Limousin cattle dominate Gisburn Anniversary sale
Gisburn Auction Marts Anniversary show and sale day on Saturday saw a capacity audience in all three sale rings.
Limousin cattle dominated the day, with cows and calves at foot, from both Paul Coates, Barrowford and James Greenwood, Bury achieving £2,000. Clare Cropper and John Mellin, Long Preston picked up championship award with their home bred, 10 month old Limousin steer, which earlier in the day had won the first prize Limousin Steer class, which sold for £1,100 to Greg Foster, livestock agent for an undisclosed buyer.
Cropper and Mellin’s next lots under the hammer achieved £1,060 twice for a Limousin heifer and a British Blue heifer. Philip Ireland, Waddington achieved £1,070 for his Limousin steer. Richard Seed, Chipping had a pair of extremely shapely British Blue heifers which sold for £1,220 and £1,120.
Commercial type cattle were very much in demand, with Ken Hird, Colne having a good run of Limousin cross heifers, which sold from £1,140, £1,100 and £1,060 twice.
The sheep yard was jammed packed full, with 1,592 animals forward. Pre-sale show judge, Richard Mawson, Addingham, awarded first and second prize Mule hoggs with lambs at foot to Arthur Maude, Bradley which went onto make £225 and £220. Top price, however went to the third prize at £240 from Raymond Johnson, Felliscliffe, Harrogate.
Skipton’s John Stapleton brought a fantastic run of Texel cross hoggs with lambs; his first prize pen later sold for the price of £270. J W Stockdale and Son, Burnsall claimed second prize and sold for £185. Simon Bennett, Silsden took the third prize rosette which later sold for £225. In the ewe section, Stuart Currie, Rathmell achieved the days overall top price of £370 with a Beltex and twins, closely followed by Michael Hall, Airton with Texel and twins at £350.
A large crowd gathered ringside for Anthony Thompson, Foulridge dispersal sale. Spirited bidding resulted in a top price of £295 for the Beltex shearling with a single gimmer lamb. Brain Wellock, Eshton donated a four crop Mule ewe with twin week old Texel lambs to be sold in aid of Help for Heros, as his son-in-law Sam Boatright is currently undertaking his epic 2500 mile run round the country of this charity. Gerald Beresford, Hellifeld, also donated a Texel cross hogg with single which added another £165 to the fund. Together with a ringside bucket collection the total raised a Gisburn today for Help for Heroes was £545 – Keep on running Sam.
The breeding and prime pig show was dominated by Clapham farmers, Dean and Brennand. Who achieved £165 for Large White in pig sow and £118 for a pair of prime pigs. While cast sows peaked at £190 from W E Gregson, Wrea Green, Preston.