DARLINGTON MART
Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 28 th August 2025.
Forward were 212 cattle and 1662 sheep.
83 Prime Bulls sold to 432ppk or £3505
31 Prime Steers sold to 445ppk or £3120
98 Prime Heifers sold to 482ppk or £3000
1359 Prime Lambs sold to 390ppk or £206
303 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £288
Prime Bulls (83) – On bulldozes the bull trade to close out August with another sharp trade, a few
more forward this week averaged 377ppk and £2696 per head. Bidding reached at least 400ppk on a
marvellous twenty-five occasions, seven of the crèmes de la crème traded at 420ppk and above. Top
of the pops today at 432 pence per kilo was a sensational 729kg Limousin from J H & M & N W
Brown, West Hartburn Farm; the same good feeding followed at 429ppk along with a cracker from
W & M Knaggs & Son, East Newbiggin. Twenty-six bulls from no less than a dozen different vendors
joined the £3000 plus club this week, leading them all over the line was a double muscled 853kg
British Blue from E Wilson, White Hills Farm. Next in line at £3452 was a good sort from L R Welsh &
Co, Green Lane Farm with bulls from the aforementioned Knaggs pen and also D Richardson & Co,
Bracken House in close attendance. Aberdeen Angus bulls blew the native competition away today
as A G Watson & Sons, Nunstainton Grange led the gross values at £3058 and B W & A O Manners,
High Weetslade Farm topped the pence per kilo at 486. Some of the days leading averages are listed
below.
JH & M & NW Brown sold 3 to average 422ppk and £3167
W & M Knaggs & Son sold 3 to average 420ppk and £3121
GK, KN & GJ Hird sold 3 to average 416ppk and £3052
LR Welsh & Co sold 4 to average 406ppk and £3079
DW Humphrey sold 3 to average 405ppk and £2980
A & D Proctor sold 3 to average 403ppk and £2853
D Richardson & Co sold 5 to average 398ppk and £3224
Continental Bulls Leading PPK – 432 429 409 JH & M & NW Brown. 429 417 416 W & M Knaggs &
Son. 421 418 412 GK, KN & GJ Hird. 420 406 AG Watson & Sons. 420 418 416 L R Welsh & Co. 420
404 A & D Proctor. 411 E Wilson. 410 409 401 D Richardson & Co. 409 D H Lawson. 409 407 402 DW
Humphrey. 402 C Binks & Son. 399 J C Thwaite & Son. 399 PJ & ES Rogerson.
Native Breed Bulls Leading PPK – 386 350 338 BW & AO Manners. 378 368 AG Watson & Sons. 341
JA & M Boyes Ltd.
Friesian Bulls Leading PPK – 326 324 312(x2) Messrs Tallentire. 298 D Walker. 270 260 C & M
Atkinson.
Continental Bulls Leading Gross – £3505 E Wilson. £3452 £3112 £3005 L R Welsh & Co. £3311 £3213
W & M Knaggs & Son. £3301 £3288 £3267 £3168 £3096 D Richardson & Co. £3292 DH Lawson.
£3222 £3149 £3131 JH & M & NW Brown. £3214 £3170 £3076 £3058 £3030 A G Watson & Sons.
£3155 £3135 GT & E Atkinson. £3085 £3081 GK, KN & GJ Hird. £3080 PJ & ES Rogerson. £3071 DW
Humphrey.
Native Breed Bulls Leading Gross – £3058 £2982 A G Watson & Sons. £2680 JA & M Boyes Ltd. £2288
BW & AO Manners.
Friesian Bulls Leading Gross – £1914 £1903 £1775 £1672 Messrs Tallentire. £1713 D Walker. £1666 C
& M Atkinson.
