An average price of €3,000 was achieved at the sale of young pedigree dairy heifers as part of a recent Irish Holstein Friesian Association (IHFA) National Open Day.
This year’s event had an attendance of over 4,000 and was held on the Hannan family farm in Crecora, Co. LImerick.
The open day included a special sale of 33 pedigree young heifers from the Lisnalty herd.
These heifers represented the cream of the crop of years of breeding. This sale was seen by many breeders as a top opportunity to acquire some of the best female bloodlines in the country.
A top price of €5,000 was achieved for a choice of Raven Sisters. This was closely followed by Lisnalty CIX Pauline who fetched €4,600. In total 14 other heifers broke the €3,000 duct.
The success of the sale was largely down to the quality of stock on offer and purchasers seemed undaunted by the downward pressure on milk price.
The Hannan’s breeding policy aims to produce highly productive, functional cows which have correct feet and legs and sound udders to survive in a highly productive environment.
Herd health is also important and all animals are vaccinated against BVD, IBR and Leptospirosis.
Farmers traveled from every part of the country to attend the IHFA open day with representatives from both Northern Ireland and the UK present at the Limerick farm.
The open day was well attended by milk producers and pedigree breeders.