£288 lamb from William Simpson
Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 11th June 2026. Forward were 194 cattle and 1026 sheep.
38 Prime Bulls sold to 405ppk or £3372
51 Prime Steers sold to 420ppk or £2882
105 Prime Heifers sold to 448ppk or £2846
902 New Season Lambs sold to 548ppk or £288
38 Prime Hoggs sold to 338ppk or £180
86 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £220
Prime Bulls (38) – Number short and trade noticeably better on the week as the offering averaged 352ppk and £2463. Best bulls look slightly firmer however the real lift looked to be for the well fleshed R grade bulls which were considerably better to sell. Top price per kilo of 405 pence went to a beautiful 602kg Limousin bull from A & D Proctor, Swarland Old Hall, at the tender age of just 13-months the Swarland superstar fought off four others which sold in the 390’s. Four of the top five gross values were British Blonde bulls this week, seven bulls in total sold over £3000; top of them all at £3372 was a hefty 929kg Blonde from JJ Horn, Bushy Park. A fine Limousin from SH Watson & Son, Low Fields followed at £3322 ahead of another Bushy Park Blonde at £3251 and another two Blondes from F & JS Gargett, Westwick Farm at £3188 and £3142. Friesian feeders also looked better rewarded on the week, top spots of £2050 and 328ppk went to JM & S Walton, Brettanby Farm and to GS Dowson, East Barmby respectively.
A few of today’s top grossing averages:
JJ Horn sold 2 (873kg) average £3311
SH Watson & Son sold 2 (816kg) average £3177
F&JS Gargett sold 3 (788kg) average £3073
Today’s top averages ppk:
A&D Proctor sold 2 (639kg) average 392ppk
F&JS Gargett sold 3 (816kg) average 389ppk
SH Watson & Son sold 2 (816kg) average 389ppk
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 405 382 A&D Proctor. 399 389 370 359 WA Wardman Ltd. 399 381 SH Watson. 398 363 JJ Horn. 397 387 386 F&JS Gargett. 383 PI Harker. 361 K&A Harker. 371 C Binks & Son. 361 360 GH Farms. 355 350 JM&S Walton. 351 JM Shotton. 343 335 334 JC&P Tallentire.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £3372 £3251 JJ Horn. £3322 £3032 SH Watson & Son. £3188 £3142 £2890 F&JS Gargett. £3038 C Binks & Son. £2995 PI Harker. £2991 £2778 £2669 £2595 WA Wardman Ltd. £2956 K&A Harker. £2610 £2545 GH Farms Ltd. £2586 £2438 A&D Proctor. £2555 £2403 JM Shotton. £2345 JM&S Walton.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 348 JM Shotton. 328 R Hall & Son. 307 JM&S Walton.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2241 JM&S Walton. £2125 R Hall & Son. £2004 JM Shotton.
Friesian/Dairy Bulls – Top prices ppk 328 318 310 GS Dowson. 326 JM&S Walton. 319 308 R Hall & Son. 286 JC&P Tallentire. 278×2 JK&CE Farming.
Lead Grossing Friesian/Dairy Bulls £2153 £1955 R Hall & Son. £2050 JM&S Walton. £1882 £1820 JK&CE Farming. £1796 JC&P Tallentire. £1722 £1643 £1545 GS Dowson.
Clean Cattle (156) – Substantial amounts of weight around again this week, the super heavies would in fact be a touch firmer whilst the butchers shop sorts traded at similar levels to seven days ago. Thirty-three sold at 400ppk or more whilst fourteen passed £2700; all included the averages returned at 372ppk and £2298 for heifers and 345ppk and £2462 for the steers. Two vendors shared the top spot per kilo with heifers at 448 pence, a lovely 610kg Parthenais from W Swinbank & Sons, Greystones was joined by a smart 562kg British Blue from the Askwiths of Low Mown Meadows. Regular selling JV & JA Hodgson, The Grange followed at 440ppk whilst the three vendors in the 430’s were made up of JJ Crichton, Loughrigg; Taylor Bros, Belle Isle and R Hirst, Neasham Grange. Steers topped per kilo at 420 pence for a very sweet lightweight Limousin from J Davis, Low Trough; the other two steer vendors passing 400ppk were the on-song W Swinbank & Sons and AF Hall, Redcar House. Some Cumbrian quality dominated the gross values this week, top at £2882 was an excellent 728kg Limousin steer from Messrs DA Harrison, Hill House; next in line at £2846 was a terrific 757kg Limousin heifer from JJ Crichton, Loughrigg whilst the top spots were completed by Messrs R Miller Ltd, Arkleby Hall with their super steers twice reaching £2845.
