Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 23rd July 2026. Forward were 214 cattle and 1819 sheep.
79 Prime Bulls sold to 423ppk or £3669
31 Prime Steers sold to 442ppk or £3044
94 Prime Heifers sold to 454ppk or £2877
1658 New Season Lambs sold to 468ppk or £234
161 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £271
Prime Bulls (79) – A lift in the live ring with the best bulls dearer by some margin as a dozen sailed well over 400ppk and a super sixteen sold over £3000. The top three sold over 420ppk with the next half dozen in the teens; pick of them all at 423ppk was a stunning 754kg Limousin from LS Staley, Bluestone House, following at 422ppk was a brilliant British Blonde weighing 750kg from P Weightman & Sons, Hallfield with a close 3rd place at 421ppk going to a 650kg Limousin from JC Johnson, Beanley Carr. Another British Blonde from the Weightman’s led the gross values, this one 882kg sold for £3669. Two hefty Limousin’s from WJ & AS Bowes & Sons, Stainton Hill House came next at £3660 and £3577 which were followed closely by a pair of British Blondes from F & JS Gargett, Westwick Farm and a tidy young Limousin from T & DI Allen, Chatterley Farm. Native bred bulls were led by a fleshy Aberdeen Angus from R Hall & Son, Kilton Hall when he sold at 342ppk and £2541 whilst the Friesian’s found highs of 318ppk from GS Dowson, Barmby and £2240 from GW Dobson & Son, Wood Close.
Today’s lead Grossing Bull Averages:
WJ&AS Bowes & Sons Sold 3 (891kg) average £3499
P Weightman & Sons sold 2 (816kg) average £3417
F&JS Gargett sold 3 (818kg) average £3266
LS Staley sold 2 (800kg) average £3151
Top Bull Averages ppk:
P Weightman & Sons sold 2 (816kg) average 418ppk
F&JS Gargett sold 3 (818kg) average 399ppk
WA Wardman Ltd sold 10 (722kg) average 396ppk
Cole Hill Farm Ltd sold 2 (778kg) average 393ppk
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 423 368 LS Staley. 422 416 P Weightman & Sons. 421 394 JC Johnson. 419 418 413 405 397 394 390 387 WA Wardman Ltd. 415 405 378 F&JS Gargett. 415 389 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. 408 381 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 395 380 T&DI Allen & Son. 390 380 378×2 PJ&ES Rogerson. 383 379 AG Watson & Sons. 376 JK&CE Farming.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £3669 £3165 P Weightman & Sons. 33660 £3577 £3261 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £3361 £3341 £3095 F&JS Gargett. £3340 T&DI Allen & Son. £3270 £3066 £3041 AG Watson & Sons. £3204 £2921 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £3189 £3113 LS Staley. £3159 £2997 £2937 £2878 £2842 £2838 £2819 £2811 WA Wardman Ltd. £2929×2 £2913 £2903 PJ&ES Rogerson.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 342 330 328 R Hall & Son. 340 JC Johnson. 333 318 Messrs Sayer.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2541 £2498 £2371 R Hall & Son. £2203 JC Johnson. £2194 £2105 Messrs Sayer.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 318 GS Dowson. 307 JK&CE Farming. 261 254 GW Dobson & Son. 308 306 304 300 299 294×2 290×2 288 285 280 278×2 272×2 JM Stuart & Son.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £2240 £1793 GW Dobson & Son. £2013 £1995 £1918 £1917 £1910 £1906 £1893 £1887 £1884 £1882 £1850 £1805 £1804 £1799 £1745 JM Stuart & Son. £1980 JK&CE Farming. £1590 GS Dowson.
Clean Cattle (125) – As with the bulls, more confidence in the clean with trade sharper across all weights and grades; not a particularly posh offering of heifers still found an improved average of 406ppk and £2372 whilst a nice offering of steers checked in at 383ppk and £2775. Just fourpence split the top six heifers, all of which traded between 450ppk and 454ppk, fifteen followed in the 440’s. Top at 454ppk was a delightful 540kg Limousin from W Miller, High Aketon; next on the list at 453ppk came SH Watson & Son, Low Fields with third place going to R Hirst, Neasham Grange at 451ppk. Three heifers then followed at exactly 450ppk as another apiece for High Aketon and Neasham Grange were joined by the pick of a good run from Cole Hill Farm Ltd, Elwick. Top of the steers per kilo was another from the good run of W Miller, High Aketon, a sweet sort selling for 442ppk to Steven Wilson butchers, Corby Hill. Other steers at the high end of prices per kilo saw MJ & EA Sedgewick, Long Myers at 439ppk plus two toppers from Cloe Hill Farm Ltd and a smart type from the Askwiths of Low Mown Meadows. A couple of Cumbrians secured the top gross values on the day; Messrs R Miller Ltd, Arkleby Hall sold a Limousin steer at £3044 just edging out a fine steer from Messrs Sayer, Town End Farm. The aforementioned Askwiths also broke the £3000 barrier whilst those in the £2900’s included Cole Hill Farm Ltd, MJ & EA Sedgewick and another from the Penrith based Messrs Sayer. Top heifer in the lump hailed from the shadow of Sutton Bank, North Yorkshire and the good feeding of J Brown, Hood Grange reaching £2877 with a 714kg Charolais; six other heifers over £2700 included one from Lawson & Son, Hundith House, Cole Hill Farm Ltd, W Miller, R Hirst (x2) and another from Hood Grange.
