On Friday (October 1) the award winning Possextown herd of Gordon Foster, Enfield, Co. Meath, held it’s on-farm clearance sale hosted by Ballyjamesduff Mart.
There was a total of 110 lots that went under the hammer at the sale, with economic breeding index (EBI) values peaking at €273.
On offer at the sale were 20 autumn-calving cows, 60 spring-calving cows, 8 maiden heifers and 22 weanling heifer calves.
The herd pre-sale was averaging 7,377kg of milk and producing 577kg of milk solids, with low somatic cell counts (SCC).
The Possextown herd also bred the renowned Eurogene bull Possextown Faithful SRM (FR2424).
Possextown herd
After the sale, Agriland spoke with John Tevlin, Ballyjamesduff Mart’s manager, to obtain some insight into the sale.
John stated: “The sale met a very lively trade, customers from Cork, Galway, Scotland and Northern Ireland made for a full clearance, with Northern customers being very active at the sale.
“All of the young autumn and spring-calving cows crossed the €2,000 mark, with top price of the day €2,700, achieved by a spring-calving cow.”
Moving to the weanling heifers and young calves, John said: “Prices for the weanling heifers crossed the €1,000 mark, with prices dropping back to a low of €660 for a few of the younger calves.
“The calf rearing equipment was all well-sold with a 100% clearance; the 5,000L milk tank sold for €7,000.”
Tara Angus
On Saturday (October 2) Ballyjamesduff Mart hosted the production sale of Tara Angus, for the herd’s owner Malachy Tighe.
Commenting on the sale, John stated: “The sale was met with a super trade.
“The top price of day was €5,800 for a maiden heifer purchased by a well-respected Northern breeder.
“The sale average was just shy of €3,000, a remarkable average for stock just 12 months of age.”