Red hot prices on a cold winter’s day at Lancaster.

Calves & Stirks

The monthly sale of stirks saw an extremely fast and competitive trade with a full ring side of buyers keen to secure replacement stock with many leaving unable to fulfil orders. Steers sold to £880 for a Hereford x from AF&B Dawson, Sedbergh with Aberdeen x from JW Thwaites, Tebay selling at £810 and British Blue from I Atkinson & Son, Carnforth achieving £800. Other steers regularly selling at £700-£800 being eight to ten months old. Younger steers sold to £680 for seven month old Beef Shorthorn x from E Lund & Son, Ingleton who also sold Hereford x at £610. Heifer stirks sold to £790 for Aberdeen Angus x from JE Catterall & Family, Preston with others at £770 from JW Thaites, Tebay and British Blue x achieving £740 from PS&H Eckersley, Mellor. Four to Five month old Holstein Friesian bulls from R Cowin & Sons, Mansergh sold to £300.
A large entry of 101 weaned and rearing calves once again attracted a large crown of buyers with several new faces in attendance. Rearing calves sold to £370 for an Aberdeen Angus x from Tom Barron Farms Ltd, Preston who sold others at £380 and British Blue x at £360. A consignment of British Blue x calves from H&C Pickervance, Kirkham saw six week old bull calves sell to £340. Other strong rearing bull calves regularly selling at £270 to £320 with the younger end £220 to £260. Dairy bull calves sold to £80 for a three week old Holstein Friesian from JE&J Pye & Son, Qurernmore.
Heifer calves sold to £320 and £310 for British Blue x from Tom Barron Farm Ltd, Preston with others achieving £280 from H&C Pickervance and Charolais’s to £260 from GJ&G Billington, Catterall. Heifer calves generally were £200-£240, to include Aberdeen Angus x achieving £200 from I Slater Ltd, Claughton on Brock.
Weaned calves sold to £590 for a four month old British Blue x from JR&A Thornton, Winmarleigh who sold others at £540. Charollais x bulls sold to £510 from J&G Thornley, Kirkham with others at £500 from Wallbank Farms, Over Wyresdale. Aberdeen Angus x sold to £400 from C Higham, Catforth.
Weaned heifer calves sold to £440 for British Blues x from EW&RM Towers, Hornby with others selling to £400 from JR&A Thornton, Winmarleigh. A consignment of weaned dairy steers from EW&RM Towers, Hornby saw Fleckviehs sell to £470, £460 with others regularly achieving £400 to £420. Holstein Friesian steers sold to £310.

Store Cattle

Store cattle sold to an exceptionally high trade with all 220 steers, heifers and bulls averaging £1194. The top price store animal today was a British Blue x heifer from V&S Fitzell, Wigan selling at £1800. Other heavy well finished heifers sold to £1560 for a Hereford x from M Shepherd & Sons, Pilling with Limousin x selling to £1520 from JC Prickett, Mewith and Aberdeen Angus’s achieving £1500 from TJ Robinson, Milnthorpe. Endless pens of strong store heifers regally exceeded £1250 with all heifers sold averaging £1193.
Steers sold to a top price of £1740 for a Charolais x from JB Moore, Grange Over Sands with an Aberdeen Angus x also achieving £1740 from V&S Fitzell, Wigan with a ring full of British Blue and Limousin x from H Chapman & Son, Middleton selling at £1700 closely followed by another pair of Limousins at £1680 from Pilling Hall, Pilling. Heavy well grown steers regularly selling in excess of £1400. Dairy bred steers sold to £1190 for British Friesians from EE Thornton & Sons, Morecambe with MRI steers from Barlow Bros, Crosston selling at £1120 and Holstein Friesian to £1100 from AG Butler, Hambleton.
Feeding bulls sold to a top price of £1180 for Aberdeen Angus and British Blue x from Ballacutchel Farms, IOM.

OTM Cattle

A red-hot trade unlike the cold weather outside was seen in the cast ring with 125 cows averaging 187p/kg. Heavy well bred beef cows sold to 224.5p/kg for a Limousin x from Ballacutchel Farms, IOM and a Charollais x from JW&AF Sutton, Longsleddale. Other well bred heavy beef cows regularly sold at 190-210p/kg and medium beef cows 127-190p/kg with keen interest in those suitable for finishing. Top grossing beef cow today was a Limousin from Ballacutchel Farms, IOM achieving £1625. Dairy cows sold to 214.5p/kg for a Holstein Friesian from Lawsons Farm Ltd, Cockerham with others at 211.5p/kg from JS&KM Wilson & Son, Kendal and RJ&B Lewis, Middleton. Heavy well fleshed dairy cows were regularly selling at 180p/kg-195p/kg with mediums 160-175p/kg and the leanest cows 140-155p/kg. Top grossing dairy cow today was a Holstein Friesian from W Garnett & Son, Milnthorpe achieving £1791.
OTM heifers sold to 274p/kg and £1509 for a Charolais x from Ballacutchel Farms, IOM. OTM dairy heifers sold to 221.5p/kg and £1503 for a Ballacutchel Farms, IOM from Barker Farms, Carnforth. OTM steers sold to 269.5p/kg for an Aberdeen Angus from Ballacutchel Farms, IOM with other beef steers regularly 245-260p/kg. Top grossing was an Aberdeen Angus achieving £1608 from Lawsons Farm Ltd, Cockerham.
Several prime bulls forward today sold to 269.5p/kg and £1617 for an Aberdeen Angus from the Ballacutchel Farms, IOM with others regularly 250-260p/kg. A Holstein Friesian bull from H Kent, Cockerham achieved 179.5p/kg and £1364.