The 2019 Farmers Charity Auction held at Carlisle’s Borderway Auction Mart attracted 100s of entries, brought in scores of bidders and with a final total of £58,000 raised for local causes.

The list of items ranged from fur and feather, to feed and food, and a host of rurally focused or produced miscellany.

Among the livestock donated were several calves, a pair of Herdwick lambs, straws of semen and a batch of 25 pullets. Feed included bales of all kinds, shapes and sizes, salt licks and calf milk. Food to bid for included the second placed top item of a barbecue for 100, at £2800, bags of potatoes, a butchered red deer carcase, a pig and several home-made sponge cakes - one of which was resold after the auction and raised another £100!

The monies raised will be split across four charities: the Heart Centre Cumberland Infirmary, the North Cumbria Stroke Fund, R.A.B.I and Life Education Cumbria.

The organisers were Auctioneers C&D Longtown, Harrison & Hetherington, Hopes of Wigton, Mitchells of Cockermouth, Penrith Auction and North Cumbria National Farmers Union. The auction demonstrated the amazing support from the rural community for this event that has been running for more than 35 years.

Nick Utting, chairman of the Farmers’ Charity Auction, said: “We were overwhelmed by the support we have received. Thanks go to all the donors, bidders, whether successful or not, and to the NFU and five marts, who organised it, as well as the auctioneers who brought their gavels to the ring. The event was well supported on the day and we even had telephone bids from as far as Aberdeen. My star items were the Yamaha ATV and the barbeque, which by all accounts will be used to celebrate a 40th birthday.”