Wright Manley’s famous Mid-Month Sale of Pedigree and Commercial Dairy Cattle attracted another massive entry of almost 500 Head of which 486 were forward on the day with only five milkers and seventeen young stock failing to find new homes. The cattle were consigned from farms situated in mid Scotland to Kent and buyers were present from all parts of England and Wales. The sale opened at 10.15 in the morning and by 4.30 every lot presented for sale had been auctioned.
Trade for all classes has eased back, as they seem to have done nationally, but nevertheless bidding was still plentiful and very competitive; good fresh calved young cows and milking heifers are still in great demand and it has to be said a high proportion of the cattle presented for sale were of very good quality, but the more secondary and staler cattle were harder to clear at past rates. As is the norm in the autumn, young stock and served heifers are always more difficult to sell, but if the quality is there is still plenty of bidding.
Top price of the day was for the pedigree heifer, Womack Icefyre Susie, a daughter of Braedale Icefyre, who had calved at the end of August and who was part of the first portion to disperse the herd for local farmers, DA & EM Drinkall & Sons of Darnhall, Nr. Winsford. She sold for £2320 and sold to G Green & Son of Northwich. Two other heifers from the Drinkall’s made £2000 apiece for daughters of Weeton Jackson and Designer Lotus and sold to Graham Roberts, Winsford and John Morris, Wrexham respectively.
Mark Bowden of Malpas, a regular supporter and a supplier of quality heifers to the market had the next two top prices; at £2300 he sold the Bolton daughter, Holbeck Bolton Gillian 108th and at £2100 he sold Ingleden Freeman Lady 2nd, both being purchased by D & HE Colclough & Son of Sandbach. Also at £2100 was Flashhouse Spirte Pheasant 2nd from G & AE Smith & Sons of Garstang selling to P & A Howard of Winsford. Messr JH & PE Nicholson Ltd of Norfolk sold Neatishall Damion Showy 2nd for £2080 to JG Williams Nantwich whilst the only other two to reach the £2000 mark were a homebred Gambledown Ensign daughter from OC Whittaker & Sons Ltd of Knutsford and a Stardale Vaughan daughter from the Taylor brothers, Jack and Barclay, of Shrewsbury. Top price cow was £1850 for a second calver from the Drinkalls with another from LF Horton & Son of Northwich selling for £1820.
In-calf heifers topped at £1500 for November calving Swedish Red cross from Alex Colquhoun Ltd of Montrose, Angus whilst maiden heifers sold to £1120 for a eleven month old pedigree heifer by Wa-Del Hayden from R Sharman & Son of Newark.
AVERAGES:
331 COWS and MILKING HEIFERS £1304.56; 48 Served Heifers £1052.92; 82 Maiden Heifers £690.24; 3 Heifer Calves £240.00.
WRIGHT MANLEY of Beeston Castle Auction, Cheshire were the Auctioneers.