Today’s Lead Grossing Clean Cattle Averages:
Messrs Sayer sold 2 (745kg) average £2973
Messrs R Miller Ltd sold 10 (798kg) average £2973
MJ&EA Sedgewick sold 6 (684kg) average £2807
J Brown sold 3 (686kg average £2727
Top Clean Cattle Averages ppk:
W Miller sold 15 (557kg) average 440ppk
R Hirst sold 12 (562kg) average 435ppk
SH Watson & Sons sold 3 (573kg) average 433ppk
Cole Hill Farm Ltd sold 11 (600kg) average 431ppk
Steers – Top prices ppk 442 W Miller. 439 410 409 404 402 398 MJ&EA Sedgewick. 429 424 414 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 424 414 Askwiths. 414 391 389 I Marshall & Sons. 411 388 Messrs Sayer. 397 383 369 365 351 Messrs R Miller. 362 TN Callender.
Lead Grossing Steers £3044 £2886 £2864 £2830 £2825 £2778 £2765 £2738 £2730 Messrs R Miller. £3041 £2905 Messrs Sayer. £3005 £2862 Askwiths. £2960 £2784 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £2911 £2846 £2818 £2811 £2740 £2714 MJ&EA Sedgewick. £2757 £2707 £2637 £2627 I Marshall & Sons.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 454 450 449 448 446 444×2 443 442 440 428 W Miller. 453 439 SH Watson & Son. 451 450 449×2 447 437 435 432 430 R Hirst. 450 447×2 436 431 430×2 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. 442 439 422 JV&JA Hodgson. 438 Askwiths. 438 B Walker. 432 CR Horner. 429 428 422 MF Hall. 421 420×2 Lawson & son. 419 J Brown.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2877 £2719 £2585 J Brown. £2779 £2591 Lawson & Son. £2759 £2663 £2628 £2601 £2556 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £2756 W Miller. £2708 £2704 £2687 £2595 R Hirst. £2698 £2677 JV&JA Hodgson. £2696 £2619 TN Callender. £2647 £2569 £2556 WF Hustwit. £2630 B Walker. £2618 S Luck & Son. £2568 £2511 SH Watson & Son. £2568 MF Hall. £2567 £2526 £2488 W Miller.
Prime Lambs (1658) – The extra dry weather isn’t suiting the lamb trade, quite a few lambs losing their backs are resulting in poorer killing out percentages; this combined with more numbers forward has just put the brakes on the lamb prices. All included, weighed straight the sale averaged 357ppk and £161.17 per head, not all doom and gloom as this is still up £10 per head on the same week last year. A superstar 48kg Beltex lamb from DG & PD Ayre, Roger Moor led the prices per kilo when it sold for 468 pence (£225). Others high up in the pence per kilo race included RG Richardson, East Farm with 50kg at 426ppk plus JR Knox & Son, Bracks Farm with 54kg at 425ppk and Oliver Walton, The Meadow with 55kg at 425ppk. The brilliant black tup lamb from Oliver Walton turned out to be the day’s top gross valued lamb when it sold for £234. The top forty-five lambs still sold over £200, all would be heavy weights as the big lambs remain by far the easiest to sell.
Leading averages
T Lawson & Son sold 16 averaged £196.75 (51kg)
RG Richardson sold 39 averaged £196.59 (49kg)
Anna Herbert sold 8 averaged £188.88 (47kg)
TA Robson & Son sold 58 averaged £184.28 (48kg)
W & M Knaggs & Son sold 19 averaged £180.74 (47kg)
JR Knox & Son sold 20 averaged £180.63 (48kg)
WKMM Lamb sold 21 averaged £180.64 (48kg)
D Richardson & Co sold 14 averaged £180 (50kg)
Lambs – Top prices ppk 468 393 DG&PD Ayre. 426 418 404 393 392 RG Richardson. 425 397 JR Knox & Son. 425 G&E Walton. 420 395 393 JV&JA Hodgson. 416 402 391 O Chapman & O Parkin. 416 395×2 387 TA Robson & Son. 415 397 392 W&M Knaggs & Son. 409 405 T Lawson & Son. 409 Harry Askwith. 405 R Valks. 402 401 393 Anna Herbert. 398 JM&S Walton. 396 CJM Hedley. 396 W.K M.M Lamb. 395 A&R Breeze. 393 D&PH Brown.
Lead Grossing Lambs £234 G&E Walton. £230 £187 JR Knox & Son. £225 DG&PD Ayre. £223 JM&S Walton. £221 Harry Askwith. £217 £198 £194 W.K M.M Lamb. £213 £205 £200 £198 £189 RG Richardson. £212 £211 £209 T Lawson & son. £209 £189 Anna Herbert. £202 JK Gill & Son. £202 PD Shepherd Farm. £201 £200 O Chapman & O Parkin. £200 £190 TA Robson & Son. £200 WL Robinson & Partners. £196 £191 £187 W&M Knaggs & Son. £194.50 CJM Hedley.
Cast Ewes & Rams (161) – Ewe trade sharper with all classes in stronger demand to see them average £152.75. Top of the day at £271 was a cracking little Blue Texel ewe from EW Grieves, Oakdene. Following at £257 was a cracking Texel ewe from W Hanson, Highcliffe; the same home followed again at £250 along with one from N & MJ Parkin, Elm Grange. Tups topped at £248 from CK & D Muir Ltd, Grinkle Park with the same home topping the Mule ewes at £161. Swaledale ewes averaged £90 and sold to a top of £140 from JR & JA Wharton, Segbushwell.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £271 EW Grieves. £257 £250 3239 W Hanson. £250 N&MJ Parkin. £248 £162 £161×2 CK&D Muir Ltd. £237 £180 T Lawson & Son. £228 £209 £191 WR Wilson & Partners. £200 ND Morgan. £198 AWSM Farms. £197 £177 JA&A Herbert. £196 A&R Breeze. £191 W&M Knaggs & Son. £191 JW&DW Laing. £181 Messrs Bell. £180 JCW Taylor.
