Friday 20th November. A good entry of store cattle forward today with plenty of well fleshed cattle in the market. A buoyant trade throughout and once again vendors leaving pleased. All sizes ages and types of cattle in strong demand today. There was plenty of well fleshed, heavy, short keep steers selling in excess of £1200 topping at £1370 from H Birkett & Son of North Farm with a Charolais and British Blue Steers from H & JA Gorst of Shaws Farm sold to the same price. Heifer sold to £1200 from JD & GM Bracken of Greenlands Farm with a British Blue. Native cattle continue to be in strong demand easily sold at Lancaster with more required every week to fulfil buyers’ requirements.

OTM Cattle. The cast cows and OTM cattle sale had a bumper entry of 157 forward. Meaty cows were good to sell and better than other local markets but an oversupply of lean types were less money than the previous week. The trade was topped by H Birkett & Son of North Farm selling a Limousin cow to 187.5ppk. Better types of Black and white cows sold around 120ppk topping at 147.5ppk from Cote Farm Partnership. An overall market average 95ppk.

Calves and Stirks.

A show of 44 calves this morning, mainly made up of black and whites saw a faster trade than anticipated. Black and White calves sold to a top of £180 for an 8week calf from WN & D Smith & Sons, Cocker House. The strongest Black and White calves broke the £100 barrier with nice rearing sorts regularly £65-£85. Montbelliardes to £222 at 4weeks from JR Pye, Hatters Farm. Beef calves sold well with demand for all ages and breeds. A run of young Charollais calves sold to a top of £380 and £310 at only 16days old for bulls from JR Newsham & Son, Galgate. A run of stirks to finish the sale topped at £490 for a 7 month Limousin Bull from TR Denby with a 2month heifer from the same home realising £435. The best trade in the stirk section came from R Gregory of Cabus with 4-5m Black and White bulls realising £290.

Vendors are reminded to have calves forward in good time to allow for a 10:15am start.

Vendors of ALL classes of stock on both Fridays and Mondays must have a completed Anthrax form as well as the regular blue entry forms and sheep movement licenses.

Top Prices - Store Bullocks: BRB £1370 Shaws Farm; £1300 Abrahams Farm; £1290 Greenlands Farm. CH: £1370 North Farm; £1280 Middle Grange Farm; £1200 High House. LIM £1350 Far Mount Barrow; £1280 High House Farm; £1220 Middle Grange Farm. AA £1260 Cragg Farm; £1250 Middle Grange Farm; £1230 Cock Hall Farm. SIM £1240 Langthwaite Heights; £1160 Tarnwater Farm. MON £1110 Fanny House Farm; £1030 Cock Hall Farm; £910 Middle Ridge Farm. FKV £1170 Head House. MRI £1100 Littlewood Hall Farm. SR £970 Cock Hall Farm; £700 Walkers i’th Fields; £690 Holme Farm. FR £970 Walmsley Fold; £960 North Farm; £900 Godson House Farm. SHO £840 Masongill Hall.

Store Heifers: BRB £1200 Greenlands Farm; £1130 Abrahams Farm; £1130 High Underbrow Farm. SIM £1190 Betts Farm; £1010 Oakenhead; £1010 Langthwaite Heights. AA £1160 Cragg Farm; £1020 Lower Castle O Trim; £1000 Low Levens. LIM £1090 Abbotsons Farm; £1050 Station Hotel; £1030 Claughton Hall Farm. WB £1020 Lower Castle O Trim. HE £850 Brow Foot Farm. FR £840 Low Levens.

Cast Cows: LIM 184.5 North Farm; 147.5 Moss House Farm; 127.5 Beckside. MO 164.5 North Farm; 104.5 Lane House. FR 147.5 Cote Farm; 124.5 Chapel House; 119.5 Bank End Farm. BRB 127.5 High Tenement Farm; 121.5 Springfield House. SRW 121.5 Holme Head. AA 114.5 Beckside. MRI 109.5 Village Farm. NOR 104.5 Holme Head.

Cast Heifer: FR: 134.5 Boldens Farm; 109.5 Yew Tree Farm; 104.5 Hagg Farm. LIM 129.5 Rooten Brook. SIM 107.5 Beckfoot Farm.

Cast Steers: BRB 179.5 Gibraltar Farm. FR 119.5 Hilderstone Farm. SRW 117.5 Holme Farm.

Cast Bull: LIM 111.5 High Hollins.

Heifer Calf: BRB £305 Newhouse Farm. CH £255 Sellerley Farm. AA £180 Great Eccleston Hall; £170 Newhouse Farm.

Bull Calf: CH £380 Sellerley Farm. WB £242 Cocker House Farm. MO £222 Hatters Farm; £185 Whinney Carr Farm; £140 Sellerley Farm. FR £180 Cocker House Farm; £90 Tills Farm; £70 High Snab.

Bull Stirk: LIM £490 Higher Thrushgill. FR £290 Coverdales.

Heifer Stirk: LIM £435 Higher Thrushgill.

Steer Stirk: AA £420 Coverdales. LIM £370 Coverdales.

