THE success of the Yorkshire Lamb brand at this year's Great Yorkshire Show - it netted both top carcase honours - is viewed as a landmark achievement for the initiative.

The champion and reserve champion carcases, shown respectively by Yorkshire Lamb Producers' Group farmers Ian Clough, of Harrogate, and Martin Brown, of Newton-le-Willows, Bedale, were bought for sale by Hawes butchers J W Cockett & Son.

David Cockett described them as being of excellent quality and added: "We put the award-winning lamb on display in our shop window and they literally sold themselves. We sold the last loin chops on Tuesday - market day in Hawes."

The Yorkshire Lamb brand, launched in February last year, has proved a major success for its pioneers, Craven Cattle Marts (CCM), which operate the marts at Skipton, Sedbergh and Masham. CCM is directing additional resources at Yorkshire Lamb.

In Skipton, a new, enlarged meat processing unit for the brand is fast nearing completion.

Brand manager Andrew Seed is upbeat about the future prospects of Yorkshire Lamb. "Its success at the Great Yorkshire Show is a major milestone for the brand and bodes extremely well for its development," he said.

"The project represents a new era in the production and marketing of lamb, giving far more control to livestock farmers. In addition, we are in the prime position of being able to offer both suppliers and consumers quality-assured lamb throughout the year.

"It is a totally transparent method of selling stock. Farmers can see their lamb carcases, dressed using traditional methods, when they have been slaughtered, and there seems little doubt that a successful Yorkshire Lamb brand will continue to support the county's livestock farmers.

"Our new unit at Skipton auction mart will allow us to improve the range and supply of branded products to existing outlets, while the market will also be extended to new outlets. In the longer term, we are looking to develop similar initiatives to market further branded meat and food products."