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Skipton lamb champions sell for record £900/head

Setting the record of £900/head was the supreme champion prime lamb trio from Jon Midgley and family, Luddendenfoot

Angela Calvert
Head of Livestock, Shows and Sales
clock • 3 min read
Prime lamb champions
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Prime lamb champions

ÌýThe were buyer of the record breakers was the judge, Clare Mellin for her Cropper Family Butchers and Deli, Accrington.

The home-bred 43kg Beltex-cross lambs by Lurg tup were first tapped out as winners of their continental-cross show class, then trimmed and lowland champions.

Also among the Mrs Mellin's purchases at £250/head were the reserve champions from Richard and Mark Ireland, Whalley, which were a 51kg un-trimmed pure Beltex trio, and, at £200, the trimmed reserve champions, 37kg Beltex from Brian Lund and family, Hebden Bridge.

Second top call of £420 for a single lamb went to the young handlers champion, Isobel Thompson, 12, Foulridge, with a 45kg Beltex-cross. ÌýIt sold to Knavesmire Butchers, York, who also paid £320 for the young handlers' reserve champion, a 51kg Beltex from Isobel's younger brother, nine-year-old Thomas.

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Young handlers champion Isobel Thompson

Hill lamb champions for the fifth consecutive year were Andrew and Jenny Hutchinson, Faceby, with a trio of 51kg Hexham Blackface bred by Gillian Scott, which sold for £210/head to Swaledale Foods, Skipton.

ÌýA charity lamb donated by the Udall family, Shelf, in aid of prostrate cancer made £1,600 after being bought and re-auctioned seven times.

READ NOW:Ìý Sales round up: Catch up with what has been happening in the marts this week

ÌýCarcases

Martin and Val Brown, Leyburn, clinched the supreme and reserve championship in the lamb carcase competition.

Champions were a brace of Beltex-cross carcases which had a liveweight of 38kg, dead weight of 23.5kg, killing out percentage of 61.8% and AHDB grading of E3-, the reserve LW43kg, DW24.8kg, KO57.6%, E3+.

They sold for £700 (£29.78/kg) to Mrs Mellin. The Browns' reserve champion lamb carcase sold for £480 (£19.35/kg) to Knavesmire Butchers, York, with the 22-strong entry averaging £249.06 (£10.55p/kg).

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Prime cattle

James Robertshaw was once again the volume purchaser of festive prime cattle, his 11 acquisitions on behalf of his farm shops in Skipton and Thornton, included the overall supreme champion and un-haltered champion.

T.K. Drinkall, Newton-le-Willows, and Rose Foster, Preston, jointly consigned the title winner, a 16-month-old red and white steer which had won the young handlers' class for 14-year-old Rosie Garth, Long Preston.

Weighing in at 617kg, it stood both male and overall haltered champion before selling for £3,822 (619.5p/kg).

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Reserve supreme was the first prize Limousin-sired heifer, female champion and reserve haltered champion from the Jowett family, Queensbury. The 18-month-old 591kg heifer topped the prices, both gross and per kilo when making £4,311 (729.5p/kg), to Aaron Glew, Brighouse, to be retained for further breeding.

Also, among the Robertshaw's purchases was the un-haltered champion from Francis and Andrew Smith, Masongill. Their 586kg British Blue-cross bullock made £3,220 (549.5p/kg), and the un-haltered reserve champion, a red rosette-winning 588kg Blue-cross heifer from David Balmforth, Halifax, made £3,113 (529.5p/kg).

READ NOW: Ballynacannon ewe lamb tops Dark Diamonds Suffolk sale

ÌýPigs

Tom Dyas and nephew Callum Smith, who trade as W. Berry, Doncaster, stood both champion and reserve with Pietrain-cross trios in the prime pig show classes. They took top honours with the first and second prize winners in the class for lightweight porkers, the 81kg victors, a pen of three gilts, sold at £306.18 (378p/kg) to Rebecca and Joey Launders, Barden. The 88kg reserves made £209.44 each (283p/kg) to Barkers Yorkshire Butchers, Skipton.

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Pig champions

Averages – 155 prime lambs, £199.93/head or 437p/kg (SQQ 497p/kg); prime cattle – 7 steers, £3,099.31 (497.94p/kg); 17 heifers, £3,040.24 (514.45p/kg); prime pigs – 28 head, £230.43 (223.4p/kg).

Auctioneers: CCM.

For more shows and sales go to our dedicated Shows and Sales Hub

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