Monday 16th November. Lancaster Primestock - Spring Lambs. The weekly sale of prime lambs saw a similar number of prime lambs forward this week but a noticeable sharper trade. Although a noticeable sharper trade then the previous week not reflected in the overall market trade of 150ppk although a large proportion of heavy lambs forward and mules. Lambs sold to a top of £82 from JA & R Geldard of Low Foulshaw for Beltex x lambs. Mules sold to £66.50 from Andrew Butler with over 200 mules forward selling to an average of £63.50. Dalesbred lambs sold to £60 from BD Gill of Yarlsber.

Cast Sheep. A smaller entry of cast sheep this morning with just over 70 forward. Trade topped at £123 for a Texel tup from Steve Backhouse, Inskip. Ewes sold to £86 for A meaty Texel from WTC Farms, Hutton. Mules from the same home sold to £67 with an average of £62 for all mules. Horned sheep sold to £65 for a tup from JS & S Atkinson, Sykes farm and £56 for a Dalesbred ewe from D France, Isle of Skye.

Prime Beef. A larger entry of nine prime bulls forward this week with a fresh buyer around the ring selling to a sharper. Limousin bulls out sucklers sold to 209.5ppk and 207.5ppk from JA Airey of Old Croft with British Blue bull out of dairy cows selling to 207.5ppk from JS & KM Wilson of High House with all beef sired bulls forward averaging 199ppk. black and whites and Montbeliarde sold to a sharper trade.

Top Prices - Prime Lambs: TEX £82 Low Foulshaw Farm; £77.50 Moorside Lane; £76 Brown Brook. CH £79 Walmsley Fold; £71 Moorvillie; £69 High Hallbeck. BEL £77 Old Woodhouse. MASH £73.50 Allcocks Farm. SUFF £73 Old Grange Farm; £72 Parks Farm Barn; £71 Bradlow Farm. LLEYN £72.50 Low Foulshaw Farm. MULE £66.50 Parks Farm Barn; £66 Bank Farm; £64 Sykes Farm. LEI £64.50 Highfield Farm; £62.50 Bank Farm. DALES £60 Yarlsber.

Cast Sheep: TEX £123 Burns House Farm; £115 Old Grange Farm; £99 Old Woodhouse. SUFF £85 Heather Barn; £68 Bradlow Farm; £66 High House Farm. LEI £76 High House Farm. MULE £67 Old Grange Farm; £63 Throstle Grove Farm; £58 Old Grange Farm. SWALE £65 Sykes Farm. DALES £56 Isle of Skye Farm; £50 Allcocks Farm.

Prime Bulls: LIM 209.5 Old Croft. BRB 207.5 High House. FR 184.5 High House. AA 174.5 Lane House. MON 167.5 Lane House.

Bilsrow Herd take Champion and Reserve in November Dairy Sale at Lancaster.The November Dairy Sale had an entry of 31 cows, heifers and bulls forward. The pre-sale show was judge by sale regular, Mark Hewitt, Cockerham. David and James Tomlinson of Bilsborrow Hall, won both the Halter Led Heifer and Non-Halter Led class with Lots 6 and 5 respectively.

Lot 5, Bilsrow Tiergan Triuna, calved a month and giving 34 litres, this sweet Ballycairn Tiergan sired heifer and bred from 3 generations of VG & EX Cows, went on to receive the Champion Rosette and later sold to the judge for the day’s top price of £2380.

Lot 6, Bilsrow Azure Lucie, a Cogent Azure sired heifer, again a month calved and giving 32 litres, later took the Reserve Champion rosette and realised £1750, selling to Messers Bargh of Penrith.

Cows sold to a top of £1650 for a third calver from AR & J Whitlow, Pressall, with Arnot Carlina 181, classified VG88 SP and giving 45kg, she sold to Messers Collier of Goosnargh. Cows averaged £1250 for all forward.

Buyers cautious of heifers lacking in milk and udder. The best heifers sold in advance of £1700, topping at £2380, with an overall sale average of £1420. Next month is the Christmas Dairy Show.

Class 1 – Non Halter-Led Heifer

1st Lot 5          DJ & S Tomlinson        Bilsrow Tiergan Triuna      £2380

2nd Lot 19       Drinkall Bros               Pennine Crocus 235          £1900

3rd Lot 4          DJ & S Tomlinson       Bilsrow Azure Peg 2           £1600

Class 2 - Halter-Led Heifer

1st Lot 6          DJ & S Tomlinson        Bilsrow Azure Lucie           £1750

2nd Lot 11       J Burrow & Son           Stardale Tiergan Vaakje 2  £1720

3rd Lot 12        J Burrow & Son          Stardale Shamrock Stella 2 £1550

Class 3 - Cow

1st Lot 17         WJ & I France            Corfield Mr M Kathy 5         £1150

2nd Lot 34B      AR & J Whitlow          Arnot Ruth 76                    £1350

3rd Lot 34A       AR & J Whitlow          Arnot Carlina 181               £1650

Champion Lot 5 DJ&S Tomlinson Bilsrow Tiergan Triuna   £2380

Reserve    Lot 6 DJ&S Tomlinson Bilsrow Azure Lucie       £1750