SKIPTON Auction Mart’s annual festive store cattle fixture featured pen-judged shows for young bulls, feeding cows and stores, backed by solid across-the-board trade for all classes. (Wed, Dec 9)

Picking up the red rosette in the young feeding bulls show was David Broadbent, of Midgley, Halifax, with a British Blue-cross sold for £1,140. A solid entry of 86 head for the section comprised some high quality bulls, which sold to an overall average of £1,030, against £967 the previous fortnight.

A March-born British Blue from the Leeming family in Ramsgill caught the eye at £1,190 and while autumn-born bulls were scarce a very good trade topper at £1,300 was a November Limousin from TH&K Wood, of High Birstwith.

Austwick’s James and Deborah Ogden won the festive beef feeding cows show with a Limousin that made £1,110, just bettered at £1,150 for the top price British Blue from John and Gill Huck in Hubberholme.

There was a very sharp trade in the section and with a good percentage of heavy short keep cows in the mix £1,000-plus was the target for heavy cows, complemented by significant interest in young cows and heifers to feed beyond the New Year. The 52 head feeding cattle sold averaged £785.

Christmas store heifer show victor was Stephen Horsfield, of Mytholmroyd, with a Blonde sold for £1,330, while the first prize bullock, a Limousin-cross from Clapham’s Jonathan Townley – he won the same show class last year – was not far behind at £1,320. The North Craven breeder consigned a lovely run of bullocks and heifers and also had the honour of topping the day’s trade at £1,450 with one of his Limousin-cross heifers.

The 412 store cattle forward met another flying trade for all classes, top price among the bullocks of £1,445 falling to an Aberdeen-Angus from regular vendors Bargh Bros, of Bracewell. The 51 Angus bullocks sold averaged £1,074 overall.

Heifers again sold well, with plenty of meat and frame seen for short keep goods. Bargh Bros once more caught the eye with some rangy thick Angus heifers sold to £1,285. Big premium grade Limousins commanded £1,400-plus.

Trade for Continental bullocks was deemed tremendous, with thick end beasts meeting good premiums for retail suppliers, the best Charollois making £1,200-plus and top end Limousins £1,300-plus, up to £1,370 from F&A Walmsley, of Pleasington, Blackburn.

A small, but quality turnout of breeding cattle all made four figures, up to £2,300 top for a pedigree Limousin cow and her Limousin calf from James and Sarah Cooper, who runs the Tomschoice herd in Dacre, Harrogate.

The next fortnightly sale is scheduled for Wednesday, December 23, and the marts points out to potential vendors that feeders will be keen to keep sheds topped up before Christmas. Then it’s on to the opening Great New Year sale on Wednesday, January 6, for which catalogue entries close on December 23.