THE climax of CCM Skipton Auction Mart’s primestock year, the high profile 16th annual Lingfield Christmas show and sale day on Sunday, November 26, will once again see leading traditional family-run retail butchers and meat wholesalers compete ringside to secure the best meat that money can buy for their customers’ festive tables.

In turn, dedicated farmers have been hard at work carefully preparing their prime cattle, lambs and pigs to ensure they are in tip-top condition for the high profile showcase in a bid to land leading honours, notably supreme and reserve supreme championships across the flagship show classes, plus, of course, the coveted trophies and bragging rights to go with them.

There are again ten butchers’ prime cattle show classes for haltered and un-haltered animals, covering both Continental-x and native steers and heifers, with the overall supreme chosen from male and female champions, plus special prizes for the best home-bred and the best beast purchased from CCM Skipton.

The 11 butchers’ prime lamb classes for trimmed, untrimmed and hill lamb trios will again cover all the popular breeds, plus the annual young handlers’ show class. Here again, section champions will go head to head for supreme honours, while there are again special prizes for the best pen of lambs from a regular CCM vendor, plus the best Texel-x and Beltex-x pens.

The annual lamb carcase competition, again sponsored by the mart-based Barkers Yorkshire Butchers, will take place in its meat production unit, with the supreme champion emerging from four by-weight show classes, supplemented by special prizes from both the Northern Beltex and Northern Area Texel Sheep Breeders Clubs.

Down with the prime porkers an individual champion trio will emerge from the two show classes for cutters and baconers.

The day has become renowned over the years for its charitable efforts, with the 2023 renewal again featuring15 individual show classes, food, drink and non-food related. These are open to retail butchers, farm shops, bakers, adults and children, with standalone classes for the younger end.

Charity section entries, along with bales of hay and haylage in the annual fodder hay competition, will be auctioned off towards the end of the afternoon in aid of three main annual beneficiaries - Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice, Oxenhope, Brooklands Community Special School, Skipton, and national farming charity, the Addington Fund.

Between them, the three bodies have received windfalls running into multiple thousands of pounds since the event’s inception, including a record £4,000 last year as ever-generous members of the regional agricultural communities, plus many others, again dug deep to support the three extremely worthwhile causes.

Judging commences at 10.30am, with sale times from 12noon onwards and the charity auction expected to commence around 3.45pm in the main sales ring. The festive showcase has again attracted multiple sponsors, with Skipton NFU and Mulberry Farming the mainline sponsors.

Full catering and licensed bar facilities will be available throughout and members of the public are more welcome to attend what for many will no doubt prove both interesting, enthralling and educational day. A show schedule is available under the sales catalogue section at www.ccmauctions.com