Averages: Autumn-calving herd – 81 cows with autumn-born calves and served again, £2279.01; 21 heifers with autumn-born calves and served again £2566.67; 13 cows due autumn 2017, £1530.77; 25 heifers due autumn 2017, £1768.00.

Spring calving herd – 74 cows with spring-born calves, £2009.56; 23 heifers with spring-born calves, £1768.00; 30 maiden heifers born autumn 2015, £1231.67, 24 maiden heifers born spring 2016, £1130.83

Eight stock bulls, £3300.00

Limousin stock bulls led the Gascoines Group’s commercial cattle dispersal sale at Newark, last weekend, which saw more than 500 head of cattle come under the hammer.

The sale from Douglas and Rachel Gascoine who run two farms in Nottinghamshire and Scarborough under stockman Alisdair Smith, saw the six-year-old stock bull, Ironstone Godzilla top the trade at £7500. A son of Wilodge Vantastic, out of the 29,000gns French cow Unicite, an Omer daughter, he sold to RF Turner and Son, Fordham, Ely.

Just behind, on £6200 was the five-year-old Limousin bull, Millington Hampton, another Vantastic son this time out of Brockhurst Option. He goes out to work at Fristling Hall Farms, Essex.

Scottish producers also made their presence felt, with I and J Dunn, Corriemountis, Muir of Ord, Ross-shire buying the dearest of the commercial cows.

They first went to £3500 for a Limousin cross cow due in the autumn and £3200, £3100 and £3000 for others in the same section.

Another autumn calver then sold at £3100, with this Salers cross purchased by JT Mitchell and Sons, Station Farm, Thursford, Norfolk. Yorkshire farmers, S and P Padfield, Field House Farm, Everingham, also bought an autumn calver at £3000.

Fristling Hall Farms bought the dearest of the spring calving cows at £2650, with another at £2600, selling to AB and MJ Motely, Blenheim House, Covenham, Louth.

In-calf cows due in the autumn peaked at £3200 paid by PH and GB Shucksmith, Whitebarn, Alvingham, Louth, who also went to £3000 and £2900 for similar lots. Also paying £2900 were SP Chapman, S and P Padfield and JT Mitchell and Sons.

Spring calving heifers were led at £2250 by Limousin cross outfit bought by J and T Waring, Park Farm, Everingham, while PM Donger purchased a Salers cross at £2200.

Heifers due to calve this autumn were topped £2400 for a Limousin cross which sold to JT Mitchell and Sons.