Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 11th September 2025. Forward were 164 cattle and 1922 sheep.
53 Prime Bulls sold to 412ppk or £3203
21 Prime Steers sold to 436ppk or £3175
90 Prime Heifers sold to 486ppk or £3057
1781 Prime Lambs sold to 406ppk or £195
141 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £220
Prime Bulls (53) – The best shaped bulls and the handy weights look a nice trade; less enthusiasm however was apparent for the heavily weighted R and O grade bulls; all included the sale averaged 364ppk and £2660. Four vendors made it to 400ppk, top of them all at 412ppk was a tremendous 670kg Limousin bull from L R Welsh & Co, Green Lane Farm. Next in line were two bulls at 405ppk as a British Blue from AS & SM Kemp & Son, Heugh Hall Farm matched a homebred Limousin from LW Martin, Wayworth Farm, the final of our four in the four-hundred club was CN Whitaker, Low House Farm. Gross values, the top ten traded over £3000, best of all at £3203 was another brilliant British Blue from AS & SM Kemp & Son, following closest was a British Blonde from JJ Horn, Bushy Park at £3198 just ahead of 800kg plus Limousin’s from AG Watson & Sons, Rochester & Murray and D Richardson & Co. Native bred bulls topped at 340ppk and £2692 for an Aberdeen Angus from AG Watson & Sons, Nunstainton Grange whilst Friesians sold to 307ppk and £2198 from JK & CE Farming, Blue House Farm. Some top pen averages are listed below.
BA & C Pearson Ltd sold 2 averaged 395ppk and £3008
A & D Proctor sold 2 averaged 393ppk and £2681
AS & SM Kemp & Son Ltd sold 4 averaged 391ppk and £2932
CN Whitaker sold 3 averaged 390ppk and £2666
Rochester & Murray sold 2 averaged 383ppk and £3056
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 412 380 375 LR Welsh & Co. 405 399 383 378 AS&SM Kemp & Son. 405 371 369 LW Martin. 400 390 380 CN Whitaker. 397 390 A&D Proctor. 396 394 BA&C Pearson Ltd. 391 383 379 370 367 AG Watson & Sons. 390 376 Rochester & Murray. 390 JJ Horn. 377 376 375 370 D Richardson & Co. 370 361 FW Hodgson & Son. 369 366 JA&A Herbert.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £3203 £3001 £2782 £2742 AS&SM Kemp & Son. £3198 JJ Horn. £3171 £2945 £2876 £2866 £2864 £2725 AG Watson & Sons. £3147 £2966 Rochester & Murray. £3130 £3061 £2850 £2835 D Richardson & Co. £3094 £3018 £2760 £2675 LR Welsh & Co. £3049 £2966 BA&C Pearson Ltd. £2898 A&D Proctor. £2895 £2690 LW Martin. £2722 £2708 CN Whitaker.
Friesian Bulls – Top prices ppk 307 JK&CE Farming. 290 D Walker.
Lead Grossing Friesian Bulls £2198 JK&CE Farming. £1931 D Walker.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 340 326 AG Watson & Sons. 320 IE&AC Teasdale. 310 AP Taylor.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2692 £2477 AG Watson & Sons. £2458 AP Taylor. £2390 IE&AC Teasdale.
Clean Cattle (111) – The cracking clean cattle took a hold of the baton from last week’s sharper trade and ran with it; anything well fed with plenty of loin sold superbly well from start to finish. The super steers look considerably dearer to average 415ppk and £2788 per head whilst the heifers traded at the same high levels seen seven days ago to average 436ppk and £2543 per head. Top price per kilo today was an excellent 617kg Limousin heifer from W Swinbank & Sons, Greystones, chasing the topper were a wonderful trio from JV & JA Hodgson, The Grange who sold three corkers in a row at 480ppk twice and then at 485ppk. The next dozen heifers on the list sold between 460ppk and 479ppk with two-dozen more between 440ppk and 459ppk. A good day was in progress for properties called Greystones as right at the top of the improving steer trade per kilo was an excellent 714kg Limousin from W Bainbridge, Greystones Farm, Seamer when he sold at 436 pence. The on-song Seamer feeders followed with steers at 434ppk and 429ppk sandwiching the pick of a nice run from AG Watson & Sons, Nunstainton Grange which sold at 432ppk. Those at the top table shuffled when it came to gross values as the Watson’s of Nunstainton sat on top with the Bainbridge run snapping at their heels. Pick of the bunch at £3175 was a 756kg Limousin from AG Watson & Sons, following at £3125 was another from the same yard with the best Bainbridge bullock next up at £3113. Top of the heifers in the lump was an impressive 744kg 30-month-old Limousin from JE Suddes & Son, Rowley Farm when she added up to £3057, the other beast in the £3000 plus club on the day was a smart Limousin steer from Messrs R Miller Ltd, Arkleby Hall. Some of the day’s top averages are listed below.
Top Steer Averages PPK-
AG Watson & Sons sold 4 (705kg) Average 424ppk
W Bainbridge sold 7 (664kg) Average 424ppk
JR&B Anderson & Son sold 2 (629kg) Average 417ppk
Top Heifer Averages PPK-
JV&JA Hodgson sold 10 (597kg) Average 462ppk
W Swinbank & Sos sold 7 (607kg) Average 457ppk
W Miller sold 14 (533kg) Average 445ppk
R Hirst sold 6 (542kg) Average 445ppk
Top Leading Gross Steers Averages-
AG Watson & Sons sold 4 (705kg) Average £2997
Messrs R Miller LTD sold 4 (714kg) Average £2893
W Bainbridge sold 7 (664kg) Average £2822
Top Leading Gross Heifers Averages-
JE Suddes & Son sold 4 (706kg) Average £2945
NE Dyson sold 4 (652kg) Average £2792
W Swinbank & Sons sold 7 (607kg) Average £2781
Steers – Top prices ppk 436 434 429×2 419 416 410 W Bainbridge. 432 427 420 AG Watson & Sons. 428 403 399 390 Messrs R Miller. 419 417 JR&B Anderson & Son. 414 A Swinbank & Son. 408 W Miller. 402 IE&AC Teasdale. 370 D Walker.
