THE 511 head of cattle penned for sale at Skipton Auction Mart’s fortnightly Wednesday fixture were sharper to trade than the previous sale, with younger cattle especially and those for summering taking a nice rise on the fortnight.

At a prize show for cattle with show potential, the victor, a lively British Blue-cross eight–month-old heifer from Barden’s John Fawcett, went on to achieve the day’s top price of £1,210 when joining ringside regular Stephen Eastwood, of Emley, Huddersfield.

Mr Fawcett sold three further Blue-cross heifers in a strong pen at £1,140, £1,110 and £1,090, also sending out the top price pen of three Limousin-cross heifers, which each made £1,030.

Store heifers sold to an overall Continental-cross average of £880 per head, with a native average of £685 and a high of £1,020 for Aberdeen Angus from Stuart Verity, of Whitewell, Clitheroe.

In the store bullock section, there was another Fawcett top price, though this one fell to Bishop Thornton’s Andrew Fawcett with a Simmental at £1,185, with a second close behind at £1,170, along with a Charolais-cross at £1,180, top price in class.

The same vendor also produced the highest priced pen of three Charolais-cross bullocks, which each made £1,130.

The Continental-cross average was £932 and the native average £981, with joint highs here of £1,080 each for six Aberdeen Angus bullocks from James and Deborah Ogden in Austwick.

The turnout of 118 young feeding bulls produced an overall Continental-cross average of £926 per head, peaking at £1,150 for the pick of a Charolais-cross pen from John Greenhalgh, of Bashall Eaves.

A selling price of £1,060 each was achieved for the top price pen of three Limousin-cross young bulls from Procters Farm in Slaidburn.

Of the breeding cattle on show, an Aberdeen Angus cow with Blonde calf at foot from Ciaran Donnelly, of Hoyland, was the top seller at £1,170, while grazing cows sold to a high of £900 for a British Blue from Fewston’s Howard Barker, with a Devon-cross from Gary Newburn, of Bailiff Bridge, also making appeal at £840.

All eyes are now turning to Skipton’s 2016 pedigree beef season. The curtain rises on Wednesday with the British Blue highlight, at which 14 pedigree bulls have been entered for sale.