Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their special Bank Holiday ‘Ladies Day’ sale of breeding cattle and ewes/hoggs with lambs at foot in conjunction with their weekly sale of cast cattle, store and breeding stock and fortnightly sale of rearing calves on Monday 4th May 2026. Forward were 383 cattle, 1234 sheep and 52 calves.
259 Ewes & Lambs sold to £800
105 Hoggs & Lambs sold to £380
20 Bulling Heifers sold to £2800
5 In Calf Cows/Heifers sold to £3200
66 Cows & Calves sold to £4200
52 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 346ppk or £2872
5 Stock Bulls sold to 328ppk or £4090
4 Young Bulls sold to £1860
80 Store Steers sold to £2460
85 Store Heifers sold to £2420
52 Rearing Calves sold to £850
Charitable Donation
No better place to start a sale report than with another example of the farming community once again going above and beyond for charitable purposes. Today’s beneficiaries were the ‘Yellow Wellies’ farm safety foundation who work tirelessly to towards changing attitudes and behaviours around farm safety and mental health among the next generation of farmers.
Katie Thompson of Softley Farm, Butterknowle generously donated a British Blue heifer calf today, we were also kindly asked to sell a store hogg from the Tomlinson family, Sunniside Farm, Knitsley. The cracking calf from young miss Thompson sold for £850 and the Suffolk hogg was sold and re-gifted twice more to raise an additional £535. On behalf of Yellow Wellies, we thank Katie and the Tomlinson’s along with all the purchasers for their generous support.
Ladies Day Show of Hoggs & Lambs
Many thanks go to Tom Lawton, Swainby for undertaking the judging duties on a rather busy Bank Holiday Monday morning. Champion pen went to RN Kirby & Son, Barstow Hall Farm with five smart continental hoggs suckling singles. Tapped out as the winning Mule hoggs were a smart quintet from the annual consignment of TW Thompson, Lealholm Lawns whilst the winning pen of ewes come from the MK Verity, Howe Farm, Masham.
Show Results (Pens of 5)
Best Mule Hoggs & Lambs
1st – TW Thompson, Lealholm Lawns
2nd – RN Kirby & Son, Barstow Hall
3rd – RG Johnson & Son, Summerfield
Best AOB Hoggs & Lambs (Pens of 5)
1st – RN Kirby & Son, Barstow Hall
2nd – TW Thompson, Lealholm Lawns
3rd – RN Kirby & Son, Barstow Hall
Best Ewes & Lambs (Pens of 5 or more)
1st – MK Verity, Howe Farm
2nd – I Curry, Beveridge Close
3rd – DM & PM Nelson & Sons, Skelding Grange
Sale of Ewes & Hoggs with Lambs
The rain came yesterday and washed noticeable confidence in to the sheep buyers, sale averages were up slightly again on a cracking trade last year as the ewes and lambs levelled at £105.71 per life and the hoggs and lambs £168.16 per life. No doubting the top spot as an excellent three crop pedigree Blue Texel ewe with birth notified twins at foot from Mel Whitfield-Stout, South Terrace sold for a sensational £800. Twice the ewe and lamb bidding reached £500 as a Badger Faced Texel from Winsbury Farm Partners matched a brilliant Beltex from Messrs Craig, North Hanging Wells. Brilliant Blue Texel outfits from RW Barker & Sons, The Pines made the journey up from Grantham worthwhile when the pick of their ewes sold for £465 on a day which saw plenty of the better-bred lowland ewes selling £140 to £180 per life. Sticking with the warranted older ewes and a big interest was apparent in the Mules throughout, three vendors made it to £300 or more with the popular breed; elsewhere highlights included Zwartbles ewes with twins to a top of £375 and North Country Cheviots to £325.
Hoggs and lambs are in demand and with all their lives in front of them they always look a sensible, if not costly, investment. Topping the trade at £380 was an excellent Suffolk from Messrs Craig, North Hanging Wells; Dutch Spotted sold to £375 from LO Stephenson, Frosterley whilst Mules topped at £350 from TW Thompson, Lealholm Lawns and continental hoggs peaked at the same price from MW Reed, West Biggins.
Ewes & Lambs:
Blue Texel – £800 M Whitfield. £465 £420×2 £380 £360 £350 £345 RW Barker & Sons. £400 JW Collin. £390 Double O Livestock.
Badger Faced Texels £500 Winsbury Farm Partners.
Beltex – £500 £440 £350 J Craig. £355 J Howes.
Dutch Spotted – £450 £400 J Craig. £405 £330 C Slee. £355 Winsbury Farm Partners.
Continental – £410 M Robinson & Sons. £405 £365 £330 FP&IM Jefferson. £405 J Craig. £368 £340 £315 MK Verity. £350 S Beeforth. £350 C Readshaw. £345 3322 I Curry. £325 W Wearmouth & Son. £315 I Headley.
