James Huck, who farms with his parents, John and Gill, at Church Farm, again did the business with a bull which, like last year’s class winner, was sired by a British Blue bull, Maidenlands King Kong, bred by Ulverston’s Dean Saunders and currently in his fourth breeding year. 

Out of a Blue-x-Limousin cow, the nine-and-a-half-month-old youngster sold for £1,200 to Knavesmire Butchers in York, which made a good number of acquisitions for the forthcoming Easter trade at the Albermarle Road shop, now run by Luke Swales and his team.

Again as in 2020, the Hucks, who run both British Blue and Limousin cattle, as well as a Swaledale sheep flock, consigned the second prize under 10-months bull and this, too, had the same sire as last year’s runner-up, another Blue from the Solway View herd of Scotland’s Kevin Watret. Out of a Limousin-x-Blue dam, the 2021 runner-up made £1,150.

Winning the 10-12 months show class for the third year running were Calderdale husband and wife, Brian and Linda Lund, and son Rick, with a Limousin-x bull rising one-year-old by Oddcacres Newman, bred locally by the Mason family in Embsay and bought out of Skipton two years ago. The red rosette winner, out of an Angus-x-Blue cow, sold for £1,380, with the Lunds also consigning the same-way bred third prize winner, an 11-month-old out of a Limousin-x cow which made £1,230.

First and second prizes in a standalone show class for bulls over 12 months both fell to North Craven’s Jeff Pickles, of Far Deerstones Farm, Chapel-le-Dale. The victor, a Limousin-x by a sire from the Ridley family’s renowned Haltcliffe pedigree Limousin herd in Hesket-new-Market, made £1,300, the runner-up £1,260.

The Fawcett family - Stephen and Tracey and daughter Samantha from Drebley – was again among the prizes, finishing runner-up in 10-12 months and third in the under 10 months show classes, their charges selling respectively for £1,390 and £1,220. The third prize over 12 months bull from the Stockdale family in Burnsall sold for £1,100.

The show formed part of Skipton’s fortnightly Wednesday cattle sale, at which the 175 young bulls met another good trade, with buyers continuing to compete strongly for heavy bulls, with less enthusiasm for extreme lean cattle. The overall Continental-x selling average was £1,077, Limousin topping the breed averages at £1,089, followed by Blues at £1,047 and Blonde £1,059.

Trade for 40 beef-bred feeding cows continued in the recent rich vein to average £920 per head. Two Continental entries stood out, Silsden Moor-based Simon Bennett’s Blue selling at £1,490 and a Limousin from Chris Akrigg in Cray making £1,390. Cast bulls averaged £1,710, with top price of £2,020 falling to a six-year-old British Blue from James Middleton, of Arncliffe, which went to feed. 

Commercial store cattle – 500 bullocks and heifers were on offer - also sold well, with large runs of both selling to premium prices, those with size, style and frame the best sold. There were multiple four-figure prices, some strong Limousins sold at a premium trade with buyers out in force for retail types. Good ended beasts sold at £1,200-£1,300, with a top of £1,440 from N&J Thwaite, of Hellifield. Six breeding cattle sold to £1,600 for a 2016-born Angus bull.

Also on the busy agenda was the annual Morrisons-sponsored Spring sale of 241 head of native-sired store cattle, which again produced an excellent enquiry for all classes, Shorthorn bullocks peaking at £1,160, Aberdeen-Angus bullocks £1,250, Hereford bullocks £1,280 and Angus heifers £1,180. More are required for the next sale on Wednesday, March 31.