sold Hereford x at £770. A 10 month old Simmental x steer from PD & P Mason, Burton in Kendal sold at £710 with British Blue x steers achieving £680.
Heifers sold to £1040 for a Limousin x from S & M Cooper, Ulverston with Aberdeen Angus x £1010 from MJ Shepherd, Newbiggin. The heifers today were predominantly yearling suckler bred sorts with a super run of pure Aberdeen Angus x from RG Robinson, Farleton sold to £870 with others £790. Other Aberdeen Angus x sold to £870 from R Cowin & Sons, Mansergh with 10 month old Limousin x £830 from I & AJ Armer, Burneside. Other heifers generally sold between £720 and £800.
An entry of young feeding bulls from FW Park, Windermere sold to a competitive trade with Charollais x selling to £920 and Limousin x £910, £890 and £880.
The next sale of store cattle is on Thursday 6th August within the ‘August Fair’. Vendors are encouraged to enter cattle with confidence to take advantage of the current high demand and strong trade.
Breeding Cattle
A Simmental in-calf cow due to a Limousin bull for early September sold at £1040 from A Spence Farming, Consett. The next sale on Thursday 6th August includes the ‘August Fair’ sale of 100 Beef breeding cattle.