Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of prime stock on Thursday 12th March 2026. Forward were 190 cattle and 2380 sheep.
48 Prime Bulls sold to 447ppk or £4161
25 Prime Steers sold to 443ppk or £3363
117 Prime Heifers sold to 494ppk or £3044
2097 Prime Hoggs sold to 472ppk or £240
283 Cast Ewes/Rams sold to £316
Prime Bulls (48) – Short of numbers, particularly the best beef bred bulls as trade for those remains remarkably good, the R and O+ types remain a nice go but no doubting that the highest demand was for the best big bulls this week. All included the sale averaged 382ppk and £2659. Top bull of the day was unquestionably an incredible 931kg Limousin from SH Watson & Son, Low Fields Farm which led both the pence per kilo and gross value lists when he sold for a brilliant 447ppk and £4161. The Blondes from Bushy Park Farm of JJ Horn featured highly again this week on the leader boards with a bull at 440ppk and another at £3688. Four smart bulls sold over 330ppk as J Armstrong, Southern Law Farm and GK, KN & GJ Hird, Meadow View both produced solid runs. Top of the native breed bulls was a smart 14-month-old Beef Shorthorn from S & J Dent & Son, Great Burdon Farm whilst the pure dairy breed bulls were headed by a Montbeliarde from CH & SE Armstrong, Middle Moor Farm at 348ppk and £2147.
A few of today’s top grossing bull averages:
SH Watson & Son sold 2 (893kg) average £3835
JJ Horn sold 2 (852kg) average £3604
LS Staley sold 2 (800kg) average £3359
JR Knox & Son sold 3 (744kg) average £2920
Today’s top bull averages ppk:
GK KN & GJ Hird sold 2 (652kg) average 430ppk
SH Watson & Son sold 2 (893kg) average 429ppk
JJ Horn sold 2 (852kg) average 423ppk
LS Staley sold 2 (800kg) average 419ppk
Continental Bulls – Top prices ppk 447 410 SH Watson & Son. 440 408 JJ Horn. 438 432 395 382 J Armstrong. 432 430 GK KN & GJ Hird. 428 396 S&J Dent & Son. 425 414 LS Staley. 398 390 389 JR Knox & Son. 386 372 CH&SE Armstrong. 383 JA&A Herbert. 383 375 374 JK&CE Farming. 376 JH&M&NW Brown. 372 366 TF Bothroyd. 366×3 365 JM Greensit & Son.
Lead Grossing Continental Bulls £4161 £3509 SH Watson & Son. £3688 £3520 JJ Horn. £3506 £3212 LS Staley. £3094 JH&M&NW Brown. £3085 £3084 S&J Dent & Son. £2999 £2961 £2800 JR Knox & Son. £2979 £2643 GK KN & GJ Hird. £2950 £2898 £2726 JK&CE Farming. £2946 £2912 £2571 £2544 J Armstrong. £2646 £2573 £2516 CH&SE Armstrong. £2637 £2558 TF Bothroyd.
Native Bulls – Top prices ppk 380 S&J Dent & Son. 368×2 336 R Hall & Son. 358 355 GS Dowson. 348 CH&SE Armstrong.
Lead Grossing Native Bulls £2504 S&J Dent & Son. £2484 £2443 £2170 R Hall & Son. £2470 £2019 GS Dowson. £2105 CH&SE Armstrong.