Clean Cattle- PPK Top Averages
R Hirst sold 9 (600kg) Average 404ppk
I Marshall & Sons sold 4 (577kg) Average 403ppk
JJ Crichton sold 4 (646kg) Average 399ppk
W&M Knaggs & Son sold 2 (458kg) Average 399ppk
Clean Cattle- Lead Grossing Top Averages
AF Hall sold 5 (708kg) Average £2683
Messrs R Miller Ltd sold 12 (735kg) Average £2599
JJ Crichton sold 4 (646kg) Average £2580
DA Harrison sold 15 (717kg) Average £2566
Steers – Top prices ppk 420 394 J Davis. 403 374 370 369 AF Hall. 400 W Swinbank & Sons. 396 366 363 360×2 358×2 353 348 347 Messrs DA Harrison. 395 377 371 370 360 359 347 346 Messrs R Miller. 380 348 Askwiths. 366 365 360×2 JD Forsyth & Son. £2458 R&LJ Simpson.
Lead Grossing Steers £2882 £2802 £2757 £2731 £2644 £2620 £2543 £2536 £2477 Messrs DA Harrison. £2845×2 £2775 £2661 £2623 £2567 £2520 £2505 £2464 Messrs R Miller. £2815 Askwiths. £2788 £2730 £2610 £2605 AF Hall. £2715 W Swinbank & Sons. £2624 £2609 £2557 £2539 £2527 JD Forsyth & Son. £2458 R&LJ Simpson.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 448 393 Askwiths. 448 400 W Swinbank & Sons. 437 426 JJ Crichton. 433 Taylor Bros. 430 425 420 418 406 404 R Hirst. 429 398 396 392 I Marshall & Sons. 419 417 412 399 JV&JA Hodgson. 419 390 J Davis. 418 383 B Walker. 417 Messrs R Miller. 412 405 394 393 JG&M Little. 410 M Shepherd. 403 NE Dyson. 400×2 397 WF Hustwit. 392×2 JE Suddes & Son.
Lead Grossing Heifers £2846 £2771 JJ Crichton. £2732 £2531 W Swinbank & Sons. £2686 DH Lawson. £2626 £2607 NE Dyson. £2623 £2606 £2463 Messrs DA Harrison. £2605 £2547 £2488 JG&M Little. £2580 £2570 £2503 £2477 R Hirst. £2540 Messrs R Miller. £2526 £2508 £2481 JV&JA Hodgson. £2517 Askwiths. £2492 I Marshall & Sons. £2465 £2438 £2436 JE Suddes & Son. £2459 Taylor Bros. £2454 £2453 £2447 B Walker.
New Season Lambs (902) – More magical scenes in the lamb ring, the marvellous averages continue as a smart show levelled at a wonderful weighed straight 477ppk and £210.46 per head. The hope of the sellers is that long may this trade continue, nine buyers ringside all keen for numbers despite prices sitting over 100ppk and some £47 head up on the same week last year. Incredibly two-hundred and seventy lambs sold over 500ppk, heavy sheep in high demand as sixty-five sold over £250 and a further ninety passed £240. An excellent run from JC Simpson, Hill Top East, Caldwell gained the top spot per kilo with half a dozen excellent 45kg lambs selling at 548 pence (£247). Two tremendous little 41kg Beltex lambs from AWSM Farms, Hutton Magna followed at 543ppk (£223) before two tidy pens of ten from the Caldwell crusader sold at 537ppk, 45kg at £242 and 48kg at £258. Gross values; William Swinbank, whom some might label the hardest worker at Hill Top East, only brought one lamb today, but that one was a very special sort, a 55kg Texel crossed Suffolk stole the show when it sold to Roots Farm Shop for a season’s best £288 (523ppk). Next in line at £267 were eight 52kg crackers from the same home, these belonging to the more experienced JC Simpson; following at £265 and again at £260 were great sheep from York based M & J Smith, Common Farm as they sandwiched a topper from D & PH Brown, Cordilleras Farm at £261. Plenty of lightweight lambs and Mule bred lambs on offer were again able to trade consistently £190 to £210, the heavies regardless of breeding are all well beyond £220 and many are catching the heights of the £230’s, £240’s and £250’s.
