Report by dairy sales co-ordinator. Sarah Liddle.

CCM Skipton cemented their commitment to Jersey sales and elite dairy fixtures with their second consignment sale on Monday. (April 26)

An attractive catalogue with a range of ages, pedigrees and quality of stock was on offer and a total of seven vendors supplied the 15 milking animals and 24 youngstock, which were sold by the leading Jersey auctioneer Mark Davis, of Devon-based Kivells.

Bluegrass Jerseys made their long trip from Hertford Heath in Hertfordshire well worthwhile. They consigned four milking animals - a pair of second calvers and two milking heifers to average £2,888.

While Scottish and Shropshire bidders tried to make the widely admired Bluegrass Tequilas Merry Jane their own, after frantic bidding in the ring, online and on the phone the hammer fell at £5,250 to local buyers, Robert and Elaine Butterfield, of Bentham on the Yorkshire- Lancashire border.

Merry Jane was already scored VG87-2yrs and having calved in early January had recently recorded at 22kg at 5.39% fat and 3.82% protein with 55 scc, with her two nearest dams both EX93. She was from the strong Jane family with Barry, Jenny and Claire Daws’ herd and is already served again.

Merry Jane was a tall modern Jersey, with tremendous lines and profile from the side and one ringsider described her as the sort ‘that makes the hairs on your neck stand on end when you see her come into the ring.’

The next lot in, also from Bluegrass - Chieftains Haven - had plenty of admirers. A very correct and well-balanced heifer with a picture-perfect udder she heads with the Forts at Silsden Moor at £3,045.

John and Sue Heath of Ravenfield Jerseys, Cowden, Hull, brought a trailer of five in-milk cows and heifers, many just fresh and likely to improve with time for their new owners. They topped at £1,733 for Nethervalley KS G Maid Winnie.

Bred by Robbie Scott, this Sunset Canyon Got Maid is a potential 6th generation VG or EX and, six weeks calved, heads to Willie Taylor, Ainstable, Cumbria, while three of the other Ravenfield milkers were part of a wagon of eight heading south to a new Jersey breeder in Cheshire.

In the youngstock there were two main Scottish buyers with newly established herds who selected the majority of a group of five in-calf heifers due in June from Paul Ingham and the Laneside Farm Partnership from Waddington, Clitheroe.

The quintet topped at £1,523 twice for daughters of Hilario and Craze both bound for Andrew and Alison Bunting, Dumfries, while a batch of eight bulling age heifers were consigned by father and daughter team, Mike and Zoe Clear, from Frensham, Surrey, and they headed en-bloc to Messrs Law, Lanarkshire, to a top of £1,050 for Discovery Rufus Susie, a yearling by Ahlem Topeka Rufus from a 7827kg 3rd lactation dam.

Trade on the day commenced with the usual fortnightly dairy sale, when there were 11 forward. Quality was not as strong and deep as of late and this was reflected in the trade, with buyers being more conservative in their purchases.

However, from Gargrave Mick Blackwell’s sweet black heifer was top of the turnout at £1,900, returning to Gargrave with John Howard.

This coming Bank Holiday Monday, May 3, there will be an additional special dairy sale featuring 40 mainly heifers and some young cows from Keith Downs, of Milnerfields Farm, Bingley. This draft reduction sale is of mainly fresh milk with a batch of ten late summer calvers as well.

On the same sale day as the Jersey and elite dairy breeds were taken through the sale ring, the morning’s weekly sale of 33 dairy-bred rearing calves saw improved trade throughout and another solid top call of £500 for a British Blue-x bull from Embsay father and son, Michael and Rob Wallbank, who also headed the native prices with a £315 Aberdeen-Angus heifer calf.

Nice rearing Blue-x bull calves made £390-£420, with only youngsters in the entry, while Blue-x heifers sold to £345 from the Forts of Silsden Moor. Limousin-x entries peaked at £370 for a bull from the Marshalls, of West End, Blubberthouses, who also presented the £302 top price Limousin-x heifer calf, with a Simmental heifer calf from Chris Harrison in Elslack also catching the eye at £300. Black and whites sold to £112 for a bull calf from Paul and Janet Bolland, of Airton.

Episode 5 of ‘The Farming Country Podcast,’ featuring rural interviews, industry news and topical insights from on-site partners, is now available online via Spotify, Apple podcasts, Youtube, Google Podcasts and the home page link at www.ccmauctions.com