Livestock & Dairy: Bakewell Market

A solid day’s trading with a good seasonal entry of 581 cattle and 1,058 sheep.

Things are looking a little greener after recent rain, but we have still not had enough to alter the levels in rivers and reservoirs.

The store cattle trade remains at the highest levels anyone can remember,

There were 276 head on offer with a packed ring of buyers and all types very keenly bid for.

Steers reached £2,680, but what is more remarkable is the average at £1,683 surely a new record.

Heifers sold to £2,480 to average £1,430 and feeding bulls topped at £1,850.

In the breeding section a special entry of 11 Lim x in calf heifers from G & M Limer of Taddington reached £2,700 to average £2,573.

A 4 ½ year old Hereford Stock Bull made £3,400.

There was a decent entry of 164 finished cattle with the trade much as last week although the overall quality of the entry was not as good.

Top figures 436p and £3,182 with the 73 heifers averaging 370.4p/kg.

OTM and feeding cow numbers down a bit at 87 head with trade not quite at last week’s levels.  Top figures 325p and £2,907 with the average 249.3 pence and the per head figure at £1,603.

54 calves on offer maintaining the recent level of prices.  Bulls to £770 and heifers £525.

In the sheep section there were fewer lambs on offer with only 666 forward.

Strong trade for the fed or well finished types with top figures 385p/kg and £201.51 per head.

The SQQ average was a healthy 350.5 pence making a typical lamb in the 39-45kg range worth £150.68.

A quick look into the archives reveals that a year ago the SQQ average was 304.1 pence and an average lamb in the 39-45kg weight range was £129.21.  All in all, a big contrast between 2024 and 2025.

In the cull sheep section prices remain very high.  The 375 with ewes selling to £227 to average £138.02.

Forthcoming Fixtures

Thursday 7^th August: Thursday Lunchtime Sheep Sale

87 BARREN, OTM AND FEEDING COWS overall ave 249.4p/kg or £1603

(Auctioneer Oliver Hiles)

A few less on offer and trade perhaps a shade less but generally a plainer show overall.

Best Lim x cows sold to 324p for Ben Simpson & Family, Bradwell with a lovely Limmy from John & Mary Else at 320p x2 (£2713 & £2720), 318p (£2709) and 314p (£2907).  Cows are good to sell and are needed, but not quite at the sky high levels we saw in the late Spring.  Remember cows are about 65 pence more than this time last year.

Results:

Gross Prices:

39 Black & White and ex dairy cows ave 211.9p

More plainer sorts on offer and a lower average.

1 OTM Heifer 325p

2 OTM 1 calf heifers 265 & 277p

Better cows 220-247p

Big Holsteins 210-220p

Plainer sorts 200 & 210p

The plainest end under 200p

The best today:

2 OTM Bulls

3 OTM Steers

164 FINISHED CATTLE ave 362p/kg

(Auctioneer Oliver Hiles)

A tremendous show of cattle and excellent quality at the top end but a more mixed show overall with more Natives about.

43 Young Bulls ave 354.1p/kg

Bigger numbers and excellent quality at the top with bulls worthy of inspection anywhere in the county.  Ben Langton won the hotly contested race to the top at 438p (£2892) with Stuart Mycock close behind with a Blond at 437p (£3015) with 2 at 436p from Steven Jones & Josh Hall both with their first of the season. 10 B/W bulls today sold to 337p for a Friesian from Chris Beever.

Results:

Gross Prices:

48 Steers ave 357.5p

Good numbers and a strong trade all the way to the end.   George & James Blackshaw had the best at 436p (£2616) for a posh handy weight Limmy with the best generally 380p+.  22 natives today saw Herefords to 380p, Angus to 372p and Beef Shorthorns to 382p.

Results:

Gross Prices:

73 Heifers ave 370.4p/kg

A bumper show but not the overall quality of last week. Stan & Geoff Evans had a good run today and topped the heifers at 426p or £2871 with a tremendous Limousin with others at 416p and 407p.  George Blackshaw had 418p for his best and Frank Kunica (Belper Skip Hire) also in at the top of the lists.

Results:

Gross Prices:

STORE & BREEDING CATTLE – (Auctioneer Alastair Sneddon)

More cattle about with a total of 276 on offer.  Trade dearer than ever with confidence high in the light of finished cattle returns.

To be more specific a look at last year’s results reveals that the steers averaged £1,292 as against this year’s figure of £1,683 a difference of £391, some of which may be down to age or quality, but it is a very large gap.

The sale started with a selection of Breeding Stock, most notably the special entry from G & M Limer of Taddington, they sold 11 Lim x Heifers i/c for January with prices from £2400 to £2700 to average a remarkable £2573.

A Hereford stock bull, 4 ½ yrs from Mrs Barlow of Dore made £3400 and Highland cows with crossbred calves sold to £2200

Feeding Bulls

Sample Results:

139 Steers ave £1683  

A great show of cattle with some outstanding specimens resulting in a Monday market record average.

All types very keenly sought with typical results as follows.

Sample Results:

101 Heifers ave £1430

Plenty of demand for the cattle on offer with tremendous prices from start to finish.

Sample Results:

54 CALVES (Auctioneer Natasha Hall)

A smaller entry of calves than the bumper entry last week, but trade just as strong.  All shapes and sizes on offer with everything spiritly bid for.

Bulls topped at £770 twice for B Blues from J Cawser and JE Seals & Sons.

Heifers to top at £525 for a Blue from JE Seals & Son.

Bulls

B Blue                 £770     J Cawser

B Blue                 £770     JE Seals & Son

B Blue                 £720     TN Palfreyman & Son

B Blue                 £665     RE Poyser & Son

Hfrs

B Blue                 £525     JE Seals & Son

B Blue                 £480     JE Seals & Son

B Blue                 £470     JE Seals & Son

AA                        £450     T Farrington & Sons

Lim                      £370     JW Brandrick & Son

678 SPRING LAMBS & 375 EWES & RAMS

(Auctioneer Peter Oven)

Another excellent entry of 1053 sheep included 666 new season lambs.  Demand very strong for all types with best butchers lambs to 385p/kg and £201.51/head.  Creep fed stronger sorts selling in the 355-375p/kg range with grass lambs in the 335-350p/kg bracket.

Overall average 352.37p/kg.

Leading Prices:

Old Season Lambs to 323p/kg ave 281.6p/kg.

375 Ewes and Rams

(Auctioneers Mark Elliott & Holly Swift)

A similar entry and trade strong with a larger proportion of leaner sorts forward but plenty of grazing customers present to create demand.

Best ewes regularly £210 and above with more required to fulfil demand.

Top price this week £227 for Charlie Asher and family at Brailsford with Jackie Trueman travelling from Cheshire to receive £226 again for long well shaped Texels.

Mules again good to sell to over £160 for the best but to be fair a lot of pens forward this week were of plainer conformation as vendors wean off groups of sheep.

Horned sorts a strong trade particularly for the better fleshed types.

Several pens of plain Mules over the £85 mark to graze and these looked some of the best sold pens all day.

The rams a fast trade with something for everyone.  Texels topped the day at £211 for Richard Hague with others from that farm at £174.  Alex Birch received £177 for his strong tup.

Generally, the average at £138.02 reflects the proportion of grazing types and their frame and potential this week, but in reality, bidding was spirited trade pretty fast.

Ewes to £227 ave £162.00        

Tups to £211 ave £138.00