SALLY Wellock, of Oakworth, picked up the Craven Dairy Auction championship at the show on Monday, which was judged by Rob Marshall, of Dacre, along with reserve champion and top price of the day.

That top price of the day was an eight-day calved Ayers heifer, Harehills Brenda 743, giving 30 litres, which topped the day’s sale at £2,080, selling to regular buyers Alf and Andrew Townsend, of Southfield, Burnley.

Both prize-winners were from the Harehills pedigree herd, farmed at West House Farm, Oldfield, near Oakworth. Sally Wellock has been successful a number of times at Skipton Auction Mart since securing her first championship two years ago. Brian Moorhouse, of Hesper Farm, Bell Busk, took third in the newly calven heifers, and got the second highest price overall with his Grafeeti heifer selling for £2,020 to regular dairy buyer Brian Blezard, of Ribchester.

On the day there was a healthy trade for the milkers on offer with a strong average to match, with all milkers averaging £1,860. A run of maidens from W A Brown, Earby, had a little too much age for size. However, they made some very respectable prices averaging £571.80 and topping at £760. W A Brown also took first, second and third prize for in-calf heifers.

Continental calves saw a very healthy trade at the mart on Monday, with both bulls and heifers making heady prices.

Norman Fort, of Silsden, had a tremendous British Blue bull calf, which sailed to £450 with no fewer than seven different vendors over £400 in the Blue Bull section. Continental heifers were a similar story, with a British Blue average of £398 and topping twice at £420 for a brace from Fred Houseman, of Church Farm Enterprises, Burton Leonard. Continentals averaged £366.54 overall. Native calves were in short supply and were very highly sought after with a tremendous Aberdeen Angus bull from J P and K E Hartley, of Beamsley, Bolton Abbey, reaching £415 and heifers from Hartley’s again and C Watson, of Horton in Craven, at £300 twice. The native average came out at £338.33.

In the black and whites, a few plainer calves pulled the average but some fleshy calves from Chris Harrison, of Elslack, topped at £115 for three-week old calves. Overall black and whites averaged £77.96. There will be a calf show on June 25 – please contact the mart with likely entries.

Meanwhile, Saturday’s livestock collective sale produced a turnout of 166 head of cattle, comprising stirks, weaned calves and young store cattle. Bulls sold to £740 for a Limousin, with the breed also heading the averages at £506 per head. Another section eye catcher was a £620 Longhorn. Steers peaked at £840 for a Hereford, while Montbeliarde and Aberdeen-Angus also sold well to respective highs of £765 and £760. Heifers sold to a top of £825 for a British Blue, which averaged £595 overall, while another Hereford caught the eye at £750.