Multiple past champion Brian Moorhouse, who runs the Airebank pedigree Holstein dairy herd at Hesper Farm, Bell Busk, sent out his first title winner of 2014 at the main February Craven Dairy Auction at Skipton Auction Mart on Monday.

The home-bred victor, the first prize newly calven heifer, came to market giving 31kg and headed the day’s selling prices at £2,650 when joining D Clarke, of Hampsthwaite, Harrogate.

The same buyer also paid second top call of £2,250 for another newly calven commercial heifer shown by Eldroth’s Gary Robinson.

Richard Close, of Starbotton, bagged the reserve championship with his second prize seven days-calved heifer, giving 27 litres and falling for £2,120 to regular local buyer John Howard, of Heslaker.

The third prize newly calven heifer from Bishop Thornton’s Peter Baul sold for £1,950 to Mark Goodall, of Tong, Bradford.

Heifers averaged £2,125 and newly calven cows sold to a high of £1,500 for a Brown Swiss entry from D and P Brown, of Ramsgill.

The 39-strong entry featured a good number of younger cattle, with J and J Whitaker, of Laneshawbridge, again to the fore with a quality selection of 29 in-calf and maiden heifers, which sold to a high of £1,700 for a March-due entry. The buyer was Gargrave’s David Shuttleworth.

Mick Corner, of Easingwold, was responsible for the top price in-calf heifer, which sold at £1,860 to Kevin Midgley, of Thorpe Bassett in Ryedale, producing an overall selling average of £1,492 per head.

The Whitakers’ 17 to 22-month-old bulling heifers sold to a high of £1,300 and averaged £1,117, with their six to eight-month-old heifer stirks selling to £800, with an average of £609 each.

Earlier in the day, Skipton’s weekly rearing calf sale featured another good turnout of dairy-bred youngsters, which averaged £66 per head and were led by two black and whites from John Marshall, of Dacre, which both sold to a high of £128. The same vendor also presented the top performing Limousin-cross heifer calf at £250.

There was straight trade for Continentals, with David Leeming, of Burnt Yates, selling all entries well and to a high of £350 for a British Blue-cross bull calf, although the day’s leading price of £370 fell to a Limousin-cross bull calf from Graham Hayton, of Bolton Abbey, who also sold a second Limousin at £355.

An improved entry of 68 youngsters saw Continental calves average £265.90 per head overall and native breeds £153.30.