Senterprise pedigree herd sells to high of £2,250

The Senterprise pedigree Holstein herd of father and son farmers Fred and Mark Houseman pulled off a championship and reserve championship double at the main May Craven Dairy Auction at CCM Skipton, on Bank Holiday Monday.

The Housemans, who trade as Church Farm Enterprises at Burton Top Farm, Burton Leonard, secured top billing with their first and second prize newly calved heifers, both home-breds and both by CRV sires.

The 19 days-calved title winner was giving 34 litres and the runner-up 27 litres, having produced her first calf 16 days earlier. Both fell for £2,180 and £2,100 respectively to Wilmot Blockley, of Tarvin in Cheshire, now a regular dairy cattle buyer at Skipton Auction Mart, who also swooped to pay the day’s top price of £2,250 for a pedigree newly calved heifer from local dairyman Jonathan Caygill, of Rylstone.

Chris Broadwith, of Thornton Watlass, Ripon, was responsible the first prize newly calved cow, a £1,600 acquisition by show judge Robert Metcalfe, of Brearton, Harrogate. The same vendor also presented the top price newly calven commercial heifer at £1,800.

The second prize newly calved cow from Graham Bell, of Sinnington, York, headed the class prices at £1,760 when joining H Goodall & Sons, of Tong, Bradford, while the third prize winner, a pedigree from Colin Price, of Keasden, sold locally for £1,600 to Coniston Cold’s David Hall.

Bishop Thornton’s Peter Baul had the third prize newly calved heifer, which became a further H Goodall and Sons’ acquisition at £2,000.

Alan Throup, of Silsden Moor, achieved a clean sweep of the prizes in the maiden heifer show class. His three entries averaged £740, with a high of £770, this falling to Craven Dairy Auction regulars Malcolm and Robert Swires, of Haverah Park, Harrogate.

In a small, but quality draw of 18 dairy cattle, pedigree newly calved heifers averaged £2,066, with an overall heifer average of £1,760. Newly calved cows averaged £1,607.

Adjudicator Robert Metcalfe had earlier sold rearing calves at the weekly sale and expressed great satisfaction with the prices he achieved.

Heading the field again with a British Blue-cross bull calf, the top-priced youngster at £435, were Geoff and Margaret Booth, of Lothersdale. The purchaser was Tony Binns, of Clint, Harrogate.

A Limousin-cross bull calf from Charles and Richard Kitching, of Threshfield, also sold well at £405 when joining Tom Watson, of Sawley, Ripon, while the pick of the heifer calves at £380 was another British Blue-cross from the same day’s Craven Dairy Auction champions, Church Farm Enterprises. The buyers were G and PS Fleetwood, of Mirfield.

Prominent among the black and white entries was a bull stirk from Malcolm Ryder, of Haverah Park, which made £250 on joining Richard Umpleby in Killinghall. John Blackwell, of Gargrave, achieved £155 with a 22-day-old black and white bull calf, which found a new home with David and Liz Grassam in Stockfield Park, Wetherby.

Limousin-cross bull calves averaged £320 per head and British Blue-cross bull calves £302, with comparative breed averages for heifer calves of £230 and £330 respectively. The 62-strong entry sold to an overall average of £162.73 per head.