A BUMPER bovine bounty of 541 head was on parade for Skipton Auction Mart’s latest fortnightly cattle sale, among them a large turnout of 111 breeding cattle boosted by two reductions in the entry. (June 9)

The first of these came from Highfield Farm Partners, of Coppul, Chorley, and included the day’s leading price of £3,100 for a 2017 British Blue-x cow with Limousin bull calf at foot, plus another from the same home at £2,900 for a 2018 Blue, again with Limousin bull calf.

A run of Stabiliser cows with April/May-born Charolais and Limousin calves from Flash House Farm in Penistone reached £1,850 for a five-year-old with Charolais steer calf, plus another at the same price for a four-year-old with Charolais heifer calf.

The 431 feeding cattle included 108 young bulls, with a full attendance of buyers looking to keep pens topped up. Jeff Pickles, from Ribblehead, did best when making £1,460 and £1,420 for May, 2020-born strong well-fleshed Limousin-x.

A run of 15 July and August, 2020, Simmental-x bulls from the Elliott family in Tadcaster, saw 11 of them sell in three lots all at £1,400,, while also achieving £1,400 were a May, 2020, Limousin from W&A Lambert, of Selside, and E&AM Simpson, of Pateley Bridge, again with a home-bred Limousin.

Bulls under ten-months were a nice trade, levelling at £1,106, with smart types trading to £1,230 for one at nine months from JB&AH Coates in Cowan Bridge. Those in the 10/11-month bracket really caught the eye, with some premium quality sorts forward and easily reflected in the age average at £1,257, against the over 12-month bulls average of £1,167.

Forty-nine beef feeding cows went under the hammer and a shortage of late has caused a rise in values, with no let up in trade for short and medium keep cows, producing an overall section average of £1,066.

A six-year-old Limousin from Rick and Robert Holroyd, of Wadsworth, led the way at £1,980, the same vendors also making £1,460 with another heavy Limousin, closely followed at £1,440 with a pure Limousin from the Mason family at Oddacres, Embsay. A single Beef Shorthorn stock bull from Michael Daggett in Hartlington sold at £1,180.

Full clearance was achieved for the 272 store bullocks and heifers, with younger, smaller grazing goods selling to an increased trade on the fortnight. As always, native cattle were in ready demand, steers selling to £1,220 from CT&EM Hammond in Harrogate. A selection of Aberdeen-Angus steers in the mix all made four figure prices, those with size and power achieving £1,160-£1,220.

Medium feeders were £1,065-plus, strong goods trading at £1,160-£1,240. A run of Montbéliard-x bullocks from SW&JE Ryder & Son, of Harrogate, made £1,150-£1,205, while Limousin-x steers sold to £1,400 from DT&LA Houseman & Sons, again from Harrogate,

Of the heifers, native store made £1,100-£1,210 for strong meat heifers, a run of pure Angus fit for service from Joe and Helen Drinkall, of Chorley, topping at £1,210. At the next fortnightly sale on June 23, Mr Drinkall will be staging the first part of a dispersal sale of 30 pure Angus cows and calves, the second consignment of 30 to follow a fortnight later on Wednesday, July 7

Back at the latest sale, Limousin heifers met a fiery trade, a run from Andy Rigby, of Clitheroe, selling to £1,590. At the younger end, premium quality yearling sorts made to £1,380 for a 12-month-old Limousin-x from WP&B Walker & Son in Appletreewick.