Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 8th October 2026. Forward were 266 cattle and 1621 sheep.
116 Prime Bulls sold to 433ppk or £3752
38 Prime Steers sold to 469ppk or £3205
108 Prime Heifers sold to 495ppk or £3105
4 OTM sold to 224ppk or £1332
1502 Prime Lambs sold to 431ppk or £207
119 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £263
Prime Bulls (116) – An absolutely brilliant bull trade saw them jump 14ppk and £180 on average in the space of a week, some real forward movement all of a sudden amongst the bull buyers. The sale averages of 378ppk and £2745 per head were aided by thirty or more selling over 400ppk and the same amount beyond £3000. The top two per kilo sold at 433 pence; a delightful 725kg Limousin from Renton Highlaws, Morpeth was joined by a stunning 696kg Limousin from the Kelso based firm of Messrs Trotter, Hoselaw Farm. Nine bulls followed in the 420’s, another topper from Messrs Trotter, two more from the reliable Renton’s plus a fabulous five from another Scottish border raider WM Fleming, Moss Tower and also one from Cole Hill Farm Ltd, Elwick. Of the thirty in the 3k club our top trio passed £3500, all of them hailed from JA Matten & Sons, Avenue Grange; the pick of their extraordinary pack was a 902kg Limousin which sold for £3752. Aberdeen Angus bulls led the native breed lists, CH & SE Armstrong, Middle Moor sold to 370ppk and JM Shotton, Catlow Hall topped at £2772. Finally, the Friesian’s and they too looked noticeably dearer, top of the day was MA & PD Foster, Smithy House at £2310 and GW Dobson & Son, Wood Close at 329ppk.
Leading Averages Per Kilo
WM Fleming sold 7 averaged 419 pence
Renton Highlaws Ltd sold 6 averaged 415 pence
JA Matten & Sons sold 3 averaged 409 pence
J Layfield sold 5 averaged 403 pence
M&G Chantrell Ltd sold 9 averaged 402 pence
Messrs Trotter sold 8 averaged 400 pence
Leading Averages Per Head
JA Matten & Sons sold 3 averaged £3668
WM Fleming sold 7 averaged £3223
J Layfield sold 5 averaged £3133
SH Watson & Son sold 2 averaged £3111
Renton Highlaws Ltd sold 6 averaged £3060
Messrs Trotter sold 8 averaged £3001
Continental Bulls Top Per Kilo
433 428 421 410 405 Renton Highlaws Ltd. 433 429 407 399 Messrs Trotter. 429 428 427 423(x2) 410 400 WM Fleming. 425 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 419 411 410 J Layfield. 416 410 402 JA Matten & Sons. 415 411 410 406 405(x2) 403 M & G Chantrell Ltd. 414 GK, KN & GJ Hird. 406 TC Walton. 399 LR Welsh & Co.
Native Bred Bulls Top Per Kilo
370 368 364 363 349 340 CH & SE Armstrong. 359 J Armstrong. 352 346 JK & CE Farming. 350 J & K Woodward. 350 JM Shotton. 345 339 JA & A Herbert.
Friesian Bulls Top Per Kilo
329 325 GW Dobson & Son. 329 325 300 MA & PD Foster. 308 PM Hill (Jersey)
Continental Bulls Top Gross Price
£3752 £3694 £3557 JA Matten & Sons. £3299 £3287 £3266 £3247 £3206 £3180 £3079 WM Fleming. £3275 £3264 £3235 £3078 J Layfield. £3214 £3199 £3139 £3090 £3001 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £3159 £3120 £3118 £3100 £3013 Messrs Trotter. £3136 LR Welsh & Co. £3119 £3104 SH Watson & Son. £3108 WA Wardman Ltd. £3057 C Binks & Son. £3047 GK, KN & GJ Hird.
Native Bred Bulls Top Gross Price
£2772 JM Shotton. £2595 £2323 JK & CE Farming. £2565 £2498 J & K Woodward. £2487 JA & A Herbert. £2444 J Armstrong. £2335 CH & SE Armstrong.
Friesian Bulls Top Per Kilo
£2310 £2283 £2158 MA & PD Foster. £2191 £2047 GW Dobson & Son. £1804 PM Hill (Jersey)
Clean Cattle (146) – The very best are a wonderful trade, well fleshed tops are essential to hit the premium prices but the patiently fed sorts with shape about them are in absolutely terrific form. No change in the R and O grade trade, still appearing very solid throughout; averages again stand up well against anywhere in the land to see heifers 422ppk and £2515 and steers 379ppk and £2700. Top per kilo at a whopping 495 pence per kilo was a beautiful 590kg Limousin heifer from the Roxburghshire raiders Messrs WM Fleming, Moss Tower. Behind the Scottish sensation four followed in the 470’s which included two from Warwickshire based RJ Mawby, Fields Farm at 479ppk and 476ppk plus one apiece for the Renton’s of High Highlaws and Cumbria’s W Miller, High Aketon. The wonderful Warwickshire run from Fields Farm then romped away with the top four steer prices per kilo, the best of them an absolutely stunning 667kg Limousin hit the dizzy heights of 469ppk, his excellent pen mate followed just a penny behind. Gross values are growing by the week, nine passed £3000 today. Top of them all at £3205 was a smart 737kg Limousin steer from AF Hall, Barker House; the brilliant steers from RJ Mawby followed with a trio between £3103 and £3128. Top of the heifers in the lump was a tremendous Charolais from Cole Hill Farm Ltd, Elwick; she tipped the scales to 681kg and realised £3105. Other cattle in the £3k club included a smart heifer from JE Suddes & Son, Rowley Farm plus two more from the marvellous Mawby pan and another from AF Hall, Barker House.
