TRAVELLING over from near the east coast to make her first-ever appearance in a monthly prime lambs show at Skipton Auction Mart, Erica Avis, of Springfield Farm, Hensall, Goole, made an immediate impact when clinching a debut championship success at the June highlight. (Mon, June 6)

Erica took the title with her first prize pen of five Continentals, home-bred Beltex-x-Rouge lambs tapped out by Rossendale show judge Joe Bosworth. She currently runs a flock of 200 same-way bred ewes, and saw her 37kg victors, by a tup from well-known Aberdeenshire breeder Stuart Wood sell for £145 per head, or 391.5/kg, to West Scottish Lamb.

Standing reserve champions with the second prize Continental pen were Red Rose husband and wife, David and Laura Coar, of Yew Tree Farm, Darwen, with home-bred 43kg Beltex lambs by a Cheshire-based Paul Slater ram. They sold for £160 per head, or 372p/kg, to Vivers Scotlamb.

Clitheroe’s Peter Fox finished third in the same show class, his lambs away at £150 per head, or 365p/kg, also to Vivers.

A standalone show for Suffolk lambs was won by Francis and James Caton of Weston, fetching £148 to Hartshead Meat Co, with G&MM Dakin, of Bolton-by-Bowland runner-up and selling at £136 to A Sanderson.

In the June prime cattle show, regular vendors the Critchley beef farming family, from Hutton, Preston, took championship honours courtesy of judge Anthony Swales, of Knavesmire Butchers in York. Their red rosette-winning 15-month-old 555kg Limousin-cross heifer, acquired in March from the Blanc family in Ulverston, made £1,823, or 328.5p/kg when joining Bacup butchers D&A Gregory & Sons.

May prime cattle champions, North Craven father and son Francis and Andrew Smith, of Masongill, returned to present the first prize bullock and overall reserve champion, another 15-month-old Limousin-cross acquired from David Hatton, of Broughton-in-Furness. Weighing in at 560kg, it sold for £1,789, or 319,5p/kg, to Knavesmire Butchers. The Smiths also finished runners-up in the heifer show class with a 530kg British Blue acquired from the same breeder, this making £1,730 or 326.5p/kg, when going to Gregory & Sons.

Hargreaves Farms in Walton-le-Dale, presented the second prize bullock, a Limousin weighing 665kg, knocked down for £1,945, or 292.5p/kg, to Ralph Pearson in Bradford.

Hargreaves also had the top gross of the day, a 700kg Limousin steer fetching £2,013 or 287.5p/kg.

Mart regulars, Threshfield brothers Charles and Richard Kitching, took home two more rosettes when finishing third in both show classes, including a British Blue Cross at 640kg selling to £1,898 (or 296.5p) to Pearsons of Bradford.

Cull cows fared well, with prices reflecting short supply, with heavy Holsteins fetching 170p/kg (£1,300), leaner sorts 140p/kg and plain cows 113p/kg. The overall average was 153.2p/kg, or £1,078.76.

A larger show of Spring Lambs saw a fair mix of retail and commercial types forward, with several vendors choosing to sell lighter weights (33kg-39kg), allowing them to cull ewes sooner.

There were also more hoggs than expected, with a right royal trade averaging at 271p, including the mature hoggs and end of season pen clearances.

Top price per kilo for new season lambs saw Garry and Laura Robinson of Embsay hitting 435p/kg, with a 39kg Beltex at £170 to Knavesmire Butchers.

Jim Scrivin of Elsack made 414p/kg when selling 47kg at £195 a head, also to Knavesmire.

Tony and Kay Kiernan, St Michaels made 411.9p.kg with 42kg to Vivers Scotlamb, and John Nutter of Hurst Green presented a run of heavies at 410p, with his 48kg topping the sale at £197, also to Knavesmire.

Older lambs also enjoyed an excellent trade, to an all-in average of 271p/kg.

Jim Scrivin picked up where he left off in the Spring Lamb ring by making £195 of Beltex cross Hoggs or 375p/kg for 52kg. Duncan Holme of Bolton Abbey wasn’t far behind making £180, a price matched by Kevin Marshall of Menwith Hill.

Ewes also traded well, with Sufolk-x hitting a high of £237.50 from George and Gladys Emmott of Keighley.

Texel ewes sold to £215.50 from DJ Halliday, Sowerby Bridge, with mule ewes selling to a high of £149.50 from Andrew Taylor, Broughton.

Swale ewes topped at £109.50 from P Addyman, Skipton, Gritstone ewes to £121.50 from Jim Scrivin, Scotch Blackface Ewes to £107.50 from A Guy & Son, Elslack, and BFL Tups to £200.

In total 2,550 prime sheep were put forward, comprising 1,094 Spring lambs, 714 prime and mature hoggs, and 742 cast ewes and rams.