Clean Cattle (142) – The butchers spec beast look another really sharp trade this week, perhaps a touch of resistance surrounded the first dairy crosses however still a solid return all round to see the heifers average 417ppk and £2491 and a fine selection of steers check in at 415ppk and £2774. Robin and Imogen Hirst of Neasham Grange were in sparkling form as they turned out the top four heifers per kilo and boasted seven of the top ten on the ppk list. Best of all at 494 pence was a beautiful 544kg Limousin which sold to H Taylor & Sons Butchers, Darlington; the red-hot Hirst’s followed with two at 488ppk and another at 487ppk. Wigton’s Willie Miller at 480ppk and 476ppk and the regular selling Hodgson’s of Summerhouse at 478ppk proved to be the closest challengers. Two steers topped at 443 pence per kilo, a smart British Blue from the Askwiths of Crook and an excellent British Blonde from WJ Scott Ltd, Low Leam; three other steers followed in the 430’s and another half dozen in the 420’s as remarkably this week only four failed to break 400ppk. Topping the gross values were the tremendous home bred and home fed beast of WJ Scott, Low Leam; the West Woodburn based outfit led the steers with a stunning 784kg British Blonde at £3363 and the heifers with a 708kg Limousin at £3044.
Top grossing averages for today’s clean cattle:
WJ Scott Ltd sold 7 (684kg) average £2971
JB&N Harrison & Son sold 3 (672kg) £2876
JH&M&NW Brown sold 3 (693kg) £2848
Askwiths sold 4 (632kg) £2804
Top clean cattle averages ppk:
R Hirst sold 13 (591kg) average 470ppk
W Miller sold 11 (555kg) average 459ppk
AC Simpson & Son sold 4 (564ppk) average 452ppk
WF Hustwit sold 5 (557kg) average 443ppk
Steers – Top prices ppk 443 419 Askwiths. 443 437 429 428 411 WJ Scott Ltd. 437 431 429 405 Taylor Bros. 428 427 413 408 TN Callender. 427 MF Hall. 414 412 406 JH&M&NW Brown. 410 JB&N Harrison. 410 LR Welsh & Co. 396 JR&B Anderson. 391 WL Robinson & Partners.
Lead Grossing Steers £3363 £2996 £2888 £2856 £2835 WJ Scott Ltd. £2982 £2889 £2671 JH&M&NW Brown. £2963 £2941 Askwiths. £2952 JB&N Harrison. £2945 £2754 £2719 £2679 TN Callender. £2885 WL Robinson & Partners. £2676 JR&B Anderson & Son. £2648 £2637 £2582 Taylor Bros.
Heifers – Top prices ppk 494 488×2 487 479 478 476 471 468 458 456 R Hirst. 480 476 474 472 470 466 462 456 450 W Miller. 478 470 JV&JA Hodgson. 474 P&JH Davison. 469 WJ Scott Ltd. 466 456 WF Hustwit. 462 458 457 AC Simpson & Son. 462 458 450 W Swinbank & Sons. 461 BW&AO Manners. 461 456 Askwiths. 450 447 MF Hall. 448 JB&N Harrison & Sons.
Lead Grossing Heifers £3044 £2818 WJ Scott Ltd. £3018 £2991 £2937 £2910 £2871 £2859 £2800 £2799 £2717 R Hirst. £2984 £2859 £2858 £2801 £2699 JV&JA Hodgson. £2961 £2714 JB&N Harrison & Sons. £2943 £2929 £2821 £2751 W Swinbank & Sons. £2865 £2715 AC Simpson & Son. £2839 £2779 £2663 WJ&AS Bowes & Sons. £2784 £2660 W Miller. £2772 G Bird & Sons. £2752 £2713 TJ Dennis.
Prime Hoggs (2097) – More forward as expected when we come towards the end of Ramadan, many more could easily have been handled and sold, as always, no wait on the docks and no weight loss on the bridge. Extra buyers ringside this week created a wonderful trade, plenty of hill bred lambs and sweepings up included still saw the sale average an excellent 390ppk and £180.54 with an SQQ of 418ppk. The fancy sorts were in reality few and far between as the majority on offer were almost certainly mothered by a Mule or a hill ewe, a few exceptions to this however led the way. Top per kilo at 472.5 pence was a beautiful 40kg black Beltex from PJ Tindale, Preston Tilery Farm when it sold for £189. Following at 462.8ppk (£180.50) were seventeen smart 39kg sorts from CH & MC Phalp, Aireyholme Farm; plenty of the desirable export weigh continental hoggs traded 440ppk plus throughout the sale. The best of the big hoggs traded comfortably over £200, the special ones over £220. Top of the day at £240 was a hefty Beltex bred hogg at 58kg from WA Wardman Ltd, Thrushwood Farm; following at £229 was a monster Texel from JK & CE Farming, Blue House Farm before a plethora in and around £220. Elsewhere around the breeds we saw Charollais to £221, Suffolk’s to £215, Zwartbles to £201, Dutch Spotted to £200, pure bred North Country Cheviots to £190, Hampshires to £185, Mules to £175, Herdwicks to £160 and Swaledale to £132.
