THE Calvert dairy farming family added another Craven Dairy Auction championship to their tally as they continued the dispersal of their Calton pedigree Holstein herd at Skipton Auction Mart.

At the opening May dairy show and sale on Monday, husband and wife, Mark and Karen Calvert, of Glebe Farm, Crathorne, Yarm, landed the overall title with their first prize newly-calven cow, the five-year-old Calton Dragon Cherry.

Having produced her fourth calf on April 23 and currently giving 50 litres, the victor sold for £1,420 to Gisburn’s Frank Wrathall.

The Calverts made a clean sweep of the prizes in the show class for newly-calven cows. Their runner-up, Calton Bon Air Mary, giving 50-plus litres after also calving for the fourth time, sold for £1,250 to SM Liddle and Sons, of Huby.

However, it was the third prize winner, Calton Mario Marqui, that proved their leading performer. The third calver, giving 30 litres, headed the class prices at £1,650 when joining the Tewitt Hall pedigree dairy herd of the Sharp family in Oakworth.

Mr and Mrs Calvert, who now have a brace of Craven Dairy Auction championships under their belt, plus two reserve championships, sold five newly-calven cows in total at what represented the third portion of their ongoing dispersal sale. They still have around 80 dairy cows at home, with some quality newly calven heifers still to come forward.

Show co-judges, brothers Malcolm and Stephen Abbott, of Dacre, Harrogate, awarded the reserve championship to the first prize newly-calven heifer from first-time Craven Dairy Auction exhibitors, brother and sister Sam and Louise Wood, who trade as KT Wood and Son at Broadwood Edge Farm, Holcombe, Bury.

The three weeks-calved heifer, giving 28 litres, proved the day’s star when topping the trade at £1,820 and returning to Lancashire with regular buyers Alf and Andrew Townsend, of Southfield, Burnley.

The Woods family also took the third prize in class, with another three-weeks calved heifer, giving 29 litres. She sold for £1,700 to another regular buyer, Mark Goodall, of Tong, Bradford.

Eric and Sally Wellock,from Oakworth, were responsible for the second prize newly-calven heifer, which sold for £1,480 to local buyer John Howard, of Heslaker.

In the show class for in-calf cattle, first and second prizes were awarded to entries from the Oxenclose pedigree herd of I Oliver and Partners in Darley. They both sold well at £1,380 and £1,160 to the same buyer, Gargrave’s David Shuttleworth.

David Leeming, from Burnt Yates, was also represented by four newly-calven heifers and two second calvers, as he conducted the second part of his commercial dairy herd dispersal sale. His entries topped at £1,420 for a heifer bought by D Clarke, of Hampsthwaite.

The 23-strong entry saw supply and demand finely balanced around the ring. Pedigree newly calven heifers averaged £1,460 per head and their commercial counterparts £1,372, with newly calven cows averaging £1,440.

British Blue-cross youngsters again led the trade at Skipton’s weekly rearing calf sale, with top price of £515 falling to a heifer from EB and JR Worthington, of Ramsbottom, with another Blue-cross from James Kayley, of Halton West, heading the heifer calf trade at £380. The overall Continental-cross average was £355.58 per head.

Gargrave’s HJ and K Blackwell sold a Simmental bull calf at £425 and were also responsible for the top price native heifer calf, a Hereford at £190. The native average was £165 per head.

Black and white prices peaked at £170 for a bull calf from JG Hall and Son, of Gargrave, averaging £82 per head overall. Attention now turns to the seasonal calf show on Monday.