A PAIR of home-bred Limousin-cross heifers from Calderdale’s Brian Lund secured championship and reserve championship honours at Skipton Auction Mart’s March prime cattle show and sale.

Mr Lund, who farms 350 acres of hill land at Walshaw Farm, Hebden Bridge, clinched the latest in a long line of successes at Skipton with a pair of home-bred Limousin-cross heifers.

His latest 565kg victor was snapped up for £1,551, or 274.5p/kg, both the leading gross and by-weight prices, by show judge Simon Duerden, of Blacko, buying on behalf of Nicholson’s Butchers in Nelson.

The reserve champion fell for £1,496, or 269.5p/kg, to Saltaire butcher Dick Binns.

The third prize heifer, a Blonde-cross from Trawden’s Jimmy Baines, made £1,567, or 263.5p/kg, on joining D Greerley in West Houghton. Bingley’s Keith Downs was also to the fore, selling a Limousin-cross heifer for £1,512, or 258.5p/kg, to multiple buyers Keelham Farm Shop in Thornton, Bradford.

Prime cattle under 30 months averaged 223.59p/kg for entries up to 590kg and 216.60p/kg for those above this weight.

A standalone show for cull cows produced a red rosette-winning success in the beef section for a Limousin-cross from Embsay’s John and Claire Mason, which sold for £1,135, or 156.5p/kg, while the first prize dairy-bred entry, a black and white cow from Alf Townsend, of Southfield, Burnley, made £918.

The second prize beef animal, a British Blue-cross from Alan Woodhouse, of Clapham, headed the class prices at £1,187, or 161.5p/kg, as did the second prize dairy-bred entry from N&J Thwaite, of Hellifield, at £966, or 125.5p/kg.

The 36 cull cows entered averaged £761.70 per head, or 115.46p/kg overall, which was a similar trade to the previous week, though the recent uplift in price brought out a higher percentage of lean lightweight dairies, which sold extremely well.

* There was a turnout of 55 rearing calves at Skipton’s weekly Monday sale, with month-old youngsters notably strong on price and trading to a high of £450 for a British Blue-cross bull calf from Fred and Mark Houseman, of Church Farm Enterprises in Burton Leonard.

Michael Heron, of Bramhope, also caught the eye with a three-week-old black and white bull calf that made £158.

All calves continue to sell well, with the averages - £309.80 for Continentals, £202 for native breeds and £73.57 for black and whites - not quite reflecting the strength of the price to the class of calf.