ANOTHER busy Monday prime sale day at Skipton saw 23 under 30-month clean cattle trade to a per head high of £1,485, or 247.5p/kg.

This was hammered down for a 600kg British Blue cross-heifer from the Critchley family, of Hutton, claimed by Kendalls Farm Butchers in Pateley Bridge and Harrogate.

The Scrivin family, from Elslack, had the top price per kilo sale, a 530kg British Blue-cross heifer which made 258.5p/kg, or £1,370.

A reduced entry of 21 cast cattle got away at a reasonable trade, with one factory buyer absent, but an extra buyer at the ringside. The best dairies were 2-5p/kg back on the week, but the steaking and plain cattle a shade firmer.

An average show of beef-cross cows, with a highlight a fed Galloway from Linton’s Tom Boothman.at £767. The overall cull cow selling average was £530.73, or 81.2p/kg.

Prime sheep numbers remained constant at close on 4,000 head, with the quality end of the 3,673 prime lambs just as good to sell.

Leading at 266.7p/kg and 265p/kg were Beltex pens from Alaistair Jenkinson, of Langbar, one of which also made top per head of £112. The overall prime lambs selling average was £74.27, or 167.41p/kg. Cast sheep, 311 in total, saw cull ewes average £40.67 and cast rams £57.

Sixty-one rearing calves sold to a top of £420 for a British Blue-cross bull while black and white calves saw the trade of the day, averaging £117.47 and topping twice at £165 for bulls from Richard Spence, of Sutton-in-Craven. The native average was £143.