Lead Grossing Steers £3175 £3125 £3041 AG Watson & Sons. £3113 £3024 £2878 £2824 £2807 £2691 £2415 W Bainbridge. £3004 £2892 £2843 £2833 Messrs R Miller. £2717 IE&AC Teasdale. £2652 £2610 JR&B Anderson & Son. £2578 D Walker. £2443 W Miller. £2243 A Swinbank & Son.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 486 478 476 446 445×2 W Swinbank & Sons. 485 480×2 477 469 460 459 449 444 JV&JA Hodgson. 476 465 437 PJ&MP Gilhespy. 469 439 J Layfield. 467 465 462 459 452 450 448 446 444 W Miller. 462 450 448 447 442 R Hirst. 458 444 440 W Bainbridge. 453 452 NE Dyson. 448 SH Watson & Son. 442 441 P&N Tattersall. 441 W Ramsay & Sons. 439 A Swinbank & Son.
Lead Grossing Heifers £3057 £2974 £2951 £2799 JE Suddes & Son. £2998 £2934 £2932 £2785 £2645 W Swinbank & Sons. £2952 W Bainbridge. £2918 £2900 £2874 £2856 £2798 £2760 £2740 £2720 JV&JA Hodgson. £2903 £2861 £2728 £2676 NE Dyson. £2724 £2684 £2683 £2641 PJ&MP Gilhespy. £2703 £2685 W Ramsay & Sons. £2687 J Layfield. £2632 JM Smith. £2614 BJS Farms.
Prime Lambs (1781) – A new lease of life in the lamb trade after a few weeks on the slide, some new accounts operating ringside pushed all classes up a gear or two to see the weighed straight sale average jump (+23ppk and £11.15 per head) on the week to 328ppk and £153.66 with an SQQ of 333ppk. The handy weight (40-45kg) lambs would see the biggest rise with 350ppk to 400ppk readily available. Top price per kilo of 406 pence went to sixteen sweet 44kg Beltex lambs from R Atkinson, High Greenbury Farm, following closest were a pair of 44kg Beltex from HT Davies & Partners, Lough House and a quartet of smart 43kg lambs from JA & Herbert, Tees Farm. Leading the gross values were a cracking pair of well finished 55kg Texel lambs from JR Knox & Son, Bracks Farm which sold for £195, Rebecca Appleton, Pudding Poke Farm followed with a strong single at £192 with D & PH Brown and AWSM Farms both in hot pursuit. Away from the mainstream meat breeds we saw Hampshire Downs top at £172, Mules to £145, Cheviots to £142 and some fleshy Dalesbred led the horned lambs at £132.
Top Lamb Averages-
JR Knox & Son sold 20 (52kg) Average £179
JV&JA Hodgson sold 38 (47kg) Average £173
R Atkinson sold 243 (47kg) Average £171
AWSM Farms sold 79 (46kg) Average £170
Lambs – Top prices ppk 406 380 375 370 364×2 360×2 356 354 346 345×2 R Atkinson. 386 365 362 359 358 HT Davies & Partners. 386 365 356 352 JA&A Herbert. 383 RO Gilson. 377 366 354 CK&D Muir Ltd. 376 Whittington. 373 366 360 358×2 358 354 AWSM Farms. 372 369 360 358 JV&JA Hodgson. 370 369 PJ Tindale. 358×2 346 345 I Kirk. 355 354 JR Knox & Son. 352 350 CH Tindale. 348 A Tindale. 346 JH Johnson.
Lead Grossing Lambs £195 £185 £170 JR Knox & Son. £192 R Appleton. £188 D&PH Brown. £187 £179 £168 £166 AWSM Farms. £186 £180 £170 JV&JA Hodgson. £184 RO Gilson. £179×2 £178 £175 £174 £173×2 £170 £169 £168 £166×3 R Atkinson. £179 £172 £168 £166×2 I Kirk. £178 £170 J Hird. £174 PJ Tindale. £173 GS Bainbridge. £172 £170×2 CK&D Muir Ltd. £172 CJM Hedley. £172 H Rowbotham. £170 HT Davies & Partners. £170 TM Darling. £170×4 RH Thompson & Son. £168×2 JC Thwaite & Son.
Cast Ewes & Rams (141) – Not so many ewes around this week following another good entry in the store ring on Monday, trade still relatively good for the fleshier sorts without anything being too exciting. Top call of £220 went to a Texel ewe from TM Darling & Son, Home Farm, strong continental ewes traded typically £140 to £180 dependent on size and cover. Mule ewes sold to a top of £146 from D & PH Brown, Cordilleras Farm whilst some heroics in the horned ewes saw Rebecca Appleton sell two tremendous Blackface at £132. All in the ewes this week averaged £100.40.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £220 £110 TM Darling & Son. £180 £150×2 £146 D&PH Brown. £170×2 £140×2 AWSM Farms. £152 £120 £100 S Coote. £140 £120 JC Thwaite & Son. £132 £100×2 R Appleton. £130 3110 JC&A Hutchinson. £130 RJ&J Crowe. £125 £110 CK&D Muir Ltd. £123×2 JK Gill & Son. £120 F Brown & Son. £116 JA&A Herbert. £116 RO Gilson. £115 Swalebank Farms. £110 J Milbank & Sons.
