| 2014-04-23 |    |
Lawson Second Calver Bags Craven Dairy Auction Title
The Lawson dairy farming family from Wharfedale, which has won many a Craven Dairy Auction title with first-rate newly calven heifers from its Newbirks pedigree Holstein herd, sent out another champion at the Easter Monday fixture, though this time it was a newly calven cow.
David and Claire Lawson, of Mill Farm, Arthington, joined by daughter Suzy, saw their red rosette-winning second calver progress to be awarded championship honours by father and daughter show judges Edward and Georgina Fort, of Silsden Moor, who were making their debut as adjudicators in the Skipton dairy ring.
Pictured with the three Skipton dairy bull show class principals are, from left, co-judge Edward Fort, Oliver Greenhalgh and the third prize winner, David Minish and the reserve champion, Brian Moorhouse and the title winner, and co-judge Georgina Fort.
Home-bred by a son of their former stock bull Goldwyn, out of a cow with several generations of VG Excellent behind it, the title winner had calved five weeks before the show and came to market giving 40 litres. She sold for £2,200 to James Kayley, of Halton West, a regular buyer of top-notch dairy animals at the venue.
The Lawsons also stepped up with the third prize newly calven heifer, 11 days calved and giving 28 litres, which achieved top price in show of £2,420 when joining Red Rose dairyman Brian Blezard in Ribchester.
Close behind on £2,380 was another quality heifer from the Senterprise pedigree herd of reigning CCM Farmers of the Year, father and son Fred and Mark Houseman, who trade as Church Farm Enterprises at Burton Top Farm, Burton Leonard. She became another quality Skipton acquisition by Cheshire buyer Wilmot Blockley, of Tarvin.
The first prize newly calven heifer and reserve champion was shown by Peter Baul, of M Baul & Partners in Bishop Thornton. The 21 days calved 34-litre heifer, by the Genus sire Garrison, made £2,000 on joining brothers Shaun and Peter Sowray in Bishop Thornton.
Multiple Craven Dairy Auction champions Brian and Judith Moorhouse, who run the Aireburn pedigree herd at Hesper Farm, Bell Busk, saw their second prize newly calven 30-litre heifer, the first animal into the sale ring, become a further James Kayley acquisition at £2,350.
The second prize newly calven cow, a pedigree third calver from Calderdale vendor John Midgley, of Luddenden, sold for £1,850 to staunch supporter Wick Williams, of Nantwich, while the third in class from Bingley’s Keith Downs was knocked down for £1,880, the top-priced commercial cow, again to the Sowrays.
Another pedigree Brown Swiss newly calven heifer from David and Pauline Brown in Ramsgill sold well at £1,650 to David and Sue Cockburn, of Warshill.
Easingwold’s Mick Corner again consigned a nice run of in-calf heifers, which made a clean sweep of the show class prizes and sold to a top of £1,720 – once more to the Sowrays - at an average of £1,550.
With a much improved turnout of 42 dairy cattle at the BOCM Pauls-sponsored show, pedigree newly calven heifers averaged £1,840 per head, while the commercial average was £1,713, with a high of £1,820 for an entry from the Robinson family in Eldroth, this also falling to Wick Williams.
Pedigree newly calven cows averaged £1,834 and commercials £1,610. Maiden heifers averaged £810 each, with a high of £900 for an entry from R&E Pollard, of Colne. A nice run of heifer calves from Alan and Susan Throup, of Silsden Moor, sold to £370 at an average of £185.
Repeat Aireburn success at bull showcase
An annual standalone show for dairy bulls produced another championship-winning
performance from 2013 victors and former Yorkshire Herd Competition champions
Brian and Judith Moorhouse, of Bell Busk, with Aireburn Bevis, a 12-month-old
son of the Semex sire Gillette
Windbrook, who was also responsible for the
previous year’s title winner.
Out of a five generations excellent dam, Joelee Outside BC Bevin, purchased as a young heifer, the 2014 victor attracted keen interest at the ringside, before falling for a show-topping £2,000 to the Griffiths farming family in Penistone.
The runner-up came from the Ingleview pedigree herd of Bentham’s Robert Butterfield, with his February, 2013-born Ingleview Glauco Ermo, by the AI sire Toc-Farm Duplex Glauco.
The third prize winner was presented by Aubrey Greenhalgh, who runs the Enchanted pedigree dairy herd in Preston and is a prolific buyer of dairy cattle at Skipton. Enchanted Celterix, a 14-month-old son of the Cogent sire Woodmarsh Asterix, out of a dam bought as a calf at the Weeton dispersal sale, remained in the area when sold for 1,500gns (£1,575) to Richard Walker, of West Morton.
Another 1,500gns performer was Dalesbrad Pan Ash from Silsden Moor’s Alan and Susan Throup. The two-year-old son of Ladys Manor Ashmore joined regular supporter Mark Goodall in Tong, Bradford. Pedigree bulls averaged £1,500.
Strong
trade for dairy calves
Dairy-bred calves also experienced strong trade at Skipton’s weekly
rearing calf sale, with ten of the 36 black and white youngsters
forward making over £100 and selling to a top of £140 for a pure
Holstein bull calf from Fred and Mark Houseman, of Church Farm
Enterprises, Burton Leonard. The overall selling average for black
and white bull calves was a satisfying £84 per head.
The 73-strong turnout saw all types of calves in demand by a multitude of buyers at the ringside, with farmer purchasers and smallholders in particular keen to snap up some quality grazers for the summer months.
Church Farm Enterprises yet again took top honours with British Blue Bull and heifer calves that each sold for a joint high of £500, a price that has proved elusive of late, but was well deserved on the day. The respective buyers were Lincolnshire’s Nigel Mason and J Ashton, of Keighley.
Robert Metcalfe, of Brearton, and Burnley’s Alf Townsend also produced strong Continental youngsters nudging the £400 mark and over, with the former selling a Limousin-cross bull calf at a class-topping £410. The overall Continental-cross selling average was £334 per head.
Native breed youngsters were in hot demand too, averaging £175 per head overall, with David Holmes, of Otley, receiving a flying trade for his run of Shorthorn and Aberdeen Angus calves. Church Farm Enterprises again chipped in with the top price Angus bull and heifer calves at £290 and £340 respectively.
