DAVID Fort, of High Malsis Farm, Glusburn, took the reserve championship at the opening February Craven Dairy Auction show at Skipton Auction Mart on Monday.

Mr Fort was returning to the dairy ring at Skipton for the first time in many years and took the reserve award with his first prize newly-calven cow.

Nine days-calved and giving 33 litres, the second calver sold for £1,450 to local buyer John Howard, of Heslaker.

Mr Fort currently keeps 90 commercial Holstein Friesian cattle, 50 of which are in milk.

The championship was won by Peter Baul’s Ravensgate pedigree Holstein herd.

Mr Baul, who trades as M Baul & Partners at Watergate Farm, Bishop Thornton, was Skipton’s opening 2016 dairy show title winner and reserve champion at the second show. He also landed a hat-trick of championships and other top price successes in 2015.

He returned to the victor’s podium at the third show of the current year with his first prize newly-calven heifer, Ravensgate Aldean Sparkle 223, the latest in a long and milk-rich family line. Thirty-two days-calved and giving 32 litres, the champion sold for top call of £1,660 to Andrew Parker, of Emley, Huddersfield.

The second prize newly-calven heifer, a pedigree from Thimbleby Farms, Northallerton, became a second Andrew Parker purchase at £1,250, while the third in class, a commercial entry from Laycock’s Sammy Sugden, sold for £1,000 to Martyn Jennings, of Cowling.

Also to the fore was Bingley’s Keith Downs with a newly calven commercial heifer that made £1,350 on joining Mark Goodall in Tong, Bradford, while Brian and Susan Barningham, from Isaac Oliver and Partners in Darley, again dominated the in-calf heifer show class, taking first and second prizes with a brace of entries that sold to £860.

Four bulling heifers from Bolton Abbey’s David and Jill Pennock sold to £660, averaging £615, while a five-week-old Friesian heifer calf from Chris Watson, of Horton-in-Craven, made £220.

Potential buyers for the small entry of 16 head were understandably cautious, as newly-calven heifers averaged £1,244.

On a more positive note, a strong show of 91 rearing calves – the average age was 37 days - at Monday’s weekly sale met with a better trade than seen of late, especially for the better end of the black and white youngsters on parade, which topped at £175 for a bull calf from RD Guy, of Earby, and averaged £73.13 per head overall.

Continentals were a straight trade, with Fred Houseman, of Church Farm Enterprises in Burton Leonard, once again leading the way with a British Blue-cross bull calf at £380, closely followed at £370 with a same way bred entry from Sutton-in-Craven’s Richard Spence. The section average was £303.30 per head.

Native youngsters topped at £275 for an Aberdeen Angus heifer calf from Andrew Smith, of Carleton, with Chris Watson, of Horton-in-Craven, chipping in with a £250 Hereford bull calf. Natives averaged £174.50 overall.