| 2016-04-13 |    |
Lawsons Land Leading Craven Dairy Auction Honours
The Newbirks pedigree Holstein herd of the Wharfedale-based Lawson dairy farming family swept the honours board at the opening April Craven Dairy Auction show and sale at Skipton Auction Mart. (Monday, April 11)
Father and daughter David and Suzy Lawson, of Mill Farm, Arthington, made a clean sweep of the prizes in the newly calven heifer show class, with their first and second prize winners also adjudged champion and reserve by adjudicator Brian Blezard, of Ribchester.
Suzy Lawson is pictured centre with the family’s latest Craven Dairy Auction champion and reserve, joined by show judge Brian Blezard and Helen Whittaker, of co-sponsors NMR.
Mr Blezard, a commercial dairy farmer and regular Skipton buyer, then paid £1,480 for his chosen title winner, Newbirks Heliotrope 360, by the Genus sire Schillview Oman Gerard, out of Heliotrope 313. She was three weeks’ calved and giving 31 litres.
The reserve champion, another Heliotrope, this one 359, by the Lawsons’ well proven home-bred bull, Newbirks Jazwyn, out of Heliotrope 337, had also calved three weeks before the show and she too was giving 31 litres, selling for the day’s top price of £1,520 to Alf and Andrew Townsend, of Southfield, Burnley, who are also frequent buyers at the mart.
Gerard was also responsible for the Lawsons’ third in class, Newbirks Blueblood 900, out of Blueblood 780. Seventeen days’ calved and producing 28 litres, she also made £1,480 when again falling to Mr Blezard.
The Lawsons were securing their second Craven Dairy Auction championship of 2016, following up on their first victory of the year at the previous show, when the champion also joined Mr Blezard.
While trade for the 20 head of dairy cattle forward was not quite as brisk as of late, the top end performed with credit, with first rate heifers averaging well into £1,400s.
Bishop Thornton’s Peter Baul sold one at £1,320 to Richard Sutcliffe, from Queensbury, who also paid the same price for another heifer from Andrew Jennings in Fountains. Robin Jennings, of South Stainley, sold a heifer at £1,220 to Fred and Mike Longster, of Fellbeck.
The overall selling average for the 17 newly calven heifers on parade was £1,170.
The dairy fixture was complemented with a healthy show of show 68 rearing calves, which produced strong averages throughout.
Black and white youngsters sold to an overall average a shade over £70 per head, with Stephen Marshall, of West End, leading the way at £150 with a pure Friesian and the Fewster family, from Cleckheaton, also catching the eye with a £130 sale. Others looking anything like approached £100.
Continental-bred calves also performed with credit. British Blue-cross entries were again to the fore, as David Hall, of Coniston Cold, claimed the day’s top price of £440 with a bull calf, while Fred Houseman, of Church Farm Enterprises in Burton Leonard, also chipped in with same way bred calves at £430 twice and £420.
While Limousin-cross heifers outstripped their British Blue counterparts by £16 per head on average, it was a Blue-cross entry from John Marshall, of Dacre, that topped in class at £365, with Limousin prices peaking at £340 for a submission from Cononley’s James Gooch. The overall Continental-cross average was £336.45 per head.
Native breeds averaged £182.50 each, led by a £240 Aberdeen Angus bull calf from Church Farm Enterprises.
