Calves
The weekly sale of calves at Lancaster had an entry of 45 forward which saw the better types of calves sell to a sharper trade with the other types meeting a similar trade. Plenty of the best quality beef calves were regularly selling in excess of the £400 mark with the consignment from Karen Parkinson, Out Rawcliffe leading the way selling Aberdeen Angus bulls to £480. A consignment of British Blue bull calves from J&G Thornley, Kirkham sold to £455, £425 and £415. Other consignments of British Blue calves from JP&C Robson, Garstang sold to £455 and £440. The consignment from JM&MH France & Son, Littledale sold British Blue bulls to £450 and heifers to £380. British Blue heifers peaked at £400 from JS&KM Wilson, Kendal. Dairy bull calves sold to £430 for Montbeliardes from JR Newsham & Son, Conder Green who also sold Fleckviehs to £330. Black and White bull calves peaked at £180 from JR Newsham & Son, Conder Green and £170 from JS&KM Wilson & Son, Kendal.

Stirks
The revamped sale of stirks was deemed a success, in what are uncertain times with the ever-spiralling costs of fertilizer, feed and fuel. The new format for the stirk sale at Lancaster saw them sold at an earlier time of 10am in the sheep ring which was met by a packed ring of buyers and onlookers.
An entry of 153 forward saw good quality stirks in plenty of demand and easily sold, with buyers especially looking for grazing type cattle, however continue to be slightly cautious of native heifers. Topping the trade today was WJ&EA Woodhouse, Nateby selling yearling Limousin bullocks to £1040 and £945. The consignment of 10-month-old Aberdeen Angus bullocks from G&D Ball & Son, Little Eccleston sold to £945 and £920. This was followed by yearling Limousin bullocks to £910 from G&MA Smith, Salisbury. Plenty of yearling beef bred bullocks regularly selling at the £800 mark. The bull trade peaked at £1020 for nine-month-old Limousin bulls from J Bargh, Heaton with Oxcliffe with Beef Shorthorn bulls sold to £890 from the same home. Peaking the heifer trade today at £895 were yearling British Blue heifers from H&SD Cornthwaite & Son, Nateby. This was followed by other yearling British Blue heifers to £795 from PS&H Eckersley, Mellor, with 7 month old Simmental heifers to £790 from Red Lees Farm. A pen of yearling Aberdeen Angus heifers from JW Thwaites, Tebay sold to £780. Plenty of younger weanling type cattle regularly sold between £500-£600. A consignment of 6-month-old Montbeliarde and Danish Reds from Ross Greenwood, Carlton sold to £600 and £570. 9-month-old British Friesian bullocks sold to £540 from R&J Parkinson, Preesall.

Store Cattle
Lancaster store cattle once again sold to another strong trade, averaging an impressive £1228 a head. There was less forward this week, as which more is required to fulfil our buyers requirements. Continental steers led the way today peaking at £1540 for Limousins from L Parsons & Son, Levens. British Blues to £1500 from AG Stafford, Out Rawcliffe with other British Blues to £1480 from J&JM Walmsley, Pilling. Also achieving £1480 was JB Moore, Allithwaite for a Blonde steer. Native bullocks saw Aberdeen Angus peak at £1470 for a pen of three from J Oddie & Son, Balderstone followed by another pen of three to £1450 from R Townsend, Freckleton with a couple of Aberdeen Angus bullocks from L Parsons & Sons, Levens also selling at £1450. Beef Shorthorn bullocks peaked at £1430 from J Prest & Son, Bay Horse.
The heifer trade at Lancaster today peaked at £1380 for an Aberdeen Angus from L Parsons & Sons, Levens with British Blues to £1350 from M Shepherd & Sons, Pilling with other heifers to £1350 for Blondes from JB Moore, Allithwaite. Friesian bullocks peaked at £1190 from EE Thornton & Son, Heaton, with others from the same home to £1180. Also achieving £1180 was a pen of three Black and White bullocks from A&MI Robinson, Orton.

OTM / Cast Cattle
The OTM trade continues to be on fire with Lancaster boasting some fantastic averages, all cattle forward averaging £1101 or 174p/kg. OTM steers led the way with Black and Whites selling to 224p/kg and 214p/kg from RH&HA Fawcett, Burton. OTM Black and White heifers sold to 219.5p/kg from H&A Stephenson, Tunstall. Top price per head today was an Aberdeen Angus cow selling to £1795.50 from MS&G Mason, Kirkby Lonsdale who sold Aberdeen Angus cast steers to £1769. Dairy cows today saw the best regularly selling between 190-200p/kg. Dairy cows peaked at £1575 from MH&AR Robinson, Old Hutton with others to £1496 and £1494 from Lawsons Dairy, Cockerham followed by £1441 from Andrew Kippax, Churchtown. Plenty of cows sold between £1300-£1400.