Lambs- PPK Top Averages
JC Simpson sold 141 (45kg) Average 513ppk
M&J Smith sold 50 (48kg) Average 512ppk
Anna Herbert sold 7 (47kg) Average 505ppk
TA Greensit & Sons sold 20 (42kg) Average 491ppk
JV&JA Hodgson sold 23 (41kg) Average 491ppk
Lambs- Lead Grossing Top Averages
J Fletcher sold 2 (52kg) Average £251
M&J Smith sold 50 (48kg) Average £250
Anna Herbert sold 7 (47kg) Average £240
JP Coatsworth sold 20 (48kg) Average £238
JC Simpson sold £141 (45kg) Average £234
D&PH Brown sold 7 (46kg) Average £229
Lambs- Top Prices PPK 548 537 x2 527 522 519 516 513 511 x2 509 508 JC Simpson. 543 500 497 495 AWSM Farms. 531 516 510 Anna Herbert. 523 W Simpson. 521 520 x3 516 510 x2 502 496 490 M&J Smith. 515 495 490 JV&JA Hodgson. 511 497 W&M Knaggs & Son. 506 GF Whitfield. 506 504 K&PM Lough. 503 JE Suddes & Son. 502 491 PJ Tindale. 502 500 497 JA&A Herbert. 503 492 TA Greensit & Sons. 502 R Lawson & Son. 500 JE&E Dobson. 496 492 D&PH Brown. 496 JP Coatsworth & Son. 492 J Fletcher.
Lead Grossing Lambs- £288 W Simpson. £267 £258 £253 £248 £247 £244 £242 £234 £230 £225 x2 £224 £220 JC Simpson. £265 £260 £258 x2 £255 x3 £245 £241 M&J Smith. £261 £248 £220 D&PH Brown. £258 £236 £224 R Lawson & Son. £258 £236 PJ Tindale. £256 £246 J Fletcher. £253 JV&JA Hodgson. £250 £248 £245 Anna Herbert. £250 Duell Partners. £249 IR Appleton. £248 £235 JP Coatsworth & Son. £241.50 JE Suddes & Son. £238 K&PM Lough. £236 x2 £230 TW Clark & Son. £233 GF Whitfield. £231 TA Greensit & Sons. £231 £225 RA Patterson & Son. £227 C Binks & Son. £225 JE&E Dobson. £224.50 RD&D Elders & Son. £224 R Lawson & Son. £223 AWSM Farms. £221 JA&A Herbert. £220 W&M Knaggs & Son.
Prime Hoggs (38) – The hoggs are in decline now, they appear to be well sifted through. Tops went to GF Whitfield, Hamsteels Hall at £180 with a pair of 67kg Texels and 338ppk to RE & L Frank, Crabtree Farm with four 52kg continentals.
Hoggs – Top prices ppk 338 291×2 264 245 RE&L Frank. 294 RA Patterson & Son. 288 268 222 220 GF Whitfield. 250 240 232 R Tiplady & Son. 236×2 TW Clark & Son. 220 210 JM&S Walton. 229 JE Suddes & Son.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £180 £173 £150×2 GF Whitfield. £176 £150 £140×3 RE&L Frank. £170 £140 I Spedding. £168 RA Patterson & Son. £140 JE Suddes & Son. £132 £120 JM&S Walton.
Cast Ewes/Rams (86) – Not so much enthusiasm in the ewe ring as the sale averaged just over £141 per head. Top at £220 was a cracking Texel ewe from Anna Herbert, West Shaws, the same seller also reached £200 alongside W & M Knaggs, East Newbiggin. Mule ewes topped at £148 from CS Robinson, Valley View and averaged £132.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £220 £200 Anna Herbert. £200 £180×2 £154 W&M Knaggs & Son. £178 £159 £138 JV&JA Hodgson. £170×2 £157 £150 £134 GF Whitfield. £170 £164 £160 £142 £140×2 K&PM Lough. £162 £160 JM&S Walton. £154 £140 RA Patterson & Son. £150×2 C Binks & Son. £150 RE&L Frank. £148 £134 CS Robinson. £140 JE Suddes & Son. £140 R Tookey & Son.
