Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their opening sale of breeding sheep in conjunction with the weekly sale of cast cattle and store stock on Monday 27th July 2026. Forward were 244 cattle, 1139 sheep and 46 calves and stirks.
35 Cast Cows/OTM sold to 342ppk or £3168
8 Stock Bulls sold to 342ppk or £3591
1 Cow & Calf sold for £2500
19 Young Bulls sold to £2000
69 Store Steers sold to £2560
111 Store Heifers sold to £2400
4 Breeding Rams sold to £750
178 Breeding Ewes/Shearlings sold to £400
635 Store Lambs sold to £170
322 Feeding Ewes/Rams sold to £254
6 Stirks sold to £540
40 Rearing Calves sold to £1000
Breeding Sheep – The shearlings have certainly hit the ground running this year, very nearly £100 apiece ahead of 2025. The excellent early lamb prices have certainly moved the breeders up through the gears. The run of the day came from CA & JG Skidmore, Needless Hall; the seventy strong Suffolk and Texel shearlings from this home sold to a top of £400 and averaged a very healthy £345.65. The majority of shearlings sold either side of £300 including a pen of Scotch Mule shearlings at £295 from P Tindale, Preston Tilery. A British Rouge two shear topped the tups from Double O Livestock at £750.
Breeding Sheep:
Texel Shearlings – £400 £390 £370 £365 £360×2 £355 £350×2 £340×3 CA&JG Skidmore. £360 KO Stones. £320 £305 £295 CM&TF Seymour.
Suffolk Shearlings – £325 £300×2 £290×2 CA&JG Skidmore. £275 PJ Tindale.
Continental Shearlings – £310 O Chapman & O Parkin.
Mule Shearlings – £295 PJ Tindale.
Breeding Ewes:
Continental – £180 E Worsley.
Breeding Rams:
Rouge – £750 O Chapman & O Parkin.
Cast Cattle – The cow trade maintained last week’s high levels, on paper the averages rose as a smart show levelled up at 290ppk and £2129 per head. Top female per kilo at 342 pence was a sweet British Blue OTM from Anthony Tindale, Paradise Farm; following twice at 338ppk where fleshy cows from EW Grieves, Oakdene just ahead of a British Blue cow from NG Beveridge, Low West House at 336ppk. Bulls also sold to 342ppk when a splendid 1050kg Limousin from Rochester & Murray, Glebe Farm went under the hammer, he also ran out as the top grossing bull at £3591. Top gross valued cow at a massive £3168 was a fabulous 960kg pedigree Limousin cow from JC Johnson, Beanley Carr. Native breeds aplenty today, twice bidding hit 322ppk as a Hereford from AP Taylor, Ox Close matched an Aberdeen Angus from DA & MAM Brown, Agglethorpe Hall. Top of the native cows in the lump were a couple of Aberdeen Angus from G & JH Tomlinson & Son, Sunniside when they sold at £2590 and £2465 whilst native bred bulls saw a Lincoln Red from SN Bird & Sons, Naisberry reach £2504 and an Aberdeen Angus from Deerness Valley Dairy sell for 312ppk.
Cast Cows – Top prices ppk 342 Rochester & Murray. 342 P Tindale. 338×2 308 EW Grieves. 336 320 NG Beveridge. 330 JC Johnson. 328 LR Welsh & Co. 322 316 AP Taylor. 322 Taylor Bros. 322 310 280 DA&MAM Brown. 320 W Ramsay & Sons. 316 D&PH Brown. 314 290 G&JH Tomlinson & Son. 296 JR Fell. 292 Raby Home Farm. 290 DR Smith. 282 C&JC Stephenson. 278 W Burton. 274 DL&D Lovegreen.
Lead Grossing Cast Cows £3591 Rochester & Murray. £3168 JC Johnson. £2616 D&PH Brown. £2590 £2465 £2219 G&JH Tomlinson & Son. £2447 Taylor Bros. £2400 £2318 NG Beveridge. £2364 LR Welsh & Co. £2341 £2047 AP Taylor. £2338 £2305 £2140 EW Grieves. £2272 W Ramsay & Sons. £2185 P Tindale. £2163 £2036 DA&MAM Brown. £2016 DL&D Lovegreen. £2013 C&JC Stephenson. £1983 DR Smith.
Cast Bulls – Top prices ppk 312 TM&A Bellas & Son. 312 292 284 264 Deerness Valley Dairy. 242 SN Bird & Sons.
Lead Grossing Cast Bulls £2960 TM&A Bellas & Son. £2504 SN Bird & Sons. £2471 £2324 £2263 £2241 Deerness Valley Dairy.
Store Cattle – A nice show for the time of year traded at incredible levels, no doubting that these are the dearest witnessed for quite some time. More new faces amongst the vendors and buyers as the vibrant DfAM store ring goes from strength to strength, more can easily be sold weekly and we are always delighted to see new and returning faces. Top at a wonderful £2560 was a strong British Blue steer from F Crawford, Park Farm, the same good home then followed with a terrific quartet of Aberdeen Angus steers at £2500. Topping the heifers at £2400 was another excellent Angus, this one hailed from B Needham, Woolhouse Farm. Young bulls sold to a top of £2000 for a smart Limousin from A Todd, Kirby Grange Farm; also, in the bull’s mention should go to the 11-month-old Friesian’s of JK Gregory, Porch House at a pleasing £1380 per head.
Cows & Calves £2500 HG Lynas & Son.
