Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their 6th Anniversary show and sale of Prime Stock on Thursday 24th September 2026. Forward were 242 cattle and 2082 sheep.
95 Prime Bulls sold to 403ppk or £3664
50 Prime Steers sold to 430ppk or £3248
96 Prime Heifers sold to 490ppk or £3015
1 Cast Cow sold for 260ppk and £1913
1930 Prime Lambs sold to 395ppk or £190
152 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £281
Cattle Show
Some super beef on display as we celebrated six years of prime stock sales at the Humbleton Park site; thanks go to everyone who has supported us during that time. The 2026 champion was a beautiful Limousin heifer from a regular supporting local family, congratulations go to the Hird’s from Meadow View, Whashton. Despite cattle in attendance from the midlands all the way up in to Scotland it was another local family claiming the reserve champion ticket. Congratulations go to the Callender’s of Ox Eye Farm, Whinney Hill. Top of the bull classes was a travelled beast, a superb homebred Limousin from the Fleming’s of Moss Tower, Kelso. A full breakdown of the prize winners can be seen below.
Show results as follows:
Class 1 – Continental Bull
1st WM Fleming, Moss Tower – Lim (743kg) sold to 399ppk & 2964 purchased by JA Jewitt Ltd, Spennymoor.
2nd S&J Dent & Son, Great Burdon – Lim (718kg) sold to 395ppk & £2836 purchased by Worsley Wholesale Meats.
3rd PJ&ES Rogerson, Maison Gill – Lim (706kg) sold to 390ppk & £2753 purchased by JA Jewitt Ltd, Spennymoor.
Class 2 – Continental Steer
1st TN Callender, Ox Eye Farm – Lim (656kg) sold to 416ppk & £2728 purchased by Worsley Wholesale Meats.
2nd A Barnett, Brinns Farm – Lim (747kg) sold to 426ppk & £3182 purchased by Worsley Wholesale Meats.
3rd Cole Hill Farm Ltd – BB (709kg) sold to 408ppk & £2892 purchase by Worsley Wholesale Meats.
Class 3 – Continental Heifer
1st GK KN & GJ Hird, Meadow View – Lim (561kg) sold to 480ppk & £2692 purchased by Thompsons Wholesale Butchers, Witton – le Wear.
2nd JV&JA Hodgson, The Grange – BB (602kg) sold to 480ppk & £2889 purchased by Worsley Wholesale Meats.
3rd Cole Hill Farm Ltd – Lim (577kg) sold to 466ppk & £2688 purchased by Worsley Wholesale Meats.
Champion:
GK KN & GJ Hird, Meadow View
Reserve Champion:
TN Callender, Ox Eye Farm
Sheep Show
Thanks to Paul Henderson for casting his experienced eye over the show lambs this morning. Claiming the top ticket at our anniversary show for the second successive year were five excellent Beltex bred lambs from W Ramsay & Sons, Blakeley Hill Farm, Station Town. Absolutely tremendous lambs from the reliable Ramsay family held off some good competition from J & S Barnes, Skipbridge Inn Farm, York and TW Dinning, Watch Currock, Hexham.
1st W Ramsay & Sons 46kg sold for £171 to Shans Group, Ossett
2nd J&S Barnes 52kg sold for £180 to JA Jewitt, Spennymoor
3rd TW Dinning 47kg sold for £175 to Shans Group, Ossett
Prime Bulls (95) – More forward again, the recent rejuvenation didn’t continue as trade appeared easier this week and back in line with returns perhaps two or three weeks previous to average 346ppk and £2464 per head. Just two troubled the four hundreds, an excellent 759kg Limousin from the Scottish borders-based WM Fleming, Moss Tower at exactly 400 pence and our sale topper, an excellent 744kg British Blonde from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield Farm which sold for 403ppk. Nine bulls sold over £3000, the top three all hailed from the excellent feeding of JA Matten & Sons, Avenue Grange; the super trio twice sold over £3600, the best of them a 930kg Limousin reached £3664. Native bred bulls topped at 330ppk and £2293 from R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall and the Friesian trade was headed by MA & PD Foster, Smithy House at 307ppk and HM & JS Hutchinson, North Close at £2039.
Bulls PPK Top Averages
P Weightman & Sons sold 2 (708kg) Average 399ppk
JA Matten & Sons sold 3 (902kg) Average 394ppk
S&J Dent & Son sold 3 (708kg) Average 387ppk
WM Fleming sold 3 (753kg) Average 386ppk
Bulls Grossing Top Averages
JA Matten & Sons sold 3 (902kg) Average £3557
JB Luck & Son sold 3 (841kg) Average £3094
TW Clark & Son sold 3 (823kg) Average £2969
WM Fleming sold 3 (753kg) Average £2913
Bulls- Top Prices PPK 403 395 P Weightman & Sons. 400 399 396 394 386 380 352 WM Fleming. 399 394 390 JA Matten & Sons. 395 385 381 S&J Dent & Son. 390 350 PJ&ES Rogerson. 388 372 370 362 357 355 352 WA Wardman Ltd. 386 JC&P Tallentire. 381 372 TC Walton. 380 AC Simpson & Son. 379 365 x3 Ian Tulip. 376 366 361 JB Luck & Son. 371 K Trotter. 370 364 363 360 357 JM Shotton. 369 360 352 TW Clark & Son. 362 WI Suddes & Son.
