2024-12-03 |
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Masongill Heifer Takes Top Honours and Top Price in CCM Prime Cattle Christmas Highlight
A Limousin-x-British Blue heifer from North Craven father and son, Francis and Andrew Smith, Lodge Farm, Masongill, took supreme honours at CCM Skipton’s 17th annual Lingfields Christmas prime cattle show and sale. (Sun, Dec 1)
The Champion heifer also realised the day’s top hammer price of £4565, or 799.5p per kg, falling to co-judge James Robertshaw, of Robertshaw’s Farm Shop, Thornton, Bradford.
Members of the Smith family with their CCM Skipton Christmas prime cattle supreme champion, joined by, from left, Eleanor Bradley and co-judge James Robertshaw, representing buyers Robertshaw’s Farm Shop, Claire Radley, of keynote sponsor Skipton NFU, and CCM chairman Kevin Wilson
Their 19-month-old 571kg heifer, bred in Cumbria by K&A Brown, Asby Hall, and by Limousin sire, Cloughhead Napoleon, out of a British Blue-x cow, earned them their first ever Christmas haltered fatstock crown after first winning the under 580kg class, followed by the champion female rosette and then overall victory.
Andrew said: “I’m really chuffed. People outside farming don’t realise what work goes into getting an animal show-ready. It’s months of preparation and a lot of it depends on how it is on the day, so to win is really fantastic.”
Success for the Smith family meant last year’s supreme winner, John Stephenson, Bordley Green Farm, was knocked off the podium into reserve supreme position, thus denying him a fifth title win in six years. The 544kg Limousin-x heifer sold for £2499 second top, or 459.5p/kg, to Ross Greenwood, Craven Farm Butchers, Gargrave.
The Stephensons also added the un-haltered championship with a 14-month-old 586kg Blue heifer selling at £2399, 409.5p/kg, to Kitson & Sons Butchers for its north-east shops, principally Five House Farm Shop and Kitchen, Crathorne. Among other acquisitions, Kitsons also paid £2310, 384.5p/kg, for the un-haltered reserve champion, a 601kg heifer from the Baines family, Gisburn.
John Stephenson Jnr with the un-haltered champion.
Back in the haltered section, the champion steer was from Jim and Christine Scriven, Elslack. Weighing 562kg, it sold for £2385, 424.5p/kg, again to Craven Farm Butchers.
Laura Stephenson with the family’s reserve supreme champion heifer.
Reserve steer from North Craven mother and daughter, June Dowie and Jennifer Hyslop, Settle, weighed in at 650kg. It was knocked down for £2414, 371.5p/kg, to Hartshead Meats, Mossley.
James Robertshaw, who was joined by co-judge Nick Dalby, of Hartwith, as they cast a keen eye over the 27 prime cattle forward, went away with nine cattle in total, eight of them prize winners, pulling off a remarkable supreme champions buying hat-trick when also securing the overall victors in the same day’s prime lambs and prime pigs shows.
All Robertshaw’s festive coups did much to further raise the profile of the award-winning business ahead of the launch of their new Skipton enterprise in late February next year in the former Keelham Farm Shop premises on Gargrave Road.
Photos: Adrian Legge Photography
