Over 200 HF entries at 500th Lancs club sale
Over 200 HF entries at 500th Lancs club sale
By Jeremy Hunt
A LANDMARK in black-and-white cattle selling was celebrated in grand style at Lancaster last week when the Lancashire and Adjacent Counties Holstein Friesians Breeders Club held its 500th sale.
An entry of over 200 cattle from 57 different herds – over 40% being progeny of Excellent and Very Good dams – was a measure of the quality associated with the clubs regular fixtures.
The first sale in 1934 drew 62 animals from 19 herds and saw a top price of 35gns. The clubs highest average was £1702 reached in 1993. Last weeks celebration sale produced a brisk trade with 131 head averaging £1142.
Judge John Lawson of the Sweetings herd deliberated long and hard over his championship placings and it looked like the Dennison family from south Cumbria would once again clinch the title. They stood top of the final line-up for some time with a bought-in third calver, but Mr Lawsons deliberations produced a victorious slap on the rump for Carl Smith and his striking calved heifer Carlhaven Astre Sue.
This freshly calved Starbuck daughter is out of the imported Inspiration cow Oak Ridges 1 Sue. Mr Smith of Garstang, Lancs, who runs an embryo business and is well-known for preparing stock for shows and sales, keeps a small "collection" of cows.
Last November he was in Canada where he invested a third share in the $275,000, three-year-old Skys-the-Limit Claire at the Gillette Visions sale. Buyer of his champion heifer at Lancaster was Willie Watson, Ayrshire, at 2600gns.
The Dennisons won the cow title and finished reserve overall with Myersgarth Prelude Marlene. This freshly-calved cow had given 11,250kg and 13,606kg in her first two lactations, the latter worth £3023. She was bought by W M and D M Ashton, Appleby, at 3100gns.
The Loftus family have been among the staunchest supporters of this sale and last week they not only won the reserve heifer championship with Slimbridge Skybuck Sunstar (2500gns to M and G Booth Keighley, West Yorks) but also achieved the sales top bid of 4100gns.
This bid came for the home-bred Weeton Slocum Kay, a December calved heifer out of the Starbuck sired Weeton Tesk Kay. Buyers were T A and E Jackson, Dumfries.
The junior heifer championship went to local breeders R and R Butterfield with the Skychief daughter Ingleview Bunty 5th (3300gns to T A and E Jackson).
AVERAGES: 11 cows £1427; 105 heifers £1175 and 10 bulls £854. (Norton and Brooksbank with Lancaster Farmers Auction Mart)
Supreme champion at Lancaster was Carlhaven Astre Sue.