Thursday 18th February 2021

Calves and Stirks

The sale of 70 calves sold to another competitive trade at J36. The best calves were in short supply and selling to a very strong trade once again. A Pickthall, New Hutton once again topped the section with a British Blue bull, selling at £435 with other Blue bulls from Gibson & Berry selling at £420.

First time calf vendor EJ Hodgson & Son, Lambrigg sold Limousin bulls to £415. The best native bull calves were well bid for with many selling over £300 and topping at £335 from HJ Robinson & Son, Preston Patrick. A run of weaned Limousin heifers from JJ & MA Park & Son, Sizergh sold to £415 twice. There was plenty of farmer buyers looking to purchase heifers for further breeding with the pick of British Blue heifers from Gibson & Berry selling to £355, with other Blue heifers selling to £325 from DR & C Galbraith, Grayrigg.

Younger beef calves were easily sold with bull calves selling between £250 and £300 with the heifers selling either side of the £200 mark.

40 stirks were forward selling to a full ringside of buyers with many leaving empty handed. Limousin bullocks from JM Bewley, Dent sold to £860 with Limousin heifers selling to £765 from D Penellum, Kirkby in Furness. British Blue heifers at 5 months of age sold to £600 from A Prickett, Farleton. Friesians from the same home sold to £350 at just 3 – 4 months old. There were many purchasers looking for all types of stirks with spring time just over the horizon and more could easily have been sold.

Cast Cows & OTM Cattle

Cull cows and OTM cattle saw a fast trade for all classes and types with 10 active purchasers present. The overall sale average was 134p/kg with over half the entry being Dairy bred cows. The sale peaked at 159.5p/kg for a Limousin x Cow from Messrs Hodgson, Windermere with other beef cows selling to 154.5p/kg for a Blonde x from SJ&NS Wood, Windermere and other Limousin Cows 144.5p/kg from Mrs E Tuer, Windermere. Other beef cows generally 122-135p/kg with buyers keen to secure cows suitable for further finishing.

Dairy cows sold to a top price of 147.5p/kg for a Montbeliarde x from JJ&MA Park & Son, Sizergh who sold others at 137.5p/kg. Holstein Friesians peaking at 129.5p/kg from R&J Dodgson, Natland.

Top grossing cow today achieved £1137 for a heavy Montbeliarde x from JJ&MA Park & Son, with other dairy cows selling to £956 for Holstein Friesians from JM Barton & Son, Lupton. Beef Cows peaking at £950 for pure bred Herefords from DJ Dickinson, Haverthwaite.

OTM Heifers sold to a top price of 174.5p/kg or £1034 for Holstein Friesians from JM Barton & Son, Lupton, who sold others at 169p/kg and 167p/kg. An OTM Aberdeen Angus x heifer from LE Case, Whicham achieved 164p/kg or £825. A pair of British Blue x Steers from JW Robinson & Son, Farleton sold to 191p/kg and £1179.

A single cull bull today being a Hereford from DJ Dickinson sold at 119.5p/kg or £1434.

All classes of cull cows are required to meet buyer demand with a large entry required for Thursday 4th March.

Beef Breeding Cattle

An Aberdeen Angus cow scanned 5 months in calf to the Angus Bull sold at £1,000 at todays sale. An early entry of 20 Continental Cows with Calves at foot are already entered for Thursday 4th March, further entries of beef breeding cattle are invited for this sale with customers keen to secure replacement stock.

Store Cattle

The fortnightly sale of Store Cattle saw a large ringside of buyers in attendance keen to secure additional stock, with several new and returning faces at todays sale and keen to attend future sales.

Steers sold to a top price of £1150 for a Limousin x from A Winder & Son, Ravenstonedale with British Blue x Steers from S&M Cooper, Leece close behind achieving £1140 & £1100. Younger suckler bred steers sold to £940 for Limousin x from JA Airey, New Hutton with others at £935 from MW&MR Black, Staveley and £930 MA Barnes, Whinfell.  Younger cattle saw 8-month-old Charolais x Steers from M&C Booth Ltd, Kentmere sell at £865 with Limousin x from JH Barker & Son, Haverthwaite.  

Native sired steers sold to £960 and £940 for 16-month-old Aberdeen Angus x from JE Wightman, Lupton with Hereford x selling to £930 from JF Robinson, Broughton in Furness. A pen of 8-month-old Aberdeen Angus steers from CM&CA Jackson, Caton sold at £735.

Several Friesian steers forward today selling to £980 from A Winder & Son, Ravenstonedale.

Heifers achieved a top price of £1150 for a British Blue x from S&M Cooper, Leece who sold Limousin x to £1080, with others achieving £1000 from DJ Clarke, Underbarrow. The heifers forward today were predominately younger suckler types, selling to £880 for a Limousin x from A Winder & Son. British Blue x to £840 from JE Wightman with a pen of 9-month-old Charolais x attracting keen interest selling at £795 from M&C Booth Ltd. Other suckler bred heifers generally £700-£750.

With the current strong prime beef prices, we are seeing a high level of demand from both new & existing purchasers for Store Cattle at NWA J36. We encourage vendors to take advantage of this high level of demand, with the next sale Thursday 4th March with an anticipated entry of 500 Store Cattle with buyer interest already expressed. Catalogue entries required by Wednesday 24th February. Should you require marketing advise or a farm visit please do not hesitate to contact Matthew Probert or Bradley Thompson.