The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Buyers take advantage of lower prices
Sale topper reaches 18,000gn
Charolais bulls met a selective trade on the closing day of the Stirling Bull Sales yesterday.
Averages were back £1,411 with 83 bulls selling at a clearance rate of 63% and an average of £5,674.
British Charolais Cattle Society chairman, Andrew Hornall, said it was a buyer’s market with health and calving ease figures at the forefront of minds.
Seven lots sold for fivefigure sums and a top of 18,000gn was paid for the pre-sale show reserve overall champion.
The sale-topper was an April-2015 born entry from Hamish Goldie at South Bowerhouses, Ruthwell, Dumfries. Goldies Linford is an embryo transfer son of Blelack Digger and out of Goldies-Happiness. He sold to Welsh breeder Esmor Evans for his Maerdy herd.
Goldies also sold another Blelack Digger son – May2015 born Goldies Landmark – for 11,000gn to J. and W. Kellas, of Raws Farm, Dufftown, Keith.
The second best price of 16,000gn was paid for a first-prize winning junior bull from the O’Kane Bros’ Ovill herd in Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Ovil Lennon, which is an embryo transfer son of Goldies Usher and out of Sagesse Florienne, sold to Bill Bruce for his Balmyle herd at Meigle, Perthshire.
Thereafter the pre-sale show judge – Bob Adam who runs the Newhouse herd at Newhouse of Glamis, near Forfar – paid 14,000gn for the junior champion. Put forward by Major David Walter, who runs the Balthayock herd in Perth, Balthayock Loyalist is a May-2015 born son of Maerdy Grenadier, out of Balthayock Glory.
Another lot from the Baltyahock herd was among the group of fivefigure sum lots.
Selling for 11,500gn to J. Hepburn and Co, of Northhouse, Hawick, was Balthayock Legend, by Swalesmoor Cracker.
Bids of 12,000gn were achieved twice. First was an unplaced entry from Northern Irish breeder Bartley Finnegan’s Battleford herd at Dungannon.
Battleford Lynx, which is a March-2015 born embryo transfer son of Blelack Blackberet and out of Blelack Cerise, sold to Mr and Mrs White, Compact Farm, Swangae, Dorset.
The other lot at 12,000gn came from Mike Massie’s Elrick herd at Mains of Elrick, Auchnagatt, Ellon.
April-2015 born Elrick Legend, which stood secondto yesterday’s 18,000gn bull, is by Thrunton Fearless and out of Elrick Davina. He sold to J. D. Leavesley, Needwood House, Burton on Trent.
The overall champion – Blackford Leonardo from Anne Macpherson of Blackford Farm, near Croy – sold for 6,000gn to W.N. Lindsay, Cairnleith, Kirriemuir.
Meanwhile, the Harestone herd, which is run by the Barclay family at Potts of Rayne, Inverurie, sold to a top of 8,800gn for a firstprize winning senior bull.
February- 2015 born Harestone Lee, which is an embryo transfer son of Thrunton Socrates, sold to J. E. Woodman and Son, Great Chesters, Northumberland.
The Milne family’s Elgin herd, of Kennies Hillock, Lhanbryde, Elgin, sold to a top of 5,000gn for a fourth-prize winning junior bull.
In the females section the championship was a clean sweep for Hamish Goldie whose heifer Goldies Lulu won the top award and later sold for 6,000gn to E.W. Davies, Brynawel, Ceredigion. Goldies Jessie took reserve place and sold for 3,800gn to Mr King, Newton.