Spring shows see new champions

The annual show of spring lambs saw a debut championship success for Neil Tattersall of Town Farm, Ellerton, York, with a pen of two Texel-x-Beltex lambs, sold at £128 each, or 356p/kg, to M N Alam, of Lazeez Halal Meat Wholesalers, Blackburn. At the same event, the Suffolk-x-Texel reserve champions from Mark Evans of Tower Gate Farm, Steeton, sold for £130 per head to Kendalls Farm Butchers. They are now on sale at Kendalls’ two shops in High Street, Pateley Bridge, and Skipton Road, Harrogate.

At the monthly Craven Dairy Auction, of the 27 milkers forward, a total of 17 sold for £2,000 or more, producing the highest averages for new calvers in recent history.

John Walton, of Stock Plain Farm, Glasshouses, was champion for the first time with a newly-calven Holstein Friesian heifer. It headed the prices at £2,400 when joining B Kellett & Son of Hatton House Farm, Bishop Thornton.

The Kelletts also paid £2,050 for the first-prize newly-calven cow and reserve show champion from Stephen Coates of Low Springs Farm, Baildon, and £2,100 for the top-priced newly-calven cow from Malcolm and Robert Swires of Haverah Park, Beckwithshaw.

Newly-calven heifers 1st quality averaged £2,173 and 2nd quality £1,546, producing an overall average of £1,974. 1st quality newly calven cows averaged £2,075.

In the next event, Andrew Ogden of Sandyforth Farm, Cowling, clinched his first-ever rearing calves championship with a home-bred British Blue-cross bull calf. It was bought for £390 by the man who judged it champion, Tony Binns of Clint, Harrogate.

Calf trade was extremely strong, with 14 British Blue bull calves averaging £340 and 11 Limousin bull calves selling at an average of £307, with an overall rearing calves average of £196.24. Top price in show at £408 fell to another British Blue bull calf from DP Moore, Sowerby Bridge, acquired by J Verity & Sons, Middlesmoor.