Clean Cattle (129) – More forward proved to be no problem whatsoever as a sharper trade for all
classes ensured that the clean beef followed Grimsby Town in to the next round to see the steers
average 413ppk and £2674 per head with the heifers levelling at 427ppk and £2507. Tightly packed
at the top of the pence per kilo list this week with the leading dozen all selling between 468ppk and
482ppk, the West was just best as a cracking 561kg British Blue heifer across from W Miller, High
Aketon, Wigton led the way; those snapping hardest at the Cumbrians heels were excellent Limousin
heifers from R Hirst, Neasham Grange at 480ppk and W Swinbank & Sons, Greystones at 479ppk.
Topping the steers per kilo at an excellent 445 pence was a flashy 607kg British Blue from WO Grix &
Partners, Hill Head Farm; following Messrs Grix in to the mix were six other steers from four vendors
all selling between 434ppk and 437ppk. The greatest gross values went to a top trio of Limousin
steers from J A & M Boyes Ltd, Strathmore House which all sold over £3000 to a top of £3120 for a
well finished sort at 761kg. Top value in the lump for a heifer went to an excellent 706kg Limousin
from JE Suddes & Son, Rowley Farm at £3000, following at £2963 was another from the same
feeding ahead of a well finished sort from Lawson & Son, Hundith House at £2959 and an Aberdeen
Angus from NE Dyson, Gebdykes Farm at £2901. See below some of the leading averages.
Steers
W Miller sold 2 to average 435ppk and £2503
Five Houses sold 9 to average 424ppk and £2626
I Marshall & Sons sold 5 to average 422ppk and £2691
Taylor Bros Ltd sold 3 to average 421ppk and £2334
JA & M Boyes Ltd sold 3 to average 416ppk and £3086
Heifers
Askwiths sold 3 to average 455ppk and £2333
TW Clark & Son sold 2 to average 448ppk and £2777
W Miller sold 13 to average 448ppk and £2466
WO Grix & Partners sold 2 to average 446ppk and £2827
R Hirst sold 11 to average 441ppk and £2504
JV & JA Hodgson sold 8 to average 438ppk and £2664
Steers- Top Prices PPK 445 WO Grix & Partners. 437 435 428 x2 425 424 423 416 404 Five Houses.
436 428 418 416 414 I Marshall & Sons. 435 x2 W Miller. 434 B Walker. 424 417 410 JA&M Boyes
LTD. 423 422 420 Taylor Bros LTD.
Heifers- Top Prices PPK 482 470 x2 468 x2 448 447 444 440 434 430 W Miller. 480 469 x2 468 449
438 R Hirst. 479 456 x2 452 440 W Swinbank & Sons. 468 454 444 Askwiths. 468 WA Richardson LTD.
454 451 435 434 Lawson & Son. 451 449 447 445 444 434 JV&JA Hodgson. 450 446 TW Clark & Son.
450 449 NE Dyson. 449 445 WO Grix & Partners. 447 FW Hodgson & Son. 441 JR Tiplady. 431 B
Walker.
Lead Grossing Steers £3120 £3082 £3056 JA&M Boyes Ltd. £2974 £2797 £2647 £2626 £2602 £2589
£2552 £2512 £2337 Five Houses. £2937 JE Suddes & Son. £2930 £2902 Askwiths. £2800 £2738
£2704 £2616 £2595 I Marshall & Sons. £2701 WO Grix & Partners. £2695 B Walker. £2663 £2628
RA&BA Ridley & Son. £2509 £2515 A Crowder. £2531 £2475 W Miller. £2350 £2335 Taylor Bros.
Lead Grossing Heifers £3000 £2963 JE Suddes & Son. £2959 £2801 £2764 £2696 £2655 Lawson &
Son. £2901 £2738 £2664 NE Dyson. £2899 £2766 £2740 £2631 W Swinbank & Sons. £2870 £2783
WO Grix & Partners. £2868 WA Richardson Ltd. £2814 £2800 £2762 £2742 £2649 JV&JA Hodgson.
