The Lawson family’s Newbirks
pedigree Holstein herd at Mill Farm,
Arthington, landed its fifth Craven Dairy Auction title of the year at Skipton
Auction Mart’s main October Craven Dairy Auction. (Mon,
Oct 24)
It was another newly calven
heifer from their long established and highly productive Newkbirks Jazz family
– number 1675 – that first won its show class in the hands of father and daughter,
David and Suzy Lawson, before being awarded the championship by judge Mike
Longster, of Fellbeck, Harrogate, a commercial dairy farmer and regular buyer
of milkers at Skipton with his father Fred.
Mike
went on the claim his chosen victor, by the Genus dairy sire, Idle-Neer Czar,
for £1,800. She came to market four weeks calved and giving 28 litres.
With good
heifers selling away well, it was the Aireburn pedigree Holstein herd of Brian Moorhouse, of Hesper Farm, Bell Busk,
champion and top price achiever at the opening October show, that again topped
the sale with a 32 litre heifer from his Aireburn Miss America family, which
made £1,850 when joining regular buyers, Stephen and Eddie Jeanes in Glusburn.
Another
Hesper Farm heifer, calved ten days earlier and giving 27 litres, also caught
the eye when knocked down for £1,750 to ringside regular Brian Blezard, of Hothersall
Hall Farm, Ribchester,
Malhamdale’s Robert Crisp,
who runs his commercial dairy herd at Nelson Farm, Calton, saw the sale off to a good start when
selling the first heifer into the ring, just a week calved and giving 30
litres, for £1,600 to the Sowray brothers, of Bishop Thornton.
Peter Baul and Partners’ Ravensgate herd in
Bishop Thornton was responsible for the third prize newly calven heifer, sold
for £1,720 to Alf and Andrew Townsend, of Southfield, Burnley.
The
first prize newly calven cow from Ian Parkinson, of Barden, also sold well at £1,580
when again joining the Sowray family.
With an
18-strong entry, pedigree newly calven heifers averaged £1,474 and their
commercial counterparts £1,223.
Also on
the same day’s menu for their weekly sale were 83 rearing calves, with prices
strong right the way through for Continental and native entries.
Vendors
of some big runs of calves were not disappointed, with Chris and Margie Hall,
of Shelley, Huddersfield, Fred Houseman, of Burton Leonard, and John Dodgson,
of Bank Newton, all leaving with a good trade.
However,
it was the Clarke family, from Hampsthwaite, who took the top price of the day
with a British Blue-cross bull calf at £405. Middle of the road continentals
were hard fought over, with many selling well into the mid £300s, producing an
overall section average of £329.50 per head.
While stronger,
better fleshed black and white calves were popular, trade in general here was
described as ‘sticky,’ reflected in the overall selling average of £39.69 per
head.