THE Baines family, from Trawden, sent out another in a long line of prime cattle champions at Skipton Auction Mart’s August show.

Jim Baines and his son Paul were responsible for the latest victor, the first prize 560kg Blonde d'Aquitaine-cross heifer.

It fell for a price-topping £1,789, or 319.5p/kg, to Kitsons Butchers in Northallerton.

Kitsons then paid £1,610, or 255.5p/kg, for the latest reserve champion, the first prize 630kg pure-bred British Blue heifer from another regular prize winner and past champion, Brian Lund, of Walshaw, Hebden Bridge.

They also purchased the Baines family’s second prize British Blue-cross heifer at £1,477, or 273.5p/kg.

Malham Moor’s Bill Cowperthwaite, champion at the July show, was again on song when presenting the second prize bullock and third prize heifer. The former, a Simmental, sold for £1,425, top gross price in class, or 241.5p/kg, to the show judge, Keelham Farm Shop’s James Robertshaw, while the latter, a Limousin-cross, joined D and A Gregory Butchers in St James Street, Bacup, at £1,364, or 278.5p/kg.

Mr Cowperthwaite sold a further Limousin-cross bullock for £1,392, or 248.5p/kg, again to Keelham,

Malcolm Metcalfe, of Thirsk, was responsible for the third prize bullock, a Limousin-cross, which made £1,396, or 258.5p/kg, and also fell to Gregory’s Butchers, while the same vendor also achieved £1,482, or 255.5p/kg, with a Limousin-cross heifer which became a third Keelham acquisition.

The mart’s call for more clean cattle was answered with the August show attracting 26 entries.

Under 30-month steers weighing 465-555kg averaged 250.33p/kg, with 560kg-plus entries averaging 210.26p/kg. Heifers averaged 168.09p/kg for 400-480kg entries and 237.32p/kg for 485kg-plus. A further six clean cattle over 30 months averaged £806.25 per head, or 126.78p/kg, headed at £1,011, or 138.5p/kg, by a black and white stirk from Broughton’s Jeremy Taylor.

In a standalone show for cull cows, the first prize beef-bred animal and overall champion was a home-bred once-calved Limousin cow from John and Claire Mason, who runs the Oddacres pedigree herd in Embsay. She sold for £1,158, or 175.5p/kg.

The first prize dairy-bred cull cow was a black and white from brothers Stephen and Malcom Abbott in Dacre, Harrogate, which made £816, or 112.5p/kg.

Joe and Nancy Throup, of Draughton, clinched the runner-up slot in the beef-bred show class with a Blonde-cross cow sold at £963, or 139.5p/kg, while Skipton’s K Burton was third with a Charolais knocked down at £1,173, or 125.5p/kg.

Elslack’s John Rushton was runner-up in the dairy-bred show class with a black and white cow sold for £743, or 108.5p/kg, with Lyndon Watson, of Horton-in-Craven, finishing third with a MRI sold at £717, or 109.5p/kg.

A reduced entry of 23 cull cows met with a sharper trade on the week when selling to an overall average of £704.42 per head, or 106.67p/kg.