Store Bulls £2000 A Todd. £1780 ME&TD Tailford. £1760 £1740 F Fabi. £1560 TT Hall & Son. £1520 £1400×2 £1340×2 £1080 JR Allan. £1380×4 £1280 £1160 JK Gregory.
Store Steers £2560 £2500×4 £2220×2 F Crawford. £2400 DR Smith. £2240×4 A Todd. £2140 TW&G Corner. £2100 B Needham. £2080 £1840×3 £1810×3 A Wilson. £2030 £1900 £1880 £1820 I Newton & Son. £1980 P Leese. £1960×2 £1930×3 £1920×4 £1820 M Richardson. £1920 £1900 Forster Hall & Sons. £1880 D Walker. £1820 AW Dixon. £1800×6 Messrs Ewebank Ltd. £1780 JG Wilkinson & Son.
Store Heifers £2400 B Needham. £2380 £2250 £2200 £2070 £1930 DR Smith. £2330 £2140 £2120 £2060 £1920×2 JR Fell. £2320 £2110 £1960 D Robson. £2060 £2050 £2010×2 £2000 £1940 £1900 William Tindale. £2040 P Leese. £1980 TW&G Corner. £1960 F Crawford. £1950×3 Wilkinson & Son. £1910×2 £1880 A Wilson. £1890 JG Wilkinson. £1860×3 D Walker.
Store Lambs – The fast lamb trade continues, a real hard-working show of long keep lambs this week all found new homes with ease as they remain well ahead on the year. Top at £170 was a strong Texel lamb from Robert Raw, Green Lane Farm; top of the Suffolk’s at £168 was GH Lister, Holebeck House whilst mention must also go to GW Dobson & Son, Wood Close who hit £160 with a Bleu Du Maine. Short keepers still £140 plus, longer term projects making three figures with great regularity. The annual consignment of two-hundred hill bred lambs from JP Richardson, Northdale Farm saw the sweet young sorts this year reach a pleasing top of £106.
Store Lambs:
Texel – £170 £158×2 £150 R Raw. £146 £141 £134 £133 GH Lister. £141 £120 A Swinbank. £140 £137 J McLaughlin & E Colling. £135 £131 £125 A&R Thompson. £130 £118 S Pyebourne. £130 £123 £121 M&A Gaskin. £130 £129×3 A Spence. £129 J Kelly. £125 £124 LF&HC Wood. £113 W Coatsworth.
Suffolk – £168 GH Lister. £134 J McLaughlin & E Colling. £123 £122 GW Dobson & Son. £120 S Beeforth.
Continental – £160 £128 GW Dobson & Son. £136 £134 £131 £119 S Beeforth. £129 JE&AJ Mitchell. £118 £116 A Swinbank.
Beltex – £126 JE&AJ Mitchell.
Cheviot – £117 L Bird.
Feeding Ewes – A much bigger offering of ewes and an excellent trade to go with it as a host of buyers gathered ringside. A terrific Texel from F Ward, Rogerley Hall led the trade at £254, plenty of the stronger continentals sold over £200. Mule ewes sold to a top of £181 from A Naisbitt, Westerleigh and averaged £124. Cheviot ewes sold to £170 from KO Stones, Nun Cote Nook whilst Blackface ewes from FR & AL Lyth, Mount Pleasant topped the horned sheep with six at £118.
Texel – £254 £208 £193 £174 F Ward. £240 £210 £196 £151 £148 £140 A&R Thompson. £218 KO Stones. £186 £176 £172 £159 DW Robinson. £182 E Worsley.
Beltex – £220 J McLaughlin & E Colling.
Continental – £200 O Chapman & O Parkin. £190 A Naisbitt. £182 S Beeforth. £180 F Ward. £178 J McLaughlin & E Colling. £174 £156 C Harle & Sons. £171 £150 JV Hodgson & Son.
Blue Texel – £194 J McLaughlin & E Colling.
BFL – £186 £150 J Shadforth.
Mule – £180 A Naisbitt. £151 DW Robinson. £150 F Ward.
Cheviot – £170 KO Stones.
Rearing Calves – The calf trade is colossal, an all in average of £654.53 per head as the calves go arguably dearer again. Top of the day at £1000 and £990 were a couple of 4-month-old Limousin stirks from W Burton, West Common Top. The young calves sailed over £700 with great regularity, with the exception of the Friesian bull calves absolutely nothing traded under £500. Numbers may be short during the summer but make no mistake, the trade is absolutely sizzling, many more could be handled with ease at our next fortnightly offering.
Limousin Steer Stirks (2 av £995) – £1000 £990 W Burton.
Friesian Stirks (6 av £540) – £540×6 A McCrorie.
Limousin Bulls (5 av £725) – £790 RL Carter. £740 £700 JR&JA Wharton. £700 £695 RW Raper & Sons.
Angus Bulls (6 av £676) – £785 R Tookey & Son. £710 £680 H Gibb & Son. £650×2 £585 RW Raper & Sons.
Blue Bulls (11 av £696) – £755 H Gibb & Son. £715 £710 £700 £670 £660 £630 Stockdale Partners. £715 £710 £705 RW Raper & Sons. £690 JR&JA Wharton.
Friesian Bulls 3 av £413) – £475 £395 RW Raper & Sons. £370 JL Miles & Sons.
Blue Heifers (6 av £631) – £705 £680 £650 R Tookey & Son. £590 £585 £580 RW Raper & Sons.
Angus Heifers (3 av £563) – £590 £550 JL Miles & Sons. £550 RW Raper & Sons.
Limousin Heifers (3 av £573) – £580 £560 RW Raper & Sons. £580 JR&JA Wharton.