£2793 FW Hodgson & Son. £2790 £2765 TW Clark & Son. £2758 P&N Tattersall. £2738 £2686 £2682
£2659 R Hirst. £2704 W Miller. £2645 WF Hustwit. £2634 RA&BA Ridley & Son.
Prime Lambs (1359) – Demand remains high for the hopper fed lambs, the thickest flesh would be
dearer on the week, lean meat is nobody’s desire. The sale averaged just £1.44 less than last week to
level weighed straight all in £145.01 today which equated to 314ppk. Prices then this week sit just
over £10 per head ahead on the same week last year. The spotlight in today’s report shines very
much on a super run of lambs from AWSM Farms, Hutton Magna; credit goes to them and their
longstanding shepherd Graham Wood as they twice topped the pounds per head at £206 with a pair
and a trio at 54kg and 55kg plus they also led the pence per kilo with seven weighing 51kg at 390
pence. The nearest challenger emerging to the splendid run from AWSM was young Anna Herbert,
West Shaws Farm with a tremendous 56kg Suffolk lamb selling for £205. Eighty further lambs sold
over £180 on a day which saw the heavyweights dominate throughout as the top two-hundred
prices per head all weighed 47kg and above. Some top pen averages are listed below.
JR Knox & Son sold 22 (49kg) to average £177.82
Anna Herbert sold 7 (51kg) to average £177.14
M & A Gaskin sold 45 (49kg) to average £173.98
AWSM Farms sold 121 (48kg) to average £173.42
Lambs – Top prices ppk 390 381 375 374 366 359 358×2 357 342 AWSM Farms. 378 366 338 Anna
Herbert. 375 339 335×2 HT Davies & Partners. 367 360 352 JR Knox & Son. 363 345 342 M&A Gaskin.
357 353 338 JK Gill & Son. 355 R Errington & Son. 353 345 337 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 351 340 A&R
Breeze. 346 PM Hill. 345 I&A Holmes. 342 337 JA&A Herbert. 341 PRE Marwood. 340 JJ Horn. 339
WR Thompson. 338 JC Thwaite & Son. 337 G Thompson & Son.
Lead Grossing Lambs £206×2 £199 £195 £172 £169 £168 £165×2 AWSM Farms. £205 £189 £169
Anna Herbert. £196 £190 £178 £168 T Lawson & Son. £191 I Walker. £189 £166 M&A Gaskin. £186
JC Thwaite & Son. £185 £170 R Errington & Son. £180 £169 £168 £166×2 JK Gill & Son. £180×2 £176
JR Knox & Son. £175 D&HM Hodgson. £175 £169 D&PH Brown. £174 R Stapleton. £172 G Thompson
& Sons. £169×2 £166 I&A Holmes. £168 J Henshaw. £167 JJ Horn.
Cast Ewes & Rams (303) – Much like the lamb trade, meat is absolutely key. The best end of the
ewes would be noticeably dearer on the week, the leaner end very similar, perhaps even a shade
less. All in the ewes and rams averaged today £118.37. Top of the trade was a fantastic Texel ram
from Cole Hill Farm, Elwick when he sold for £288, the pick of the ewes at £270 was also a Texel, she
hailed from J C Thwaite & Son, Crag Hill. Mule ewes sold to a top of £152 from G Thompson & Sons,
Softley Farm with P Cockburn, Newbiggin close behind at £150.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £288 Cole Hill Farm Ltd. £270 £213 JC Thwaite & Son. £238 JP Floyd. £234
S&S Davies. £220 J Hird. £216 JA&A Herbert. £208 £183 £126 Rose A Farms Ltd. £206 D&PH Brown.
£199 R Elliott. £198 £194 £180 HT Davies & Partners. £195 £190 £170 £160 AWSM Farms. £190 P
Cockburn. £187 £152 A&H Livestock. £181 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £169 W Wearmouth & Son. £168 JJ
Horn. £162 £152 G Thompson & Sons.
