While current circumstances might well have adversely affected Skipton Auction Mart’s second annual winter weekend fixture for pedigree Suffolk females this proved far from the case when the mart’s decision to add online bidding to the live auction created a strong virtual company of buyers, with internet bidders keenly contesting the majority of lots. (Saturday, November 7)

Derbyshire-based Steve and Louise Buckley’s Sitlow flock at Sittinglow Farm, Dove Holes, Buxton, headed both the shearling and aged ewe prices, the former at a sale-topping 1,300gns with a January, 2019-born twin by Strathbogie Peaky Blinder, who did a fantastic job for the flock, last year producing sons sold to £4,000, before himself being sold to Northern Ireland.

Among his first crop of daughters, the top price performer, out of a Stockton Turbine-sired dam and herself scanned carrying twins to the 2,200gns Pyeston Stormzy, a Scottish-bred tup used successfully for the past two years, remained in North Yorkshire when joining Suffolk breeders who requested anonymity.

The Buckleys also topped the aged ewe prices at 900gns with a January, 2018, twin by Salopian He’s The Boy, and full sister to the highly regarded Sitlow Concept, whose sons have sold to 2,300gns. Out of a Jubilee Legacy ewe and again sold in-lamb to Pyeston Stormzy, this time carrying triplets, the ewe returned to Derbyshire’s Peak District with Ron Darlington, of Hartington.

Having bred Suffolks for four decades – they currently have a flock of 70 ewes – the Buckleys arrived with a 14-strong consignment of two shearling ewes, four aged ewes and eight gimmer lambs, one of which made 750gns, two others hitting 650gns.

Making his first-ever appearance in the sale ring was up-and-coming 19-year-old breeder Harry Lyons, who runs the Cloudside flock at Beech Tree Farm in the village of the same name near Congleton. He began with Suffolks as a 14-year-olds after being given one as a pet lamb by a neighbour and has not looked back since, carefully building his flock to its current holding of 30 breeding ewes.

Young Harry made an immediate impact when heading the ewe lamb prices at 1,050gns with a December-born triplet by the 30,000gns Salopian Scuderia, the Suffolk Sheep Society’s 2020 ‘Sire of the Year,’ who has bred sons to 32,000gns.

Out of a fleshy ewe purchased last year from the Lakeview flock, the leading price gimmer lamb was fancied by many parties before returning to Cheshire with Jill Davies, who runs Albea Suffolks at Hough, Crewe. She, too, is a relatively new breeder, establishing the flock some four years ago and now comprising 30 ewes, all currently in-lamb, and some 13 ewe lambs.

Jill said: “A couple of entries in the online catalogue took our eye, so we decided to travel up to Skipton and have a closer look as I need to see sheep in the flesh. I am over the moon with the ewe lamb. Being by the Sire of the Year she is really special and I am sure she will do really well for us. Harry has done a super job. I love to see someone so young doing well. Hopefully, we can follow in his footsteps!”

Jane Soulsby, who runs the Williamsgill flock at Temple Sowerby, Penrith, travelled down from Cumbria with three shearling ewes, all scanned in-lamb to Middlemuir Hendricks, the trio all finding new homes at 700gns, 500gns and 480gns.

Red Rose breeder Geoffrey Richmond, of the Sullom flock in Goosnargh, Preston, also caught the eye with a 700gns aged ewe, a January, 2016 ET daughter of Ballynacanon Back To The Future, scanned carrying twins to Claycrop. She sold locally to Alan Middleton, of the Beamsley-based Hartley farming partnership.

The sale – there were no show classes - saw a very high clearance rate and solid averages on the year. Shearling ewes averaged £720.30 (2019 £653), aged ewes £603 (£423) and ewe lambs £477.57 (£508).

Also on same morning’s agenda was Skipton’s monthly collective sale of 124 head of cattle and 104 sheep and goats, with sustained trade throughout. Steers sold to a high of £840 for a Limousin, bulls peaking at £745, while heifers sold to £720 for a British Blue. Goats sold to £115 for a Boer nanny. The next Saturday collective is on December 12.

The mart’s weekly Monday sale day saw primestock again to the fore. The 4,274 lambs among another large turnout approaching 5,000 prime sheep lacked the overall quality seen in previous weeks, reflected in a reduced overall selling average of £91.20 per head, or 205.9p/kg (SQQ 211.3p).

They sold to a per head top of £138 on two occasions from the Maudsley family in Rathmell and Nigel Boynton, of Ripon, both pens falling to Brayton Farm Shop, Selby. Adrian Leach, of Hebden Bridge, headed the per kilo prices at 317.59 (£127) with a 40kg Beltex pen claimed by Vivers Scotlamb in Annan. Another cracking trade for 569 cast ewes and rams produced a selling average of £66.43 for cull ewes and £84.38 for rams.

The 24 under 30-month prime cattle produced a top gross price of £1,582 (261.5p/kg) for a 605kg British Blue-x steer from Malham Moor’s Bill Cowperthwaite, again among acquisitions by Ralph Pearson Wholesale Butchers in Bradford, with the highest price per kilo 555kg Blue-x heifer from the Kitching family in Threshfield making 272.5p/kg (£1,512) when one of three purchased by Kitson & Sons Butchers for its north-east outlets. Cull cows averaged a £648.98, or 100.68p/kg.

The fortnightly Craven Dairy Auction produced a top call of £1,850 for a pedigree newly calven heifer, with their commercial counterparts selling to £1,750 and maiden heifers to £720. A total of 63 dairy-bred rearing calves were also penned for sale, with trade stepping up a gear, notably for all classes of heifer calves contested by both regular and new buyers. Top call fell to a British Blue-x bull calf from Andrew Ayrton, of Eastby.