Private sale smashes Blonde record

A Scottish commercial beef producer has paid a record price for a pedigree Blonde bull.

Islay cattleman James Porter paid 10,000gns for the bull to Fife pedigree Blonde breeder Bill Laird in a private deal brokered through Carlisle-based Harrison & Hetherington pedigree auctioneer David Thomlinson.

The breed’s previous UK record price was 8500gns paid by James Weightman, of Easington, Co Durham, at the March 2007 Blonde Society Carlisle sale for Blackwater Ainsley from I R Calderbank from Maldon, Essex.

The five year old Freefield Upaggie was bought by Mr Laird as stock bull for his 28-cow Lochhead Blonde herd at Lochhead Farm, East Wemyss, and after using him he has sold him on to Mr Porter who runs 90-plus suckler cows at Cragebus, Port Ellen, Islay, breaking the mould for the island’s breeders who predominantly use the Limousin as a terminal sire.

Picture by Andrew Aitken

Bill Laird and his brother Donald have been breeding pedigree Blondes since buying their first bull in 1995 which gave them trouble-free calvings for three years on heifers from their flying herd of 70 milking cows.