Zwartbles – £370 C Slee. £365 AF Smith.
Texel – £370 A Newton. £350 Double O Livestock. £345 L&BM Kidd & Son.
Cheviot – £325 Double O Livestock.
Mule – £310 S Straughan.
Hoggs & Lambs:
Suffolk – £380 J Craig. £325 RN Kirby & Son. £300 A Newton.
Dutch Spotted – £375 LO Stephenson.
Continental – £350 £348 MW Reed.
Mule – £350×2 £335 TW Thompson. £350 £335×2 MW Reed. £335×2 £325 RG Johnson & Son. £335 RN Kirby & Son.
Texel – £348 £330 TW Thompson. £315 A Newton. £310 RN Kirby & Son.
Ladies Day Breeding Cattle
A super show of breeders assembled and with the busy building bouncing they emulated the breeding sheep and found new homes with consummate ease. A picture-perfect pen of bulling heifers from Five Houses set the bar high, their best a stunning 15-month-old Limousin sold for £2800; eight other flying Five Houses heifers followed at £2400 or more with the marvellous pen averaging a pleasing £2491. Plenty of cows and heifers with calves forward before the packed house of buyers, none bettered M & S Gledhill, Glebe Farm as they led the way with two at £4200, a smart 4-year-old Limousin with a February born bull calf at foot and a British Blue heifer with a sweet March born heifer calf by her side. The galloping Gledhill’s followed thrice at £4000 along with a remarkable 14-year-old Limousin cow with heifer calf from MJ Marley, Holywell Farm.
Bulling Heifers £2800 £2580 £2490 £2460 £2430 £2420×3 £2400 A Kitson & son. £1860 £1800×5 £1780×2 £1760 S&J Dent & Son.
In Calf Heifers £3200 £2500 £2200 G&JH Tomlinson & Son.
In Calf Cows £1120 £1020 R Hall & Son.
Breeding Bulls £3200 C Moffett.
Cows & Calves £4200×2 £4100 £4000×3 £3700 £3400 M&S Gledhill. £4000 £3600 MJ Marley. £3800 £3250 £3100 £2820 £2800 £2750 £2720 £2650 £2600 £2500 W&J Herbert. £3400 £2700×3 C Moffett. £3350 £2620 £2100 J Richmond. £3000 £2700 £2620 £2520 £2450×2 £2420 £2400 £2350 £2300 £2400 RN Armstrong. £2880 £2800 R Errington & Son. £2700 £2400 £2120 £2100 £2100 £2080 £2050 £2020 £2000 £1800 SN Bird & Sons. £2500 C&J Birkbeck. £1900 B Hutchinson.
Cast Cattle – The cast cattle bucked the trend of the recent beef slide and looked dearer on the week, the sale averaged 262ppk and £1867 per head. Top per kilo at 346 pence was a cracking British Blue OTM heifer from D Alderson, Bowl Turner, following at 334ppk was another smart OTM from JD Bentley & Son, Lane Head Farm with a credible third place at 326ppk going to A & PA Jopling, High Dalton Hall. A brilliant British Blonde topped the females in the lump at £2872, she was however to be outshone in the gross value department by some enormous stock bulls. Top of the day at a whopping £4090 (328ppk) was a ginormous 1247kg Charolais bull from RE Shield, Ox Close Farm. A lovely Limousin bull from FW Hodgson & Son, Burton House also sold for 328ppk which added him up to £3466 whilst a pair of super Stabiliser’s from Skelton Farming Ltd, Low House Farm sold to tops of 314ppk and £3415. Friesians were in fine form, topping at £2415 was a fleshy cow from TH Mace & Sons, Hill Top Farm whereas the top per kilo was a tidy sort from R & A Chapman, Easby Grange at 286 pence. Finally, the Friesians forayed in to the cast bull trade with a big lad from C Hird & Son, Crackpot Farm adding up nicely to £2118.
Store Cattle – The store cattle are naturally easier with the recent falling fat prices; they are however, still selling at absolutely remarkable returns, confidence is still seemingly very high amongst the feeding fraternity. First time vendors M & TE Graham, West Foreshield blew the competition away today as they took the top eight prices back up to Alston Moor. The galloping Graham’s led the steers with a two-year-old Aberdeen Angus at £2460 and the heifers with a strong British Blue at £2420 seeing that twenty-one well farmed beasts from this home averaged £2039. Grass bound younger stores are still very saleable, some maybe a tiny touch easier but a positive trade continues across all shapes and sizes.
Stirks £1010 SJ Bainbridge.
