Day’s top price comes from heart of Limousin country
The Limousin breed’s popularity maintained its momentum when prices reached 10,000gns at a production sale for Doug Mash’s Brockhurst herd at Chesham, Bucks, last week.
Building on the breed’s strong results at February’s Perth bull sales, the Brockhurst fixture attracted Limousin enthusiasts keen to improve herds and those establishing new ones, said auctioneers.
It was a cow from a guest consignment that snatched the day”s top honours. Championed as “a cow to start a herd with”, the heavy but well conformed 590kg Occitane came from Christian and Vincent Besse’s herd in the Corrze area of France, the heart of the Limousin region.
Occitane was in-calf to Uruguay and due to calve in July. Oxon breeder Peter Smith of Bloxham secured her at 10,000gns, adding to his January purchase of the 50,000gns heifer Bailea Umandy.
The best result for Mr Mash came with the bull Brockhurst Ulysses. By Brockhurst Raffles and out of Ronick McAinsi, he stood at foot to his mother when she took the female championship at the 2003 Royal Show.
Ulysses was bought by Mary Mount for the Broomfield herd of E Beeney & Sons, Hoath, Kent, at 6400gns. Mrs Mount said: “He’s worth double the money.” She expects the bull to begin a show career this year.
An unlikely star for Mr Mash was an Angus-cross heifer sold as a recipient, carrying an embryo by Grahams Samson and conceived by Ronick Mcainsi. She achieved 5500gns with another call from Mr Smith. The auctioneers believed this to be the highest price ever paid for an embryo.
A bid of 5800gns from the Millington Grange Estate, Yorks, won Brockhurst Starlight, a 2001-born female by Ronick Matador and out of Ronick Mcainsi.
And with her second calf at foot, the Matador-sired, five-year-old cow Brockhurst Paradise achieved 4200gns. She was in calf to Brockhurst Timbuktu and bought by JS Adam of Lochgilphead, Argyll.
Mr Mash said the sale had been a great day for his cow Ronick Mcainsi. “Ulysses has some fantastic breeding behind him and I had offers when he was a calf but decided to keep him back.
“Both the sire and dam of the embryo took champion titles last year, so it”s fair to say there were some of the best of the Limousin breed for sale.”
Averages: Brockhurst herd – 39 Cows served or suckling £1972, 18 maiden heifers £982, 15 senior bulls £1694, five young bulls £747. French consignment – four females £4225, eight bulls £2808 (Thame Farmers Auction Mart with Harrison & Hetherington).