24/10/07
It’s not all doom and gloom in farming at the moment – as
witnessed at Skipton Auction Mart, on Monday (Oct 22), when Craven
Diary Auction selling prices went through the roof, smashing previous
sales records by some considerable margin.
Exhibitors, judges and sponsors are pictured in the Skipton ring
with the record price Craven Dairy Auction champion.
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While there were just 11 milkers forward – Craven Dairy
Auctions are currently being staged on a weekly basis to clear
the backlog – the quality was clear for all to see, reflected
in avid ringside interest.
A clean sweep of prizes in the newly-calven heifers class was
achieved by father-and-son farmers Raymond and Robert Johnson,
of Summerfield Farm, Felliscliffe, Harrogate. Their first prize
winner and show champion – the Johnsons were lifting the
Craven Dairy Auction title for a record sixth time – made £2,020
when knocked down to G Parker, of Emley, Huddersfield.
They also sold their third prize winner for the same price to
HA Bradley, of Salterforth, while their runner-up in class sold
for £1,800 to judge Stephen Britten, of Ripon. Newly-calven
heifers averaged a very healthy £1,601.
The Johnson’s title winner received the BOCM Pauls Diary
Cup, with the buyer also receiving a cash bonus courtesy of Farmers & Mercantile.
Newly-calven cows also performed extremely well, with the first
prize winner from Ted Harker, of Lofthouse, Pateley Bridge, selling
to Peter Sutcliffe, of Queensbury, for £1,650 - yet another
record price.
In-calf heifers also hit new peaks when GR Bretherton, of Houghton,
Preston, sold to a top price of £1,540, with a second of
his charges also making £1,380.
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