| 2016-01-08 |    |
Quality Cattle Opens Skipton 2016 Prime Shows
The 2016 Prime Show season opened at Skipton Auction Mart with a high quality entry of 59 cattle on Monday and a good show of buyers. (Jan 4)
Jim Baines of Trawden once again took the red rosette home, with his 545kg Limousin heifer catching the eye of judge Jonathan Townley from Clapham.
The Baines family has a long history of prime cattle champions at Skipton Auction Mart, and this latest winner was snapped up by Keelham Farm Shop, regular buyers at Skipton, for £1,479, or 271.5p/kg.
Jim Baines with the prime champion
Reserve champion was Gary Lodge of Westside Farm in Malham Moor. Selling for the first time at Skipton, his homebred British Blue cross steer fetched £1,483, or 216.5p/kg, and was also the first prize steer.
Malcolm Metcalfe took second prize in the heifer and steer categories, with his Limousin cross heifer selling for 254.5p/kg or £1,395, and a Limousin cross steer for £1,416, or 248.5p/kg.
Third prize for steers also went to Jim Baines, who sold a Bazadaise for £1,443, and for heifers it was JM Townsend of Laneshawbridge who picked up third place but also top price for a heifer, with a Blonde cross, which fetched £1,483, or 251.5p/kg.
Steers, weighing over 560kg, averaged 232.67p/kg, while heifers weighing between 400 and 480kg averaged 251.96p/kg and those weighing over 485kg averaged 221.33p/kg.
In the cull cow dairy show, MP Jennings (Dairy) Ltd, from Cowling, took first place, and went on to sell three black and whites for £855, £841 and £814. DA Fort, of Glusburn, came second and G Pickersgill & Sons of Guiseley were third.
KA&HL Fawcett of Barden were beef champions, with R Caton of Cowan Bridge second and I Barrett & Son of Braisty Wood third.
Culls sold to an overall average of 100.79p/kg, or £675.47, with black and whites averaging at 95.48p/kg, dairy shorts averaging 102.73p/kg, Brown Swiss selling to 61.5p/kg, Limousin crosses averaging at 11.93p/kg, British Blue crosses averaging 128.04p/kg, and Blonde crosses selling to 146.5p/kg.
Gargrave farmer starts the New Year with champions and top price in prime sheep show
It was an optimistic start to the New Year at Skipton's prime sheep show with trade up on the week.
Brian and Lisa Hall of JG Hall and Son, Gargrave, showed the champion pen of five April-born home-bred Beltex, weighing 44kg each. It was a triumphant return to the New Year show for the Halls, who won the same show in 2014.
Lisa said:
"It’s only the second time we've put lambs in this
show and it's the second time we've won."
The winning pen, chosen by judge Michael Winchester, took top price of 268p, or £118 each, sold to Vivers Scotlamb of Annan.
Ellis Bros, of Addingham Moorside, were reserve champions, selling a pen of five 42kg Beltex at £102 each, again to Vivers Scotlamb.
Third prize in the continental class went to WA, VJ, JA Towler, of Grindleton, who sold a pen of 42kg Beltex for £96 each to T Shepherdson, of Marsden, Huddersfield.
CD&RF Kitching, of Threshfield, took top prize in the Down cross category, selling a pen of five, weighing 41kg at £76.50 each to Woodhead Bros Butchers in Colne, while RL Wright, of Airton, sold his 57kgs for £83 each to Andrew Atkinson of Harrogate.
J Shuttleworth & Son, of Rylstone, picked up top prize for horned lambs, selling a pen of 10, weighing 40kg, for £60 each to Paul Watson, of Hellifield. Mr Watson also bought the first prize-winning pen in the Mule/Masham category, for £69 each from JC&N Throup of Draughton. Meanwhile John Bowling, of Wigan, bought the second prize Mule/Masham pen from JH&J Ryder, of Haverah Park, for £68.50 each, and the third prize-winners, from CD&RF Kitching, of Threshfield, for £70.50.
There was a sharper trade on the week for all classes, with an overall average of 169p against an SQQ of 170.8p.
It was the heavy lambs that took a good lift, with most 48kg-50kg heavies grossing £80 to £88 up to £95 from Anthony Thompson, of Foulridge.
Outwith the show most smart lambs were 220p to 240p. There were plenty of export lambs selling at 180p to 190p, with a more commercial type picking up 165p to 175p.
Beltex averaged £87.69 per head or 215.5p/kg, while Suffolk averaged £74.20 per head or 165.8p/kg. Top price for Suffolks by weight went to C&SB Whitelock, of Gargrave, who made 190.7p/kg.
Texels averaged £74.03 per head or 175.2p/kg, with Thwaite Bros of Airton getting the best price per kg at 222p/kg. K Marshall of Dacre got the best price per head and by weight for Charollais, picking up £95 per head and 237.5p/kg, with an average of £78.29 per head or 172.4p/kg. Ellis Bros sold a pen of Rouge for £84 per head or 195.3p/kg. Cheviots averaged £79.45 per head or 175.2p/kg, with T Kiernan of Longridge getting top price by weight with 186p/kg.
Mules were good to sell averaging 158p, with Ellis Bros getting top price of 166.3p/kg, whilst horned lambs were £2 to £3 dearer on the week.
Another large show of ewes maintained recent rates with heavier ewes better to sell.
Cull ewes averaged £64.92, with Suffolk selling to £96.50, Texel to £104.50, BFL to £64.50, Mule to £72.50, Lleyn to £69.50, Swaledale to £44.50, Masham to £64.50, Gritstone to £59.50, Cheviot to £81.50, Beltex to £78.38, Lonk to £50.52. Top price went to HB Atkinson of Harrogate, with Lowlands selling for £104.50 and £103.50.
Cast Rams averaged £77.02, with W Mason & Son of Appletreewick selling a Texel for £119.50.
