KEELHAM Farm Shop in Thornton, Bradford, embarked on yet another champions’ buying spree, securing both the prime cattle and lamb title winners at Skipton Auction Mart’s July shows.

The shop’s James Robertshaw made it six out of six when snapping up the prime cattle victor – they have bought every monthly champion to date this year – the first prize 600kg Limousin-cross bullock shown by Simon Bennett, of Delph Farm, Silsden Moor, for the day’s top per head price of £1,389, or 231.5p/kg.

He was landing his third Skipton prime cattle championship of 2014, the latest frontrunner being by his highly regarded stock bull, bred by North Craven’s Ian Handley.

Mr Robertshaw then transferred his interest to the prime lamb ringside to purchase the champion pen of five 40kg Beltex-cross lambs from Tim Robinson, of Springs Farm, Dillworth Bottom, Longridge, for £120 per head, or 300p/kg, both representing the day’s leading prices. The Red Rose breeder has now won three consecutive monthly prime lamb titles at the Skipton venue.

Keelham - which is due to open a shop in Skipton in the new year - made three prime cattle purchases in total, also adding Simon Bennett’s third prize Limousin-cross bullock at £1,349, or 219.5p/kg and the third prize Limousin-cross heifer from Pateley Bridge’s Bernard Simpson at £1,218, or 234.5p/kg.

Mr Robertshaw also paid £81 per head for the third prize pen of Continental-cross 41kg prime lambs from J and T Booker, of Silsden.

The reserve champion was the first prize British Blue-cross heifer from Pendle father and son Mac and Ben Townsend, of Barnside Hall Farm, Laneshawbridge.

Purchased at an earlier Skipton store cattle sale and further improved by the Townsends, the 530kg runner-up made £1,296 or 244.5p/kg, top price by weight, when joining Halifax meat wholesalers J&E Medcalf & Son. It is destined for one of their regular butcher customers Stephen Dorsey, who trades in Halifax Borough Market.

The Townsends also presented the second prize bullock, another British Blue-cross also acquired by J and E Medcalf and Son for £1,240, or 221.5p/kg, while Pateley Bridge’s Bernard Simpson was responsible for the second prize Limousin-cross heifer, knocked down at £1,23, or 236.5p/kg.

In a standalone cull cattle show, the champion was a Blonde-cross cow from Fred Stephenson, of Beech Farm, Farnley, Leeds. Having proved a loyal servant and produced some nice calves, the 12-year-old home-bred victor fell for £993 or 131.5p/kg.

Ashley Caton, of Otterburn, topped both the cull cow per head and by-weight prices with a Limousin-cross sold at £1,091, or 151.5p/kg, with dairy-bred highs of £1,050, or 123.5p.kg, for a black and white cow from G Abbott and Sons, of Dacre.

The 46 cull cows forward again met with a ready trade when selling to an overall average of £682.33 per head, or 107.33p/kg.

In the prime lamb show, the reserve championship was awarded to the second prize Continental-cross pen, 38kg Texel-x-Beltex from Ellis Bros, of Addingham Moorside. They sold for £92 per head to Felliscliffe’s Andrew Atkinson, purchasing on behalf of Sam Howarth Wholesale Butchers in Diggle, Oldham.

Judge Mick Winchester, of Gargrave, who buys for Woodhead’s Butchers in Colne, secured all three prize-winning Suffolk-cross pens – the 44kg red rosette winners from James Earnshaw, of Flasby, at £81.50 each, the 41kg runners-up from TH and A Pickard, of Bolton-by-Bowland, at £72.50, and the 41kg third prize pen from John Mellin, of Black Lane Ends, at £74.80.

Trade was much tougher than anticipated for the 3,226 prime sheep on show and buyers were able to be more selective as numbers increase, with 38kg to 43kg lambs appearing to be optimum weight range at present. The overall selling average was £71.12 per head, or 177.3p/kg.