BELL Busk farmer Brian Moorhouse took the reserve championship at the Craven Dairy Auction.

His second prize newly calven heifer sold for the day's joint high of £2,300.

Ten-days calved and giving 30 litres, she joined regular buyer James Kayley in Halton West.

Also selling for £2,300 was the champion from commercial breeders, father and son Malcolm and Robert Swires, of Haverah Park, Beckwithshaw.

The Swires secured the title, their 25th in total at Skipton in recent years, with their first prize newly calven heifer.

Fifteen days calved and giving 37 litres, she sold to the Sowray brothers, of Bowes Green Farm, Bishop Thornton.

In addition, the Swires were responsible for the third prize newly calven heifer, which sold giving 35 litres to Alf Townsend, of Southfield, Burnley, for £2,100 and a further heifer which was purchased for £1,950 by the Sowrays.

They also stepped up with the red rosette-winning newly calven cow, a second calver giving 43 litres, which fell for £1,800 to WP Gratton, of Burnt Yates.

The Stainbank herd of South Stainley’s Robin Jennings was also to the fore with a newly calven heifer selling for £1,900 to H Goodall & Sons, of Tong, Bradford.

With 49 head of dairy cattle forward, newly calven pedigree heifers averaged £1,820 per head and their commercial counter parts £1,684.

In a standalone dairy bull show, all but one of the seven entries were successfully sold at a packed bank holiday ringside, with top price of 1,850gns (£1,942.50) falling to the third prize pedigree Holstein from the Abbeyhouse herd of Jennings Farmers, at Hill House, Fountains.

Shown by Andrew Jennings, the June, 2013-born Abbeyhouse Perez joined local buyer Malcolm Dibb in Kilnsey.

Champion was Roydmoor Marlon from the South Yorkshire pedigree herd of the Dickinson family at Far Royd Moor Farm, Thurlstone. The two-year-old was shown by father and son Alan and Richard Dickinson and sold for 1,350gns to E&A Bairstow, of Wilsden.

The Ingleview pedigree herd of Robert and Elaine Butterfield at Laing Haw Farm, Bentham, champions in 2013, produced another classy young individual in their 14-month-old home-bred bull Ingleview Benito, which was awarded the reserve championship.

It found a new home in Hellifield with Roger Dakin when knocked down for 1,300gns. Holstein bulls averaged £1,523 overall.