Lead Grossing Bulls- £3664 £3611 £3395 JA Matten & Sons. £3201 £2729 £2630 £2550 K Trotter. £3176 £3098 £3007 JB Luck & Son. £3151 £2923 £2833 TW Clark & Son. £3036 £2986 £2964 £2950 £2907 £2848 £2703 WM Fleming. £2998 £2658 P Weightman & Sons. £2975 £2842 TC Walton. £2899 £2756 £2559 x2 WA Wardman Ltd. £2836 £2698 £2686 S&J Dent & Son. £2753 £2635 £2576 PJ&ES Rogerson. £2745 £2726 £2613 £2569 JM Shotton. £2732 JC&P Tallentire.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 330 324 309 R Hall & Son. 322 JC&P Tallentire.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2293 £2287 £2129 R Hall & Son. £2018 JC&P Tallentire.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 307 294 274 MA&PD Foster. 272 GS Dowson 228 JM&S Walton. 228 220 HM&JS Hutchinson.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £2129 £1452 £1333 HM&JS Hutchinson. £1912 £1902 £1896 MA&PD Foster. £1780 JM&S Walton. £1765 GS Dowson.
Clean Cattle (146) – The clean dream is still on, provided that you have a butcher’s shop bound beast to sell. Handy weight and full of shape and you were well rewarded, the 520-600kg cattle looked every bit as dear. Less shape or more weight would be less money as the R & O grades and the super heavies failed to quite meet last week’s remarkable rates; all in the heifers averaged 413ppk and £2422 whilst a lightweight offering of steers levelled at 364ppk and £2500. The show classes produced a couple of heifers at 480ppk, remarkably three joined them and four bettered them; the run of the day with a high-quality load of Limousin’s hailed from Leicestershire and the good feeding of M & G Chantrell, Flash Farm. The charging Chantrell heifers sold one at 481ppk, two at 485ppk and an absolutely stunning 610kg sort at the days top of 490ppk. The ever-consistent R Hirst, Neasham Grange reached 480ppk three times alongside the prize winning Hird’s of Meadow View and Hodgson’s of The Grange. Top of the steers per kilo was another classy Chantrell Limousin, a sweet 570kg bullock sold for 430ppk. Next in line at 426ppk was a handsome heavyweight from A Barnett, Brinns Farm, Shap just a smidgen ahead of the aforementioned Callender reserve champion which was in turn followed by three from Cloe Hill Farm, Elwick. Gross values and another mention for TN Callender, Ox Eye Farm; a thumping 30-month-old Limousin weighed in at an astonishing 1028kg and topped the sale in the lump at £3248. Two other cattle selling over £3000 both came from A Barnett; the chap from Shap turned out a super steer at £3182 and a lovely heifer at £3015.
A Few of today’s top grossing averages:
A Barnett sold 2 (722kg) average £3098
TN Callender sold 3 (770kg) average £2850
WM Fleming sold 3 (629kg) average £2813
Messrs R Miller sold 8 (840kg) average £2770
Today’s top averages ppk:
R Hirst sold 6 (597kg) average 462ppk.
WM Fleming sold 3 (629kg) average 446ppk.
M&G Chantrell Ltd sold 18 (584kg) average 444ppk
A Barnett sold 2 (722kg) average 428ppk
Steers – Top prices ppk 430 402×2 379 M&G Chantrell Ltd. 426 A Barnett. 420 401 MF Hall. 416 TN Callender. 415 410 408 397 354×2 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 407 394 384 SH Watson & Son. 403 390 TW&PT Moss Ltd. 399 398 Taylor Bros. 382 EW Grieves. 382 381 378 I Marshall & Sons. 381 I Tulip. 377 368 G&JY Marshall. 362 Messrs R Miller. 362 A Crowder.
Lead Grossing Steers £3248 £2728 TN Callender. £3182 A Barnett. £2963 £2830 £2819 £2791 £2749 £2710 £2682 £2618 Messrs R Miller. £2892 £2701 £2651 £2532 £2510 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £2856 £2800 £2515 SH Watson & Son. £2668 £2584 M&G Chantrell Ltd. £2635 A Crowder. £2590 MF Hall. £2567 EW Grieves. £2538 TW&PT Moss Ltd. £2472 £2441 I Marshall & Sons.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 490 485×2 481 478 473 472 468 458 438 432 M&G Chantrell Ltd. 480 GK KN & GJ Hird. 480×3 458 448 430 R Hirst. 480 JV&JA Hodgson. 473 447 TW&PT Moss Ltd. 468 437 436 WM Fleming. 466×2 438 432×2 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 456 P Langstaff. 446 440 Sykes Produce Ltd. 436 434 MF Hall. 432 A Barnett. 430 EW Grieves. 430 F&JS Gargett. 428 Taylor Bros.