Leading Averages Per Kilo
Renton Highlaws Ltd sold 2 averaged 458 pence
WM Fleming sold 3 averaged 452 pence
RJ Mawby sold 18 averaged 442 pence
Cole Hill Farm Ltd sold 9 averaged 440 pence
M & G Chantrell Ltd sold 12 averaged 439 pence
Leading Averages Per Head
AF Hall sold 3 averaged £2984
WM Fleming sold 3 averaged £2886
RJ Mawby sold 18 averaged £2884
JE Suddes & Son averaged £2785
JV & JA Hodgson sold 5 averaged £2776
Steers Leading Prices Per Kilo
469 468 457 444 415 414 412 410 RJ Mawby. 439 394 384 A Crowder. 436 430 427 395 Taylor Bros. 435 378 370 AF Hall. 430 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 414 A & MJ Henshaw. 405 PR & V Barlow & Son. 391 RA & BA Ridley & Son. 372 JR & B Anderson & Son. 367 GR Scott & Son.
Heifers Leading Prices Per Kilo
495 458 WM Fleming. 479 476 453 448 445 444 RJ Mawby. 474 468 446 W Miller. 474 446 Renton Highlaws Ltd. 468 JV & JA Hodgson. 467 JR & B Anderson & Son. 456 451 447(x2) 445 R Hirst. 456 448 445 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 450 446(x3) 445 M & G Chantrell Ltd. 448 446 JE Suddes & Son.
Steers Leading Gross
£3205 £3030 £2717 AF Hall. £3128 £3112 £3103 £3018 £2997 £2989 £2882 £2636 RJ Mawby. £2949 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £2909 £2662 £2655 £2646 RA & BA Ridley & Son. £2809 £2773 £2580 A Crowder. £2608 PR & V Barlow & Son. £2607 Taylor Bros.
Heifers Leading Gross
£3105 £2794 £2767 £2750 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £3031 £2930 JE Suddes & Son. £3027 £2978 £2974 £2890 £2786 £2768 £2710 RJ Mawby. £2925 Renton Highlaws Ltd. £2920 £2885 £2852 WM Fleming. £2910 £2820 £2811 £2717 JV & JA Hodgson. £2853 JR & B Anderson & Son. £2764 RO Gilson. £2727 £2726 M & G Chantrell Ltd. £2722 R Hirst. £2710 A & MJ Henshaw. £2699 GR Scott & Son.
Prime Lambs (1502) – Lots of life in the lamb trade this week, particularly for the well fleshed 42-50kg sorts as the whole show averaged a weighed straight 330ppk and £158.62 with an SQQ of 348.16ppk. Top of the day were a trio of absolute crackers from J & S Barnes, Skipbridge Inn Farm, York; at 48kg the brilliant Texel cross Beltex lambs sold for £207 (431ppk). Next on the pence per kilo list at 409 pence were three tremendous sorts weighing 45kg from DR & RL Burns, Lodge Farm, Leicestershire, behind these was a smart 44kg lamb from JE Suddes & Son, Rowley Farm at 404ppk and two at 46kg from R Atkinson, High Greenbury at 402ppk. The bounty on the best lambs remained high, none bettered the Barnes’s brilliance of £207 but those closest tried hard and hailed from far and wide; the on-song Burns’s from Leicestershire checked in at £201 (61kg) whilst Northumberland’s CW Gray, Amble reached £199 (61kg). Newark based J Hill turned out a fine run which peaked at £194 (51kg) and S Lamb, Cotherstone kept the local sheep in the mix at £190 (49kg).
Leading Gross Averages
J & S Barnes sold 21 (50kg) averaged £183
R Atkinson sold 45 (46kg) averaged £177
DR & L Burns sold 40 (48kg) averaged £174
J Hill sold 60 (50kg) averaged £173
CK & D Muir Ltd sold 44 (51kg) averaged £172
PJ Tindale sold 14 (55kg) averaged £172
CW Gray sold 61 (58kg) averaged £171
JC Thwaite & Son sold 16 (50kg) averaged £171
Leading Prices Per Kilo
431 J & S Barnes. 409 395 DR & RL Burns. 404 378 JE Suddes & Son. 402 392 375 R Atkinson. 400 GF Whitfield. 393(x2) 385 380 J Hill. 393 386 CH & MC Phalp. 388 374 AWSM Farms. 387 382 WKMM Lamb. 380 R Errington & Son. 378 JC Thwaite & Son. 377 376 375 TW Dinning. 377 CK & D Muir Ltd.
Leading Gross Values
£207 £183 £181 £180 J & S Barnes. £201 £184 DR & RL Burns. £199 £180(x3) CW Gray. £194 £185 £184 £181(x2) £180 J Hill. £190 WKMM Lamb. £189 JE Suddes & Son. £185 R Atkinson. £182 £181 CK & D Muir Ltd. £182 £180 AWSM Farms. £180 T Lawson & Son. £180 Bowes Bros.
Cast Ewes & Rams (119) – The lively lamb trade continued in to the ewe ring to see them average an excellent £156.52 today. Top of the tree at £256 were three excellent Texel ewes from DR & RL Burns, Leicestershire. Following at £263 was a strong ewe from S Lamb, Doe Park and at £253 came another big old girl from JR & J Crowe, Bishops Close. Plenty of the big ewes sold up and over £200, Mules topped at £165 and horned ewes at £76.
Leading Prices
£263 £247 £221 £217 £203 DR & RL Burns. £257 £235 £205 £199 WKMM Lamb. £253 JR & J Crowe. £235 F Shield. £221 £189 WM Allison & Son Ltd. £205 WR Wilson & Partners. £197 WR Thompson.
