THERE was also action in the Skipton prime cattle and rearing calf sale rings on Monday, with a small, but much in demand turnout across both sections.

Cull cows were a very similar trade on the week when producing an overall selling average of 151.01p/kg, £1,050. Parlour cows were 105-125p, lean entries 125-140p and fed cows with good weight 150-170p, top call of £1,623, 175.5p, going to a 925kg black and while from JN&J Rennard, Beamsley, while top among the natives was 179.5p, £1,283, for an Aberdeen-Angus cross from JW Tinkler & Son, Ilkley.

Two mature stock bulls were also forward, a Blonde from Jack Berry, who trades as JH Throup, Silsden Moor, making £1,715, 167.5p.

Rearing calves sold to £440 for a British Blue-x bull from mart regulars, the Bishop Thornton dairy farming Sowray brothers, who also consigned the top price Charollais bull and heifer calves at £375 and £320 respectively.

Blue-x bulls with flesh at 4/5-weeks-old regularly made £400-£440 and heifers £300-£305, with Limousin-x bull calves topping at £305 from D Clarke, Hampsthwaite, same breed heifer calves at £300 from Hayton & Stocks, Bolton Abbey, who were also responsible for a £280 Beef Shorthorn bull, with the Eastby Ayrtons also chipping in with a £240 Angus bull calf.

A full report on yesterday’s annual Craven Champions store cattle with show potential highlight, staged alongside the fortnightly Wednesday cattle sale, will appear in next week’s Herald and online, while on the agenda this coming Saturday is the opening Agri-Trader sale of the year, which will also feature an ever-popular machinery sale and include a special section for lambing time equipment.

Also on the same day’s agenda is the monthly livestock collective sale, with a 300-plus entry anticipated.

Looking further ahead, the opening working sheep dog fixture of the year – it’s a live field sale – is scheduled for Friday, March 1.