TOM Ryan, who farms in Altrincham, presented the first prize young bull and overall show champion at a special summer cattle show at Skipton Auction Mart last Wednesday, which produced healthy trade throughout.

Mr Ryan secured the title with a 12-month-old home-bred British Blue-cross, which sold for the day’s top joint top call of £1,440 to York father-and-son farmers and butchers Stephen and Anthony Swales.

The same buyers also acquired the second and third in class, both Blues, with the runner-up from Nidderdale’s Bernard Simpson, of Heathfield, also achieving £1,440, and the third prize winner, again from Mr Ryan, at £1,360.

The 96 bulls forward set the tone on the day when averaging £1,065 per head overall, with a Continental-cross average of £1,079 and a native average of £1,057. The top price pen of three British Blue bulls from the Townsend family in Laneshawbridge each made £1,080

Trade for bullocks and heifers – 238 in number – was similar on the fortnight, with a large proportion of dairy-bred goods on offer today indicating the current strength of the market.

Peter and Edward Fox, from Clitheroe, made a clean sweep of the prizes in the show class for bullocks with Limousin-cross entries that sold to a high of £1,340, this falling to Staffordshire’s Ben Elkin. Section prices were headed at £1,355 by another Limousin-cross from Charles and Richard Kitching, of Threshfield.

Andrew Fawcett, of Bishop Thornton, had the highest priced pen of three Simmental bullocks, which each sold for £1,325. Continental-cross store bullocks averaged £1,132 per head overall. Natives were also well supported with Paul Drinkall, of Gargrave, reaching £1,235 each for a pen of three Aberdeen Angus steers. The overall native average was £1,069.

Barden’s Stephen and Tracey Fawcett, along with their daughter Samantha, took first and third prizes in the heifers’ show class with British Blue-sired entries that sold at £1,130 and £1,020 respectively. However, top price in class of £1,430 fell to the second prize Limousin-cross heifer from Andrew Rigby, of Slaidburn.

The top price pen of three Blue-cross heifers from Broughton’s Jeremy Taylor made £1,145 each.

Forty breeding cattle were also among the mix, with Limousin-cross heifers with Limousin heifer calves at foot the leading performers on price when selling to £2,000, this for an entry from Ashfield Farms in Lothersdale.