A few of today’s top grossing Hogg averages:
M Hutchinson sold 2 (51kg) average £210.50
J Curry sold 16 (52kg) average £200.25
JK&CE Farming sold 5 (54kg) average £198.60
RO Gilson sold 62 (53kg) average £194.63
WA Wardman Ltd sold 133 (53kg) average £192.16
Today’s top Hogg averages ppk:
W Swinbank sold 108 (41kg) average 437ppk
PJ Tindale sold 96 (40kg) average 436ppk
T&R Quinn sold 7 (39kg) average 434ppk
JE Lockey & Son sold 84 (43kg) average 430ppk
CH&MC Phalp sold 51 (43kg) average 427ppk
Hoggs – Top prices ppk 472 445×2 439×2 PJ Tindale. 462 427 CH&MC Phalp. 459 MW Barker & Son. 454 439 435×2 433 Messrs Sayer. 454 WH Brown. 452 435 R Errington & Son. 452 WA Wardman Ltd. 451 445 RL&AR Phillips. 450 428 MJK Dods. 450 EA Martin & Son. 448 DW Robinson. 448 444 443 438 429 W Swinbank. 447 435 TA Greensit & Sons. 446 441 438 437 436 435 432 W Tindale. 444 JD Brannen. 441 T&R Quinn. 440 RO Gilson. 438 GP&A Carter.
Lead Grossing Hoggs £240 £221 £220×2 £218 £210 £209.50 £201 £200×2 £196×2 WA Wardman Ltd. £229 £209 JK&CE Farming. £221 £200.50 TW Clark & Son. £220 £201 M Hutchinson. £220 £200×2 £197 TW Dinning. £215 £213.50 £211 £210.50 £200 £194 RO Gilson. £209 £200 TA Greensit & Sons. £204 JR Dowd. £201×2 J Curry. £201 DK Barker. £200 RL&AR Phillips. £200 RE&L Frank. £199 £198 EA Martin & Son. £199 CH&MC Phalp.
Cast Ewes & Rams (283) – Stunning scenes at the ewe ring as trade was absolutely flying for all classes, all in average of £186.57 included some good, some bad and some ugly. Top at £316 were a smart pair of Texel’s from M & A Gaskin, Holdsworth Farm, up next at £302 came W Tindale, Paradise Farm ahead RL & AR Phillips, Firtrees at £301. As the colossal continental trade ensured they averaged way over £200 the others were no less sought after, Cheviot’s to £225, Mules to £181 (averaged £162), Jacobs to £177, Herdwicks to £160 and horned ewes to £127.
Lead Grossing Cast Sheep £316 £225 £223 £217 M&A Gaskin. £302 £256 £242×2 £222 £200 £196 W Tindale. £301 £289 £226 £225 £217 £209×2 RL&AR Phillips. £296 £212 JR Knox & Son. £250 £240×2 £221 £201 A Tindale. £246×3 £229 £216×2 £201 JC Simpson. £231 £213×2 £212 £211 W&M Knaggs & Son. £228 JK&CE Farming. £228 £221 £210 WA Wardman Ltd. £220 £214 WM Allison & Son Ltd. £209 RI Jones. £208 RO Gilson. £208 £207 Swalebank Farms.
