SKIPTON Auction Mart’s latest fortnightly Craven Dairy Auction saw fresh milk keenly sought by regular buyers, welcome returnees and new faces.

Gisburn’s Frank Wrathall judged the-pre sale show and awarded the championship to first-time vendor Mark Morrell and family, from Killinghall, Harrogate, whose fresh second calver by Tessarossa Red giving over 35kg per day went on to make top call of £2,750 when claimed by Alan Middleton, of the Hartley family dairy farming partnership in Beamsley.

The Morrells are beginning to disperse their 160-strong herd and brought a genuine fresh group of eight cows - one in her fifth lactation, two fourth, four third and a second calver, with the other top seller, a July third calver by No-Fla Luxury making £2,700 to regular buyer Richard Sutcliffe, of Queensbury. The consignment averaged £2,055.

The sole fresh heifer from Ian Hall, who trades as J Dibb in Kilnsey, made £1,900, again going to Alan Middleton, while a group of five in-calf cows from Jack and Alan Wilson in Green Hammerton, York, proved popular with repeat customers, topping at £2,000 for a Control daughter due her second calf in September to sexed Adorable and selling to Robert Metcalfe and family at Brearton, Harrogate.

Looking ahead to the next Craven Dairy Auction show and sale on Monday, August 22, the Morrell family are due to return with more of their herd dispersal and a good entry is already forward.

The following day, Tuesday, Skipton stages its high profile opening prize show and sale of gimmer shearlings, the traditional launch fixture for the mart’s annual breeding sheep season and one of the keynote early fixtures in the calendar.

There will again be six standalone show classes, with The James Boothman Memorial Trophy, presented for the first time last year by Linton’s Thomas Boothman in memory of his late father again up for grabs in the Continental shearlings class.