Lead Grossing Heifers £3015 A Barnett. £2989 £2924 £2899 £2784 £2781 £2730 M&G Chantrell Ltd. £2889 JV&JA Hodgson. £2887 £2842 £2709 WM Fleming. £2840 JB Luck & Son. £2835 £2827 £2822 £2812 £2661 R Hirst. £2716 £2664 F&JS Gargett. £2692 GK KN & GJ Hird. £2688 £2604 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £2659 EW Grieves. £2637 £2536 £2534 A Crowder. £2602 MF Hall. £2577 P&SA Nelson. £2572 TN Callender.
Prime Lambs (1930) – Lambs a good go again for September to average all in, weighed straight, 330ppk and £155.64 with an SQQ of 346ppk. Light lambs which are fed and full of meat enjoyed the trade of the day, pen after pen traded 360-380ppk, heavy lambs still good with the top hundred selling between £180 and £190. Top per kilo at 395 pence were seven sweet 40kg Beltex lambs from W Ramsay & Sons, Blakeley Hill Farm. Following at 386ppk were fourteen tidy 44kg Texel’s from R Atkinson, High Greenbury just ahead of another smart pen from the Ramsay run and eleven smart sorts from PR & V Barlow & Son, Sycamore Farm. A five-way tie at the top of the gross values, unbelievable that the quintet of producers could not be split, all had Texel’s and they ranged from 52kg to 64kg, in no particular order the sale toppers were W Ramsay & Sons, JK Gill & Son, S Thompson & Son, D & PH Brown and TN Callender.
Lambs Top Averages
JC Simpson sold 10 (47kg) Average £177
PR&V Barlow & Son sold 85 (48kg) Average £173
R Atkinson sold 40 (45kg) Average £173
D&PH Brown sold 14 (54kg) Average £172
J&S Barnes sold 28 (49kg) Average £172
Lambs- Top Prices PPK 395 385 383 377 376 371 351 W Ramsay & Sons. 386 380 x2 R Atkinson. 384 368 367 356 PR&V Barlow & Son. 383 Georgia Willis. 383 370 353 JA&A Herbert. 377 R Errington & Son. 377376 JC Simpson. 373 369 360 357 x2 356 352 350 JV&JA Hodgson. 372 358 TW Dinning. 372 370 365 352 351 HT Davies & Partners. 371 367 363 357 N&LL Brown & Son. 371 366 362 353 J&S Barnes. 368 365 R Lawson & Son. 365 TN Callender. 365 Ian Kirk. 365 S&S Davies. 362 356 P&CM Graham. 361 359 GP&A Carter. 361 AWSM Farms. 358 350 PR Weaver. 355 M&A Gaskin. 353 351 M Pickering.
Lead Grossing Lambs- £190 £180 x2 £177 £171 £170 W Ramsay & Sons. £190 £170 JK Gill & Son. £190 S Thompson & Son. £190 £180 D&PH Brown. £190 TN Callender. £182 P&CM Graham. £181 £180 £172 £171 J&S Barnes. £181 £177 JC Simpson. £180 £178 £177 x2 PR&V Barlow & Sons. £180 x2 £170 I Marshall & Sons. £180 JA&A Herbert. £177 £175 £172 x3 £170 TW Dinning. £176 CJM Hedley. £175 x2 £170 R Atkinson. £175 C&V Harrison. £172 G Thompson & Sons. £172 M&A Gaskin. £171 £169 JV&JA Hodgson. £170 Ian Kirk. £170 R Errington & Son. £170 x2 AWSM Farms. £170 JK Gill & Son. £169.50 x3 M Pickering. £169 A Layfield.
Cast Ewes/Rams (152) – The fleshy types remain in terrific form, still the lean sorts would be better advised to attend the Monday feeding sales. The sale average of £124.49 is an inaccurate reflection as the best end look in tremendous form. Three tremendous Texel ewes from JC Thwaite & Son, Cragg Hill deservedly led the way when they sold for £281 apiece, the in-form Ramsay’s followed with a pair at £257, plenty of the other continental ewes followed the top side of £200. Mule ewes topped at £171 for a fleshy pen of seven from J Milbank & Sons and tups topped at £259 from W Weightman, Haining Law Farm.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £281 JC Thwaite & Son. £259 W Weightman. £257 W Ramsay & Sons. £229 £193 £161 JM&S Walton. £221 £205 £169 £167 £165 WA Wardman Ltd. £213 B&SM Rutherford & Son. £195 AWSM Farms. £195 ND Morgan. £179 G Willis. £171 J Milbank & Sons. £170 TN Callender. £167 M Pickering. £167 R Wood & Son.
