THE New Year show and sale at Skipton Auction Mart saw a large show of calves on offer.

Mark Houseman, of Church Farm Enterprises, Burton Top Farm, Burton Leonard, took the champion rosette with a tremendous British Blue bull.

The six-week-old calf, by Genus sire Brookfield Dev, caught the eye of judge Tony Binns straight away. He said: “I picked it out as soon as I walked in the pen.” It was Mr Binns who went on to buy the champion calf, for £440.

However it was another big dark blue bull from JP and KE Hartley, of Bolton Abbey, which just pipped the champion to top price of the day at £450, selling to Simon Thompson, of Driffield.

More than half of the British Blue bulls on offer saw £400-plus with the Pickersgill brothers from Hawksworth reaching £400 twice for their Limousin consignments.

Mr Houseman also took first prize in the heifer class and heifers saw a healthy trade for the better quality entries with four from Church Farm Enterprises averaging £403. Three-quarters of all British Blue heifers sold for £350 or over.

Natives were well supported with Aberdeen Angus bulls averaging £233 for all quality, and JM Smith of Carleton topping at £300 for a cracking named sire entry.

Black and whites were definitely better to sell than in December, partly down to the size and quality on offer, but also a couple of fresh faces making the better calves a strong trade with Richard Spence’s hefty Friesian bull topping the day at £230 with a section average of £81.35.