A TOP call of £520, the highest of the year to date, was seen at the October rearing calf show and sale at Skipton Auction Mart

It fell to the show champion, the first prize British Blue-cross bull calf from the Sowray Holstein Friesian dairy farming brothers, of Bowes Green Farm, Bishop Thornton, who were winning their second championship of 2018.

By the Genus sire, Tweeddale Hebony, the seven-week-old well-shaped youngster joined Andrew Houseman, of Dacre.

The Sowrays were also responsible for the first and third prize Blue-cross heifer calves, these selling at £410 and £390 respectively, the former to brothers Stephen and Malcolm Abbott, also from Dacre.

The Sowrays also capped a good day in the show arena with the first prize native bull calf, an Aberdeen-Angus which was knocked down for £330 to the judge, Matthew Dibb, of Dob Park, near Otley.

The reserve championship fell to the second prize Blue-cross bull calf from Alan Middleton, who trades as JP and KE Hartley in Beamsley.

The son of another Genus sire, Brookfield Dev, sold for £420.

The second prize Blue-cross heifer calf from the same home sold for £390 when joining regular buyer Tony Binns, of Clint, Harrogate.

Gargrave’s Colin Whitelock presented the first prize Limousin-cross, sold for £400, and also topped the Limousin heifer prices at £365.

All three prizes in the native heifer show class fell to Aberdeen-Angus entries from the Heron family in Bramhope, with a top of £140.

With a turnout of 78 head, while straight, honest calves were harder to place, fierce bidding was seen for the best end, with well conformed Continental heifers all well above £350-plus.

Limousins also saw some heady prices, with bulls averaging £381 and heifers £277.

The overall Continental-cross selling average was £304.80.

Competition was also fierce for native bulls, with the section averaging £177.76.

The small amount of dairy calves on offer met a good grade, with the first prize Friesian bull calf from Ralph Guy, of Earby, topping at £140.

Flekvieh bulls were also a nice trade, with the Bentley family from Thirsk averaging £151 for their entries and selling to a top of £180.

The overall section average was £73.88.

Full results and prices can be found at www.ccmauctions.com