The recent fall in the milk price coupled with the unseasonably wet weather has done little to encourage the British dairy farmer of late, but there was still a good turnout at the Bristol Sales Centre for the Holstein UK’s annual Genetic Elite Sale, where there were many quality cattle on offer and some good prices paid for the best of them.

Hitting the headlines was the first Snowman calf to be sold in the UK, which was also the first descendant of the noted Larcrest Crimson to be offered. Consigned by the partnership of Mark Lee (Crystalclear) and Stuart Wood (Manorhaven), she was sold for 15,000gs to Peter Horrell, Peterborough.

An undisclosed buyer from Devon gave the next highest price of 8,200gs for another interesting calf from BB Farms. BB Alexander Georgia 2 ET is a maternal sister to the top genomic sire De-Su Observer ET.

A pair of daughters with good genomic figures out of the heavily contracted Washfold Bolton Sharon 2 from David & Claire Jones’s Wiltor herd caused keen interest, with both  being purchased by Northern Irish buyers. At 8,000gs her Atwood daughter was taken by Messrs McAufield for their Lissue herd in Co Antrim, and at 7,000gs Kyle Henry, Co Down had the last bid for her Observer calf.

Wills Bros Ltd are always in the fray at these type of events and secured a calf from the Ashlyn family from Bill Nadin’s Sterndale herd for 6,500gs, while Francis Wright & Son from the Berryholme herd, Kendal, Cumbria had to go to 6,000gs to buy a very smart red calf from the Pledge family, sired by Crackholm Secure Red and consigned by the northern partnership of Ansavalley Genetics and Blythbridge Holsteins.

Several choice embryos were also on offer selling up to 800gs for eggs by Amighetti Numero Uno out of Gen-I-Beq Goldwyn Secret, consigned by Jay Warden, Co Down and purchased by Wills Bros.

AVERAGES

  49 head        £ 3,980.36

  35 embryos   £   672.00

AUCTIONEERS: NORTON & BROOKSBANK