SUTTON-in-Craven farmer Richard Spence produced the champion and top price at Skipton Auction Mart’s autumn rearing calf show and sale on Monday;

The victorious British Blue cross heifer reached the heights of £620, selling to Vickers and Richardson, of Scarborough.

Mr Spence, who also sold a bull for £490 to Robert Foster, managed to beat the Sowray family, of Bowes Green Farm, Bishop Thornton, who had won all previous championships in Skipton’s 2014 rearing calf show arena.

However Shaun Sowray still had a good day with show judge Tony Binns awarding him the reserve champion for his British Blue bull.

He also picked up first and second prize in the British Blue cross bulls and first prize for a Continental male stirk, as well as third place for a British Blue cross heifer.

It was a good show of calves with a particularly strong show of Continentals. The British Blue heifers were well supported with a number of people looking for calves to grow into their suckler herd.

The British Blue cross bull calves averaged at £375, with top price going to the Sowrays.

N Shaw & Sons, of Huddersfield, picked up first and second place for their Limousin bull calves, which averaged £294, with top price going to JC & DJ Marshall, of West End, at £305, while Aberdeen Angus bulls averaged £130, with S Nuttall picking up £145 top price. Both sold to Robert Foster.

Black and white bulls averaged £51.31, with M Ryder and Sons, of of Haverah Park, Harrogate, reaching the heights of £105 with their first prize winner, again sold to Robert Foster.

British Blue cross heifers averaged £345, while Limousin cross heifers from RL Wright & Sons of Airton reached £310, selling to B & LN Dibb, of Otley. Aberdeen Angus heifer calves averaged £150 with top price of £170 scooped by Brian Moorhouse, of Hesper Farm, Bell Busk, again selling to B & LN Dibb.