Reigning prime champions at Skipton show and sale

Déjà vu was the order of the day at Skipton Auction Mart’s September prime shows when the previous month’s prime lamb and cattle supreme champions retained their titles, with both again falling to the same buyer.

Father and son Frank and Robert Fielden, of Speke Edge Farm, Todmorden, once more presented the prime lamb victors, while multiple prime cattle title winner Jim Baines, of Trawden, picked up yet another champion’s rosette.

James Robertshaw, of Keelham Farm Shop, Thornton, Bradford, stepped forward to snap up the prime lamb champions for the fourth month in succession and the prime cattle winner for the third consecutive month.

He paid £96 a head for the Fieldens’ victorious pen of five Beltex-cross lambs and £1,378, or 257.5p/kg, top price in show, for Mr Baines’ pure white 535kg British Blue-cross heifer champion. Keelham also secured the second prize Continental heifer, a Baines Limousin-cross, for £1,281, or 239.5p/kg.

With standalone show classes for multiple sheep breeds, the first prize and reserve champion pen of Texels from father and son breeders George and Peter Sunderland, of Sykes Gate Farm, Cragg Vale, Mytholmroyd, made £89 each when joining Dunbia Foods in Preston, who also paid £87 a head for the third prize pen of Charollais-sired lambs from David Hall, of Coniston Cold.

TEXEL

Texel show and class prices were headed at £98.50 each, or 246.3p/kg, for the second prize pen from Neil Tattersall, of Ellerton, York, acquired by Hartshead Meats in Oldham. Texels averaged £75.66 per head, or 186.7p/kg.

Mr Tattersall also achieved the day’s top price of £100 a head for a pen of Beltex lambs sold to Vivers Scot Lamb in Annan, as well as presenting the second prize and top price in show Beltex pen, another Vivers Scot Lamb acquisition at £97.50 a head, along with the third prize Texel pen from Ellis Bros, of Addingham Moorside, at £94.50 each.

BELTEX

Beltex lambs sold to an overall average of £84.85 a head, or 222.8p/kg, with by-weight prices peaking at 257.9p/kg for a pen from James Garth and Son, of Keasden, Clapham.

CHAROLLAIS

A Charollais Society-sponsored show class saw the first prize winners from Philip Metcalfe of Otterburn, sell for £79 per head to meat wholesalers John Penny and Sons in Rawdon, who also bought the second prize pen of lambs out of a Lleyn ewe from John Bowness, of Giggleswick, at £78 each.

Charollais class prices peaked at £92.50 each for a pen from J M Smith and Son, of Carleton, and a by-weight high of 220.0p/kg for another quality pen from Robert Towers of Farleton, Lancaster. The overall Charollais breed average was £74.14 per head, or 184.7p/kg.

MASHAM

A show class for Mashams again fell to 2011 victor David Verity, of Middlesmoor in Nidderdale, with his first prize winners selling for £79.50 per head, top price in show, to Andrew Atkinson, of Kettlesing.

Mr Verity also presented the second prize pen, which joined Vion Foods in Angelsey for £70 each. The same buyers also bought the top price by weight pen at 170.0p/kg from J Baker & Son, of Hart Farms, Hartlepool, along with the same vendor’s third prize Masham pen at £76 a head. The overall breed average was £70.93 per head, or 168.2p/kg.

MULE LAMBS

The best of the Mule lambs came from North Craven’s David Booth, of WA & A Booth in Feizor. They headed the show prices at £77.50 per head when becoming a further acquisition by Andrew Atkinson, who also paid £74 each from the second prize pen from Calton’s Robert Crisp.

The third prize pen from Ken Dickinson, of Skipton, became another Vion Foods purchase at £70 per head. The overall Mule average was £67.83 per head, or 164.6 p/kg, with the by-weight high of 175.0p/kg falling to David Charnley, of Litton.

LLEYN

The Lleyn show class was won by Nick Speake, of Slitharo Ford Farm, Oakworth, his charges topping the prices at £77 per head when selling locally to Yorkshire Halal Meats for its supermarket in Keighley.

The overall Lleyn average was £69.29 per head, or 171.6p/kg, with a by-weight high of 180.5p/kg for a pen from Richard Paul, of Arncliffe. The same vendor also presented the third prize Lleyns, which made £74 per head when joining Kepak UK, of Wakefield.

Calderdale vendor Brian Lund, of Walshaw, Hebden Bridge, was also to the fore. He presented the second prize Charollais pen, knocked down for £81 per head to Woodhead Bros Butchers in Colne, the third prize Continental-cross pen bought for £90 each by Saltaire butcher Richard Binns, and the third prize Down-cross pen, which fell at £83 a head to Halifax meat wholesaler Gerald Medcalf.

Woodhead Bros made a second prize-winning acquisition at £81.80 per head with the runners-up in the Down-cross class from James Earnshaw, of Gargrave, while the class-winning pen from DW & S Throup, of Bradley, sold for £73 apiece to Rossendale’s Bobby Booth.

With another tremendous turnout of almost 5,000 prime sheep, the overall selling average was £74.54 per head, or 184.21p/kg.

Craven Cattle Marts’ livestock sales manager Ted Odgen said: “The lamb trade was above expectations given the prices reported elsewhere, with show sheep and smart Beltex-x-Texels all selling at 210-250p/kg.

“Vendors were well rewarded for fleshed lambs of any breed 40kg upwards and, as predicted, the only types at discounted prices were under-finished types. Commercial sorts were around 175-180p/kg, nice meated types 185-195p/kg and the smartest first-cross Continental lambs 195-205p/kg. Mule lambs were around £3 per head dearer on the week, averaging about £27 over the weight.”