SKIPTON Auction Mart’s fortnightly Wednesday cattle sale attracted another strong entry of 614 head, among them 87 young feeding bulls and 513 bullocks and heifers.

Young bulls of all breeds under 12 months met with sharp trade, showing an average of £877.60 per head, with Continental bulls of all ages levelling at £926.

Mac Townsend, of Laneshawbridge, stepped up with the two top price performers, a British Blue-x at £1,420 and a Limousin-x at £1,320. The native average was £792.

In the store section, there was a tremendous inquiry for bullocks, with Charolais-bred cattle in very strong demand and some annual consignments showing a rise in prices on the year.

Prices peaked at £1,280 for a Limousin-x from Martin and Val Brown, of Newton-le-Willows, with continental bullocks averaging £1,004.

There was a nice show of continental heifers and buyers were again keen to secure the best quality lots, with a section high of £1,330 for another Limousin-x, this time from Burnsall’s JW Stockdale & Son. Continentals averaged £936.

Native cattle were out again in force, with 105 head of native beef and dairy bred bullocks and heifers forward. Trade was just as sharp as the previous fixture, as customers again responded to increased numbers available at Skipton.

Native breed bullocks averaged £907 and heifers £792.