Good pickings for true Blues
Good pickings for true Blues
MUSCLE-men were out in force once again last weekend investing heavily in Belgian Blue stock offered at the dispersal of the Lancs-based Bannister and Peel herds with bidding reaching 5800gns.
The Bannister herd selection, offered by Stan and Vivienne Woods and their daughter Kate Fisher, was full of valuable lines from the familys 1997 Royal Show championship winner Battlesden Marshall Miggs. However, it was a young bull by Urbi De Bois Borsu that sparked most interest.
Bannister Sir Tom, out of the show winning cow Ovatie Van De Wolvendree, sold at 5800gns to P * Mason, Driffield, Yorks. The Marshall Miggs line was close-up in buyers favour with his son – Bannister Snoopy – at 4600gns. This bull has a beef value of 13 and sold to L Nutter, Burnley.
More Lancs cash came for the best of the young bulls with a 2900gns call from P Rigby, Preston, for Bannister Taurus, another Marshall Miggs son. This black-and-white bull is out of a daughter of the Royal Show winner Jasmine Du Pre Rosine.
A full sister to Sir Tom, offered with a bull calf, led the Bannister herds females at 3700gns and heads for Great Harwood, Lancs, as part of Alan Barnes restocking programme at Cowden. Mr Barnes also gave 3400gns for the 1993-bred Lawns Genesis cow Bannister Kate sold sucking a bull calf by Sir Tom.
Determined bidding from Herefordshire farmer G Morgan secured the stylish black-and-white maiden heifer Bannister Temptress. This Eclatant daughter out of Ovatie could be the days best buy at 3650gns.
And it was a black-and-white heifer from the Peel herd of Peter and Elaine Whitlow that produced the stiffest competition resulting in a 4100gns call for Peel Rhapsody. This heifer was sired by Visconti De St Fontaine and is in-calf to the top show winner Alambic. The buyer was Geraint Williams, who is restocking his farm on Anglesey.
A new herd for Devonshire farmer Ray Hull adds Peel Rosemarie as a foundation female taken at 3500gns. This heifer is by a son of Kramiek Et Ten Durme and is in-calf to Visconti.
West Country farmer Ted Haste, was another buyer looking to restock and invested heavily on the day.
He showed preference for progeny of his home-bred bull Stoneleigh Cassius, giving 2900gns and 2550gns for two Cassius daughter both in-calf to Visconti. Two other Cassius daughters made 2700gns and 2600gns to Mike Scott, Newark, Notts (Frank R Marshall). *