Store Bulls £1860 JV Hodgson & Son. £1670 £1630×2 £1600×2 JJ Kemp & Son. £800 GW Chapman
Store Steers £2460 £2410 £2280 £2200 £1920×2 £1900×3 £1800 £1700×2 M&TE Graham. £1920×2 £1890 £1820 £1660 G&EM Nixon. £1910 £1740×3 P Leese. £1880×2 £1640×3 D Walker. £1850 £1680 G Beadle. £1800 E Peacock. £1800 £1770 £1530 TW Brown & Sons. £1760 £1660 £1600 B Lowson. £1710 D Alderson. £1680 I Newton & Son. £1540 AW Dixon. £1540 TT Hall & Son.
Store Heifers £2420 £2370×2 £2320 £1940×2 £1900×2 M&TE Graham. £1990 £1940 £1910 £1900 £1820 RL Walker. £1820 £1800 £1670 T Ducker. £1770 £1660×3 £1640×2 £1580 £1480 P Leese. £1760 £1620 I Newton & Son. £1700 £1500 £1490 JJ Horn. £1540×2 DM McClurg. £1520 G Beadle. £1480 AW Dixon.
Feeding Sheep – The hoggs stay hot and the old ewes are in scintillating form as both sections averaged well over £150 per head. Ten terrific Texel gimmers from J Howes, Redhouse Farm led the high-flying hoggs at £243, two vendors followed at £202 when a single Charollais from Double O Livestock joined half a dozen super Mule gimmers from FP & IM Jefferson, High Tranmire. Strong store hoggs traded £160 to £190 and even the smaller end at this late stage still sailed over £100 with great regularity.
Feeding ewes are ferocious, twice prices hit £258 as a Beltex ewe from Double O Commercials was matched by four Texel tups from
Store Hoggs:
Continental – £243 J Howes. £202 Double O Livestock. £190 NG Beveridge. £168 £138 £102 JE Lee. £166 £152 WR Wilson & Partners. £156 £155 £153 C Harle & Sons. £152 L Dalet. £144 J Lawrence. £132 D Alderson. £128 J McClaughlin. £128 Rose A Farms Ltd.
Mule – £202 FP&IM Jefferson. £135 T James. £132 D Alderson.
Suffolk – £180 WR Wilson & Partners. £170 NG Beveridge. £160 G&JH Tomlinson & Son. £140 L Daley. £128 D Alderson.
Cheviot – £160 J Lawrance.
Swale – £138 J Lawrance. £132 L Daley. £122 D Alderson.
Feeding Sheep:
Texel – £258 £200 M Robinson & Sons. £250×2 £242 £204 NG Beveridge. £225 TP&RL Swinbank. £222 J Wigham. £162 JD Brannen.
Beltex – £258 Double O Livestock. £240 M Robinson & Sons. £184 JD Brannen.
Continental – £238 £140 A Hughes. £235 L Turnbull. £202 £158 N&LL Brown & Son. £198 £190 £148 JP&R Ward. £190 G Te-Lintelo. £188 O Chapman & O Parkin. £182 GS Dixon. £180 J&HM Jenkins. £178 £172 Rose A Farms Ltd. £168 I Curry. £168 J Lawrance. £148 L Daley. £140 N Back.
Mule – £182 £148 A Hughes. £168 HS Hutchinson. £165 L&BM Kidd & Son. £152 D Alderson. £142 GS Dixon. £140 JE Lee.
Blue Face Leicester £182 A Toward.
Suffolk – £182 £140 D Alderson.
Cheviot – £178 Double O Livestock. £148 J McClaughlin.
Rearing Calves – Absolutely no sign of the beef blues in the calf ring as the bucket feeders look every bit as sharp as we have seen, a plainer show than seen recently whistled through the sale ring with an average of £582.88. Katie Thompson topped at £850 with her charity donated British Blue heifer, good rates of return were also found by JT Forster & Son, Killerby with Aberdeen Angus bulls to £770 and heifers to £610. A sweet run of young calves from Deerness Valley Dairy sold well with British Blue bulls to £740 twice and heifers to the same price.
Bull Calves:
Angus – £770 £680×3 £670 £660×2 £620 £540 £500 JT Forster & Son. £690 £560 £550 Deerness Valley Dairy.
British Blue – £740×2 £730 £720 £700 £650×2 £580 Deerness Valley Dairy. £700 £620 CN Bentley.
Limousin – £710 £680 CN Bentley.
Friesian – £560 G Thompson & Sons. £430 £280 Deerness Valley Dairy. £380 JT Forster & Son. £300 CN Bentley.
Heifer Calves:
British Blue – £850 K Thompson. £740 £660 £620 £600 £580 £570 Deerness Valley dairy. £630 CN Bentley.
Angus – £610 £600 £560 £550 £540 £520×2 £460 £420 £400×2 JT Forster & Son.
