Pics and prices: Skidoo female pedigree Charolais herd sells for over €350,000

The iconic Skidoo female Charolais pedigree herd went under the hammer on-farm in north Co. Dublin on Saturday last, September 14.

The sale kicked off 12:30pm and a total of 122 lots were on offer consisting of:

Cows with calves at foot;
Autumn-calving cows;
In-calf heifers;
Maiden heifers.

Donal Callery, Skidoo farm manager, said: “I’m extremely happy with the sale; everything worked the way it was planned. We put a lot of work into it, but everything came together on the day.

“The fact that there were 122 lots of female animals going through the ring, and to have customers in this difficult time with so much positivity was just great.

“The Charolais breed is flying. The feedback I got was just fantastic. It was a very good dispersal and I’m more than happy,” Donal explained.

A clearance rate of 93% was achieved on the day. Moreover, lot 1, 40 and 69 were sold to a farmer from Queensland in Australia. These cows will be flushed in Ireland and embryos will be shipped to Australia.

Another will head across the water to Coventry, and a number of lots were bought by farmers north of the border.

First into the ring were a number of cows with spring calves at foot. The best of these – Lot 4: Skidoo96 Isolda ET (in-calf to Prime Roberto) and her bull at foot (sired by Nelson) – sold for €6,500. In general, these lots sold between €2,800 and €6,500.

A sample of these lots – and the prices they achieved – is provided in the gallery below.

Click on a thumbnail in the gallery (below) to open up a full-size image; once opened you can scroll sideways to see the next picture. Refer to each caption to see details of each lot, including the hammer/sale price.

: Lot 1: Skidoo96 Dominique (in-calf to Tombapik) and her bull calf at foot (sired by Goldstar Echo) – sold for €4,600

: Lot 2: Skidoo96 Iris (in-calf to Anside Foreman) and her heifer calf at foot (sired by Cavelands Levi) – sold for €4,300

: Lot 4: Skidoo96 Isolda ET (in-calf to Prime Roberto) and her bull calf at foot (sired by Nelson) – sold for €6,500

: Lot 6: Skidoo96 Lauren ET (in-calf to Nelson) and her bull calf at foot (sired by Goldstar Echo) – sold for €4,100

: Lot 8: Skidoo96 Leann ET (in-calf to Dromiskin Viceroy) and her bull calf at foot (sired by Fiston) – sold for €3,500

: Lot 10: Skidoo96 Laurna ET (in-calf to Indurain) and her bull calf at foot (sired by Goldstar Echo) – sold for €3,600

: Lot 13: Skidoo96 Irene and her bull calf at foot (sired by Goldstar Echo) – sold for €4,000

: Lot 17: Skidoo96 Lavina ET (in-calf to Doonally New) and her heifer calf at foot (sired by Goldstar Ludwig) – sold for €4,500

: Lot 19: Skidoo96 Isabelle (in-calf to Anside Foreman) and her bull calf at foot (sired by UNI) – sold for €3,000

: Lot 21: Skidoo96 Lavender (in-calf to Prime Roberto) and her heifer calf at foot (sired by Tombapik) – sold for €4,000

: Lot 23: Deeleview Jessica (in-calf to Nelson) and her heifer calf at foot (sired by UNI) – sold for €5,600

: Lot 24: Skidoo96 I 1732 (in-calf to Tombapik) and her bull calf at foot (sired by Nelson) – sold for €4,500

A number of spring-born calves were also on offer. Prices for these lots ranged from €1,300 to €3,100.

The top price of €3,100 was paid for Lot 33: Skidoo96 Patra, a heifer calf born in February 2019 and sired by Tombapik.

: Lot 33: Skidoo96 Patra. A heifer calf born in February 2019 – sired by Tombapik – sold for €3,100

: Lot 34: Skidoo96 Pipa 2. A heifer calf born in March 2019 – sired by Roundhill Rocky – sold for €1,800

: Lot 35: Skidoo96 Pam 2. A heifer calf born March 2019 – sired by Cavelands Levi – sold for €2,100

: Lot 36: Skidoo96 President. A bull calf born March 2019 – sired by Nevers Rj – sold for €1,400

: Lot 37: Skidoo96 Piper. A heifer calf born March 2019 – sired by Clonoulty Andraemon – sold for €2,500

: Lot 38: Skidoo96 Peblo. A bull calf born April 2019 – sired by Nelson – sold for €1,300

Sale topper

In addition, there were also a number of in-calf, spring-calving cows on offer on the day. The sale topper – Lot 25: Skidoo96 Highlight 2 ET – is due to calve in February to Jumper, and the hammer fell at an impressive €9,800.

This cow – born in November 2012 – was sired by Major, and a daughter of a Doonally New cow.

: Lot 25: Skidoo96 Highlight 2 ET (in-calf to Jumper) sold for €9,800.

: Lot 26: Skidoo96 Impression ET (in-calf to Jumper) sold for €4,500

: Lot 27: Skidoo96 Mise (in-calf to Fiston) sold for €3,000

Next into the ring was the autumn-calving cows; these sold for €2,000-5,000. The best of these – Lot 47: Skidoo96 L 1974 – born in February 2012 and scanned in-calf to Enfield Hara Kiri – sold for €5,000.

: Lot 39: Skidoo Fiona – scanned in-calf to Farmleigh Ludovic – sold for €3,800

: Lot 40: Skidoo96 Finesse – scanned in-calf to Liseron – sold for €4,200

: Lot 41: Skidoo96 H 1650 – scanned in-calf to Lyonsdemesne Tzar – sold for €3,100

: Lot 44: Skidoo96 L 1968 – scanned in-calf to Clenagh Jasper 2 – sold for €3,000

: Lot 45: Skidoo96 Lacey ET – scanned in-calf to Goldstar Echo – sold for €3,400

: Lot 47: Skidoo96 Hailey – scanned in-calf to Dromiskin Viceroy – sold for €3,800

: Lot 48: Skidoo96 Jasmine ET – scanned in-calf to Blelack Digger – sold for €3,400

: Lot 49: Skidoo96 L 1963 – scanned in-calf to Meillard – sold for €3,200

: Lot 51: Skidoo96 Leoney – scanned in-calf to Nevers – sold for €3,100

: Lot 57: Skidoo96 Lucy ET – scanned in-calf to Nevers – sold for €4,500

: Lot 58: Skidoo96 Janet – and her Fiston bull calf at foot – sold for €3,000

: Lot 59: Skidoo96 Henrietta – scanned in-calf to Bowerhouses Topper – sold for €3,400

: Lot 61: Skidoo96 Loelita ET- scanned in-calf to Goldstar Echo – sold for €4,400

: Lot 62: Skidoo96 L 1974 – scanned in-calf to Enfield Hara Kiri – sold for €5,000

: Lot 64: Skidoo96 Hysen ET – scanned in-calf to Pirate – sold for €4,500

In-calf heifers

Next into the ring were the in-calf heifers. Over 25 lots were on offer and these sold for prices between €1,800 and €4,700.

The best price in this section went to Lot 86: Skidoo96 Nollaig. This heifer is a daughter of Goldstar Echo and was born in April 2017; she is in-calf to Nippur and the hammer fell at €4,700.