2025-03-25 |
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Rearing Calf Champion Sells for Record £860
Nidderdale husband and wife, Rob and Sarah Marshall, Dacre, not only stood worthy champions, but also set a new record high venue price of £860 for a rearing calf at CCM Skipton’s Spring show and sale. (Mon, March 24)
The Monk Ing Farm duo set the sale ring alight with the first prize British Blue-x bull, by the Cogent sire, ‘Odds On,’ also responsible for their reserve champion at the January opener. Show judge Jack Monk, Mellor, had little hesitation in tapping out the seven-week-old as title winner, backing his decision when going all out to claim it against solid opposition.
Rob and Sarah Marshall with their CCM rearing calf champion, joined by show judge, Jack Monk, right.
It maintained the Marshalls recent dazzling run of high price coups at weekly Skipton sales, with 2025 calf trade continuing afire, confirmed by the fact that £640 was the highest price achieved during the whole of 2024.
In fact, the couple netted a clean sweep of the prizes in the same show class with same way bred youngsters, their runner-up and third both making £790. They also headed the Blue-x heifer calf prices at £670 with the second prize winner, their consignment of ten Blues – six bulls and four heifers – averaging a solid £734. The Marshalls further stepped up with the red rosette-winning native bull calf, an Aberdeen-Angus sold for a section-topping £670.
Hitting £750 was the overall reserve champion, the first prize Limousin-x bull calf, another seven-week-old from West Yorkshire’s GP Pickersgill & Sons, Intake Side Farm, Hawksworth.
Andrew Pickersgill, left, with the family’s CCM rearing calf reserve champion, joined by show judge, Jack Monk.
Shown by Andrew Pickersgill, who farms with his father and uncle, David and Richard, the reserve was by their stock bull, Cornfield Ollie, which also produced the family’s first-ever Skipton rearing calf champion, another Limousin-x, in July last year. In addition, the Pickersgills consigned the first prize over-eight-week-old Continental Limousin-x bull, which claimed £800 second top.
Show day attracted a solid turnout of 89 calves, all Blue-x bulls selling above £410 to an overall average of £673. Plenty of the best sorts made £700-plus, the next grade £640-£690, just the younger end £500-£560.
Andrew Ayrton, Eastby, stood first and third in the Blue heifer calf show class, both making £590. Top end Blue heifers at 5/8-weeks-old were £600-£665, younger calves £500-£590, just the youngest £400 upwards. The section averaged another robust £577.
Plenty of stronger Continental bulls could make £700-£770, younger sorts £580-£660, just the youngest £480-£580. Continental heifers sold from £400 to £500 top, this for the first prize Limousin from J Howard Jnr, Skipton, the same vendor also heading the native heifer prices with a £490 Angus.
Strong Angus bulls sold at £500 upwards, the younger end £400-plus, strong Angus heifer calves away at £360-£480, the youngest calves £200-£320. KF Farming, Gisburn, headed the Hereford bull and heifer calf prices at £310 and £245 respectively, the Eastby Ayrtons returning with the first prize back and white bull calf, which topped its class at £210.
