Lims hit top of 13,000gns at Ryedale event
Lims hit top of 13,000gns at Ryedale event
By Jeremy Hunt
RYEDALE Seraph, a 13-month-old Limousin heifer, sold for the top price of 13,000gns last weekend when North Yorks breeders Peter and Anne Lang dispersed their Ryedale Limousin herd at Borderway Mart, Carlisle.
The sale, delayed for a year after being one of the first cancellations last spring, presented breeders with a chance to secure genetics skilfully engineered using BLUP performance figures.
The top price was a daughter of Ronick Iceman and out of the Cockleshell Con sired Hengrave Helen. She has a beef value of LM22 and her 300 day weight of 391kg is 68kg above average.
Seraph heads for the Clitheroe, Lancs herd of Proctors Farm whose herd manager Gary Swindlehurst was bidding again to snap up the 1996-bred cow Ryedale Masquerade for 8000gns.
This Rachels Hamlet daughter epitomises the achievements of the Ryedale herd, which has been successfully managed by David Cormack for the past eight years.
Masquerades beef value of LM34 ranks her in the breeds top 1%. She is also in the top 1% for 400 day-growth and muscle score. She was sold in-calf to Ryedale Orion.
And it was the much garlanded Orion that realised the days second highest call of 10,500gns from Messrs Jenkinson, Penrith.
Orion, by the great Broadmeadows Cannon and out of Hengrave Helen, dam of the 13,000gns heifer, is proving a success and is remembered for his 1999 show achievements when he took the interbreed junior titles at the Royal, Royal Highland, Royal Welsh and Great Yorks. Messrs Jenkinson also bought females at 7000gns and two at 5100gns.
Despite being 10 years old, Hengrave Helen, could turn out to be the sales best buy at 9000gns. Her outstanding breeding record includes several successful embryo flushes. Helen was sold in-calf to Mereside Merlin, the 1998 Royal Welsh Show male champion. Buyers were Messrs Bloxham, Banbury.
Helping to level the 65 females at £3198 and nine bulls at £4421 were bids of 7400gns from J Swift, Kendal, for the Ronick Iceman-sired 13-month heifer Ryedale Sabre and 7200gns from E S Graham, Consett, Co Durham, for the January 2000-bred bull Ryedale Raffles (by Rachels Nimrod).
Averages 32 cows £3129, 24 heifers £2953, 11 maiden heifers £3923, and nine bulls £4421 (Harrison & Hetherington). *