THE Scrivens of North Yorkshire took the championship at Skipton Auction Marts November prime cattle show.

Jim and Christine Scriven, of Park House Farm, Elslack, clinched the title with a 575kg British Blue cross steer, which made 269.5p/kg or £1,550, when selling to Ralph Pearson Wholesale Meats in Bradford.

It was a clean sweep for the Pearsons, who also claimed every other prize winner in the pen-judged steer and heifer shows classes. These included the reserve champion, the first-prize 545kg Limousin cross heifer from Threshfield brothers, Charles and Richard Kitching, of Grisedale Farm.

The Kitchings also consigned the second-prize heifer and both the second- and third-prize steers. The other rosette winner, the third-prize heifer, came from Barden’s Ken Fawcett.

Weekly buyer, Skipton-based Keelham Farm Shop, took home four, among them the leading gross priced heifer, a 575kg Limousin cross from the Kitching’s Grisedale Farm pen at £1,526 or 265.5p/kg, while Robertshaw’s Farm Shop in Thornton, near Bradford, acquired one of the heavy cattle, a 640kg Limousin cross heifer from Silsden Moor farmer Simon Bennett at 235.5p/kg or £1,507.

Nearly 4,000 prime sheep were sold, the 3,719 lambs among them seeing a great trade when averaging £94.50 per head or a solid 213.7p/kg overall (SQQ 219/9p/kg).

Handyweight sheep were keenly contested, with 37-42kg Continentals in very strong demand, none more so than the monthly prize show principals, two top-notch pens of five Beltex cross lambs from regular Ribble Valley father and son vendors, Richard and Mark Ireland, of Heys Farm, Whalley.

Their 44kg victors headed the gross prices at £145 each or 329.5p/kg, when sold to weekly wholesale buyer Vivers Scotlamb in Annan, while the 37kg reserve champions topped the per kilo prices at 345.9p, or £128, when knocked down to the Swales family, regular buyers for their Knavesmire Butchers shop in, York.

The 1,276 lambs weighing 46kg and over levelled at 204p/kg, heavy lambs trading at £5 to £8 dearer on the week and generally making over £100. Hillbred lambs also showed an increase of around ten pence per kilo.

Both prime shows were judged by Eldwick’s Mick Etherington. Also among the mix were 235 cast ewes, with trade up a gear in all classes and many more could have been sold. The best end made to £127.50 for Texels from David Airey, of Sutton-in-Craven, with other big ewes still £115-plus, medium ewes doing better at £85 to £100, depending on shape, white-faced ewes averaging £91 and a few crossed grazing ewes £70 to£80. Cull ewes averaged £66.21 and cast rams £103.57.