Centre records for show potential calves were smashed at Craven Auction Marts’ Skipton centre last week, when the champion sold for £3600.

Topping the trade was a 10-month-old British Blue cross heifer from Jeff Walker and sons John and Rob, Brennand Farm, Dunsop Bridge, who were claiming a hat-trick, having secured the championship tickets at the same event in 2017 and 2016.

Their winner this time was a heifer by the stockbull, Cromwell Fendt which sold to North Wales judge and commercial suckler breeder and showman, Aled Roberts, Anglesey.

Mr Roberts hopes to show the heifer which is bred from the pure Limousin cow, Procters Iris, at the Beef Expo in Shrewsbury, in May, followed by the Royal Welsh in July.

Notably, the Walkers also picked up the reserve overall title, with a heifer and the champion steer honours, with calves by Fendt.

Their reserve supreme, a yearling heifer is a full sister to their 2016 champion here and sold to York farmer and butcher Anthony Swales for £2000.

The champion steer, a 13-month-old calf made £1700 selling to Michael Wynne, of Hall Farm, Matlock in Derbyshire, who also purchased the second top priced calf at £2400. This was the first prize winner in the young handlers’ section from Sheila Mason’s Keasden Head herd in North Craven - a July-born Blue-cross heifer shown by her 17-year-old daughter Georgia. Another British Blue cross, this heifer is by Bringlee Activator.

Sheila also scooped a red ticket and the reserve male title in the Limousin section with a May-born home-bred bullock by Lodge Hamlet. He found a new home in Newark, Nottinghamshire when selling for £2000 to JK Beckitt and Son. The second prize winner in the same section and from the same home made £1750 to WA Tetley and Son, Colchester. This seven-month-old was also by Hamlet.

The Walkers were back in the tickets in the young handlers section when a February-born heifer by their Blue stock bull, Brennand Hercules, stood reserve and sold for £2100 to Bordley’s John Stephenson.