ANOTHER solid entry of 427 head of cattle was penned for sale at Skipton Auction Mart’s latest fortnightly Wednesday midweek fixture, with trade for 224 bullocks and heifers, among them some strong yearlings, described as ‘fiery,’ as vendors from South, West and North Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, Lancashire and Cumbria took advantage of Skipton’s buoyant store market.

Dairy-bred feeding bullocks were well bid for, DT&LA Houseman & Sons, Darley, selling British Blues to £1,740 and £1,710, other strong bullocks of the same spec making £1,600-£1,690.

Blue heifers also sold readily, thick-bodied types trading to £1,590 from M Ryder & Sons, Harrogate, who also headed the Limousin heifer trade at £1,800 and the black and white bullock prices £1,360. Limousin bullocks peaked at £1,850 from Dave Cockett, Ingleton.

While less native cattle were forward trade proved just as strong. Top priced bullocks sold to £1,360 from RG&AR Clegg, Clitheroe, and heifers to £1,360 from Ashley Thwaite, Hellifield, both with Aberdeen-Angus. A run of Shorthorn yearling heifers from PT&L Johnson, Lincoln, sold at £930-£1,100, with bullocks trading at the same money.

The smartest yearling bullocks traded at £1,200-£1,500, a Charolais pen from J&M Blakey, Bolton-by-Bowland, making £1,530, while a Blue from the Mills family in Sheffield also caught the eye at £1,550. Retail bullocks were regularly away at £1,200-£1,350, while the smartest heifers ready to feed at 12/14-months-old sold easily at £1,400-£1,550, with nice retail cattle again away at £1,300-plus.

Overall, store bullocks sold to a Continental-x average of £1,326, natives averaging £1,111, black and whites £1,190. Heifers averaged £1,158 for Continental-x and natives £991.

While some of the 153 young bulls were a shade easier on the fortnight they produced a strong underlying price. Under 10-month bulls averaged £1,249 August-born Continentals selling to £1,720, while 10-12-month-olds averaged £1,355, March-born Continentals making to £1,860, with bulls over 12 months to £1,820 for a February-born Limousin. Smart April calves were the pick of the trade, the best regularly making £1,200-£1,300.

While a tidy turnout of 39 beef feeding cows included more lighter or leaner types than seen of late, top end pure-bred entries reached £2,400 for Limousins from Pat Varley, Bradford, and £2,250 and £2,050, again from the South Yorkshire Mills.

Cross-bred short-keep cows for hard feed could make £1,500-£1,700, with £1,740, £1,720 and £1,700 paid for a trio from Richard Elliott, Tadcaster, and £1,700 achieved by R Bradley, Bradford. Larger framed cows for medium-long keep were £1,400-£1,500. A trio of Galloway cows from Chris and Christime Ryder, Blubberhouses, all hit four figures, topping at £1,110, the section producing an overall selling average of £,1311.

All 11 breeding cattle sold well into four figures, the top performer at £1,800 an in-calf Shorthorn, with an in-calf Angus cow next best at £1,750, followed at £1,700 by Simmental-cross cow with Limousin calf at foot.

A reminder that the next fortnightly midweek sale on April 12 will now include clean cattle at around 10.45am, with the new mid-month prime show scheduled for judging at 10.15am.