THE 2016 Prime Show season opened at Skipton Auction Mart with a high quality entry of 59 cattle on Monday and a good show of buyers.

Jim Baines, of Trawden, once again took the red rosette home, with his 545kg Limousin heifer catching the eye of judge Jonathan Townley from Clapham.

The Baines family has a long history of prime cattle champions at Skipton Auction Mart, and this latest winner was snapped up by Keelham Farm Shop, regular buyers at Skipton, for £1,479, or 271.5p/kg.

Reserve champion was Gary Lodge, of Westside Farm, Malham Moor. Selling for the first time at Skipton, his homebred British Blue cross steer fetched £1,483, or 216.5p/kg, and was also the first prize steer.

Malcolm Metcalfe took second prize in the heifer and steer categories, with his Limousin cross heifer selling for 254.5p/kg or £1,395, and a Limousin cross steer for £1,416, or 248.5p/kg.

Third prize for steers also went to Jim Baines, who sold a Bazadaise for £1,443, and for heifers it was JM Townsend of Laneshawbridge who picked up third place but also top price for a heifer, with a Blonde cross, which fetched £1,483, or 251.5p/kg.

Steers, weighing over 560kg, averaged 232.67p/kg, while heifers weighing between 400 and 480kg averaged 251.96p/kg and those weighing over 485kg averaged 221.33p/kg.

In the cull cow dairy show, MP Jennings (Dairy) Ltd, from Cowling, took first place, and went on to sell three black and whites for £855, £841 and £814. DA Fort, of Glusburn, came second and G Pickersgill & Sons of Guiseley were third.

KA and HL Fawcett of Barden were beef champions, with R Caton of Cowan Bridge second and I Barrett & Son of Braisty Wood third.

Culls sold to an overall average of 100.79p/kg, or £675.47, with black and whites averaging at 95.48p/kg, dairy shorts averaging 102.73p/kg, Brown Swiss selling to 61.5p/kg, Limousin crosses averaging at 11.93p/kg, British Blue crosses averaging 128.04p/kg, and Blonde crosses selling to 146.5p/kg.