For a diversion on Polling Day

25 April 1997




For a diversion on Polling Day

Want a diversion from politics? Then what better way than visiting a livestock sale.

At Colyton, Devon, R B Taylor is selling 100 Holstein Friesians. Auctioneer Henry Simon says for some people, the priority is to sell as soon as possible.

"With it being an early season, delaying the event – even for a week – could mean farmers are busy silaging when it does take place."

Similarly, for some, the aim is to disperse as early in the milk year as possible, ensuring the maximum amount of quota remains unused.

With it likely to attract mainly local interest, Mr Simon reckons no-one will give the sale a miss in favour of voting.

"Theyll be able to do that before or after it," he says.

At Penzance, Cornwall, meanwhile, Antony Richards is selling 99 commercial British Friesians. A date a few days after polling day was originally pencilled in – but that clashed with another sale. "So we brought it forward as opposed to putting it back."

And in Dorset, Symonds and Sampson is dispersing a 103 Holstein Friesian herd at Blandford. The event is called, oddly enough, the Election Day Special.n


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