… and at Ciderhouse sale
Douglas hits top spot again
By Jeremy Hunt
A REMARKABLE run of success for Aberdeenshire breeder Jimmy Douglas continued at the Suffolk Sheep Societys national show and sale at Malvern where he took the championship for the fifth time in six years and sold his winner for the top price of 12,000gns.
Mr Douglas – whose championship record was only interrupted last year when he judged the event – secured victory with a powerful ram lamb by the 54,000gns sire Stockton Storm. The champion is out of a ewe (by Muiresk Commander) that has already produced sons to 9500gns.
Claiming the Cairness champion for his 90-strong Woodford flock was Co Kildare breeder Oliver Deane: "We saw the ram in the Cairness flock when we visited Scotland for the Royal Highland Show and were very impressed with his conformation and character and particularly his very strong female line tracing back to some of the best old Fyfie breeding," said Mr Deane.
The ten Cairness ram lambs averaged £2000 and included another by Stockton Stardust at 2000gns sold to Evans and Cundall, Carmarthen.
Highest flock average was achieved by fellow Aberdeenshire breeders Kenny and Bruce Mair whose 11 Muiresk lambs averaged £2119. Their best came from the astute use of semen from the 75,000gns Stockton Almighty to produce a ram lamb at 4000gns bred out of a ewe by Castlewellan Caffray. Buyer was J W Turner, Broadwas, Worcs.
Muiresk took the reserve title with a lamb by former national sale champion, the 16,000gns Cairness The King. Buyer at 2800gns was David Inman for his Lindum flock at Melton Mowbray.
The Muiresk consignment, which won the best pen of three award, included lambs at 3200gns, 2200gns and 2100gns – the 3200gns being paid by D T Jones, Gwynedd, North Wales for a son of Stockton Storm.
Lambs from the Stockton pen of leading Worcs-based breeder John Sinnett reached 4000gns for a first prize winning Storm son taken by L F and V A Pilliner who run the Stokelacey flock in Herefordshire.
Lincs breeder Sandy Frasers Santon lambs sold to 3500gns for a Cairness Ull Do son bought by Donnie Allan, Rosyth. More cash went back to Aberdeenshire when Harry Emslies Kinmundy flock from Peterhead sold a lamb by the 14,000gns Stockton Rising Star at 3000gns. Buyer was * Davies, Builth Wells.
A ram by Muiresk Maverick from Kinmundy headed the shearling class and sold to L M Western, Brecon at 2000gns. The Mairs drew the top shearling bid when Wickfield Farms, Cheltenham paid 3500gns for a son of Cairness The Best. This ram is maternal brother to 10 high priced registered rams including the 68,000gns Muiresk King of Diamonds. *
AVERAGES: 150 ram lambs £1027; 11 shearlings £1060; 17 gimmers £228 and 12 ewe lambs £205. (Michael Walton).
Quality Holsteins catch
eye at Bell dispersal…
A FITTING tribute to the achievements of post-war black and white breeding came last week when the Bell family dispersed their noted Holmland herd to a top price of 6800gns.
But the depth of the trade -which saw 107 cows and heifers average £1277 and generated bids from 90 buyers among the huge crowd – confirmed the demand for quality Holstein genetics despite the instability of the milk sector.
Brothers Tony and Deryck Bell, presented a tremendous catalogue of cattle.
The granddaughter of another Royal Show champion – Cardsland Eclipse Flo – sparked off the fastest trade. Homland Counselor Flo, a VG-88 heifer due next month with her second calf, made 6800gns to Stephen Bell who left the family partnership last year to farm at Penrith.
Youngstock commanded careful scrutiny and it was the six-month calf Holmland Storm Flo – also out of Prelude Flo – that led this section at 3200gns selling to * Wright and Son, Kendal.
Carmarthenshire breeder * * Hughes made the long trip north to pay 4300gns to add Holmland Raider Barb, due with her second in September, to his Brydan herd at Llandeilo.
Three years ago the Bells bought the big-money cow Wiseburrow Roland Pamela 2 for 7500gns and her daughters on offer were in great demand with nine head levelling at £2757.
AVERAGES: 107 cows and calved heifers £1277; 32 served heifers £998 and 16 maiden heifers £1150. (Norton and Brooksbank).
Sheffield scores at Uttoxeter summer show
YET another top ticket for Sheffield vendors Harold and Pat Crapper came at the summer show and sale of dairy cattle at Uttoxeter with a daughter of M E Dal Blackstar Benefit.
The freshly-calved heifer, bred from the few cows remaining in their Birchcross herd, made £870 to Mr and Mrs Malcolm Pearce, Newcastle-under-Lyme.
An Astre Starbuck daughter from the Dovetrent herd of Messrs Holdcroft, Burton-on-Trent stood reserve.
Dovetrent Astre Kelly 31 is out of an 80 tonne dam and made £720 to Mr Backhouse, Bramshall.
Cows sold to £860 for a Dannuc daughter from the Dovebridge herd of Messrs Robinson, Ashbourne, Derbys.
Buyers were Messrs Whitfield, Northants.
AVERAGES: cows £860 and first quality heifers £792. (Bagshaws). *
… and at Ciderhouse sale
ONE of the leading black-and-white cow families from the south west added to its tally of success at the Top 10% sale of high genetic merit Holsteins at Exeter.
The Fleur family from David and Valerie Normans Ciderhouse herd at Frome, Somerset produced Lily Fleur 2nd (PIN +£89) a May-calved heifer by Etazon Lord Lily and out of a twice 11,000kg-plus dam by United Nick. She made the sales top price of 2000gns to Peter Sargent, Liskeard, Cornwall.
Two other Fleur heifers have recently sold for 2000gns and another from the same family stood champion at this years Somerset Holstein Club show.
Cheshire breeder Richard Ratcliffe came with the second calver Airway Dombi Accessory (PIN +£98) which made 1050gns to A Harvey, Newquay, while the sales chairman, William Ley, sold three calved heifers from his Thuborough herd (by Slocum, Hunter and Evereux Clei) at 1000gns apiece. (Greenslade Taylor Hunt). *
Simmental breeder Jill Hudson paid the top price of 2000gns when Don Kirk dispersed his Trent Valley herd near Newark last weekend. Sale topper was Trent Valley Hattie, a Woodhall Dynamite heifer with a Beef Value of 35 and AId in March to Brinkton Brilliant. The stock bull, the Gretnahouse Supersonic son Twyford Eyecatcher, (above) realised 1750gns to Mr Goodwin, Macclesfield. (United Auctions).