THE Sowray brothers, who run their Holstein Friesian dairy herd at Bowes Green Farm, Bishop Thornton, had a field day at Skipton Auction Mart’s Spring rearing calf show, with six of their eight-strong offering picking up red rosettes, among them a brace of British Blue-cross that then stood both champion and reserve. (Mon, March 21)

Taking top honours and top call of £480 was the champion bull calf, by the Genus sire, Tweeddale Ebony, which was snapped up by show judge Bob Smales, who farms on the east coast near Withernsea and took home 14 of various breeds, all of which will be finished on the farm, then sold at around 18 months as prime cattle.

Shaun Sowray also stepped up with the reserve champion heifer by another Genus sire, Kojak, which sold locally to Chris Heseltine in Bolton Abbey for £410. His other first prize winners were a Limousin-cross heifer away at £355, a Charollais-cross heifer at £375 and both native show class winners, a brace of Aberdeen-Angus youngsters, the heifer doing best at £270. The Sowray consignment sold to an overall average of £364.

A turnout of 62 rearing calves, predominantly Blues and natives, offered choice for all-comers, with 20 Blue bulls in solid demand, the best making £380-plus to average £355 overall, while Blue heifers met a competitive audience of buyers ringside, the top end away at £360-plus at an average of £252.

Limousin-cross bulls sold to £400 from G&PS Fleetwood in Mirfield, Charolais-cross bulls topping at £305 from Bury’s KT Wood & Son. Native calves were again a nice trade, bulls averaging £250 and heifers £196, though black and whites were easier on the week with buyers requesting strength.

Moving up in age to the weekly primestock sale, Ralph Pearson Wholesale Butchers in Bradford was again the volume buyer, their representative Robert Pearson acquiring16 of the 21 under 30-month clean cattle and accounting for all the leading prices.

These included the top gross of £2,017 (294.5p/kg) for a 685kg Limousin cross steer from Hargreaves Farms, of Walton-le-Dale, and the leading heifer, a 625kg Blonde-cross from Threshfield brothers Charles and Richard Kitching at £1,916 (306.5p/kg).

Heavy premium quality cattle continued to sell extremely well at 288p/kg-plus, while the best retail cattle in the lower weights made upwards of 300p/kg. Other weekly buyers were Barkers Yorkshire Butchers, Robertshaw’s Farm Shop and Keelham Farm Shop.

Cull cows continue to be in short supply, the nine forward selling to an overall average of 145.24p/kg, or £877.27 per head.

Episode 16 of CCM’s latest Farming Country is now available to download via the home page link at www.ccmauctions.com High profile contributors include AHDB Chief Executive, Tim Rycroft, who focuses on the keynote Shape the Future Campaign, and leading agricultural journalist, Cedric Porter, who discusses how the devastating conflict in the Ukraine is impacting the industry sector.