On Wednesday (August 11), Carnaross Mart hosted the Kilskyre herd youngstock dispersal sale with nearly 200 lots going under the hammer, with a Weigeline Jacey Tabasco-ET daughter making top price.

Included in the sale conducted by auctioneer Michael Taaffe, were 28 autumn-calving heifers, 63 spring-calving in-calf heifers, 24 bulling heifers (ready to serve), 28 heifers born between September and December 2020 and 56 heifers born in spring 2021.

This was the final sale of the Kilskyre herd of Tom and Helen Stafford, following the sale of the milking herd in June.

The sale had an impressive selection of youngstock on offer, with heifers sired by top artificial insemination (AI) bulls such as: Big Maiki; Secretariat; Massey; Slam Dunk; Tabasco; Outlaw; Hotspot P and Frzld Priceless.

At the sale, there was a strong presence of ringside and online buyers with Taaffe commenting: “We saw a brisk trade for all age groups on offer, with ringside and online buyers active at the sale”.

Autumn-calving heifers

Starting with the 28 autumn-calving heifers on offer at the sale, all the heifers in this section of the sale scanned in-calf and due from October onwards. The 28 lots on offer averaged €2,410.

Kilskyre Tabasco VAL

Top price of the day went to Lot:7, Kilskyre Tabasco VAL – she sold for €3,000. Her dam is Kilskyre Toystory VAL 2 (VG87); she is sired by Weigeline Jacey Tabasco-ET.

Her dam [Kilskyre Toystory VAL 2] gave 13,069L at 3.72% fat (f) and 2.96% protein (p) in her sixth lactation.

Lot: 7 Kilskyre Tabasco VAL
Sold for €3,000

Some of the other select lots from this portion of the sale are included in the gallery below. Click an image to enlarge and scroll sideways.

Lot: 4 Kilskyre Mandella Maureen 3
Sold for €2,900

Spring-calving heifers

Moving to the spring-calving portion of the sale, there were 63 in-calf, spring-calving heifers on offer. These heifers are due to start calving from January onwards and averaged €2,053.

Kilskyre Leko Maureen

The top price for this portion of the sale went to Lot:32, Kilskyre Leko Maureen – she made €2,600.

She is sired by Leko and her dam is Kilskyre Sequoia Maureen 2 (GP81). She gave 12,519L at 4.13% f and 3.36% p in her second lactation.

Lot: 32 Kilskyre Leko Maureen
Sold for €2,600

Some of the other select lots from this part of the sale are included in the gallery below.

Lot: 33 Kilskyre PP Red Maureen
Sold for €2,300

Bulling heifers

Looking at the 24 bulling heifers that were on offer at the sale, some had been running with the stock bull (Kilskyre Mandella 4157), but had not been scanned in-calf.

The 24 heifers on offer in this section of the sale averaged €1,363.

Kilskyre Leko Jane 74

For this section of the sale the top price went to Lot:110 Kilskyre Leko Jane 74 – she sold for €1,800. Sired by Kilskyre Leko 3781, her dam is Kilskyre Mascol 2 (VG87).

Some of the other select lots from this section of the sale are included in the gallery below.

Lot: 108 Kilskyre Leko Jane 70
Sold for €1,350

Autumn 2020-born heifers

Moving to the calves and starting with the 28 autumn 2020-born heifers calves on offer, the 28 heifers presented for sale on the day averaged €1,361.

Kilskyre Lightway Balertwine 2

The top price for this section of the sale went to Lot:138, Kilskyre Lightway Balertwine 2, born October 23, (2020) – she sold for €2,200.

Her dam is Kilskyre Leko Balertwine (VG88), she is projected to produce 10,522L at 4.01% f and 3.32% p in her fourth lactation.

Lot: 138 Kilskyre Lightway Balertwine 2
Sold for €2,200

Some of the other select lots from this part of the sale are included in the gallery below.

Lot: 124 Kilskyre Pokerface Maureen
Sold for €1,500
*Her dam sold for 3,050gns at Kilskyre milking herd dispersal sale*

Spring 2021-born heifers

Switching to the 56 spring 2021-born heifer calves, all born from late January to June. For this section of the sale, the average price achieved was €912.

Kilskyre Big Position Jane

The top price for this portion of the sale was achieved by Lot:201 Kilskyre Big Position Jane – she sold for €2,050.

Born on May 8, she is a potential fifth generation (EX). Her dam is Kilskyre Super Jane (EX91) and is predicted to produce 10,636L at 3.63% f and 3.40% p in her seventh lactation.

She is also the maternal sister to Kilskyre Sequoia Jane 3 (EX); she sold for 2,400gns at the Kilskyre milking herd dispersal sale.

Kilskyre herd

Tabasco daughter makes top price at Kilskyre youngstock sale