The Donegal Holstein Friesian breeders club held its annual sale of calved heifers at Raphoe livestock mart on Wednesday, March 6.
There were 52 high quality heifers put forward on the day, with most of the Lots on offer being freshly calved.
13 of the heifers on offer at the sale achieved prices in excess of €1,900. Purchasers on the day came from a number of different counties, with a high proportion of buyers from Northern Ireland.
The annual show and sale of calved heifers is a long-established initiative of the Donegal Holstein Friesian club, providing members with a local outlet to bring their quality bred stock to the market.
The pre-sale show was judged by Alan MacBeth of the Monien herd of Ballindrait. He selected Ballyelly Pepper Lupin bred by Trevor Lockhart as his champion.
Reserve champion went to Ballyelly Snapshot Precious bred by Trevor Lockhart. The pre-sale show and sale was held by kind permission of Raphoe livestock mart.
Donegal Friesian Breeders
The top price of the sale went to Lot 31: Ballyelly Hacker Bella, who calved five-weeks-ago and is and milking 26L/day – she achieved a sale price of €2,720.
Sired by T Brook Hacker (FR5899), she is backed by five generations of VG/EX Dams.
Her dam, Ballyelly Wyman Bella EX91 5E, recorded a lifetime yield of 82,086kg of milk and 5,947kg of milk solids in seven lactations.
The next top price heifer was Lot 32: Ballyelly Snapshot Precious, bred by Trevor Lockhart; she sold for €2,680.
Calved six weeks, she is milking 35L/day. She was judged reserve champion of the pre-sale show.
Sired by VVH Snapshot (FR8743), her Dam Crossnacole D Back Precious 2 EX90 2E recorded a fourth lactation yield of 11,316kg of milk and 819kg of milk solids in a 305-day lactation.
The next highest price of €2,480 was Drumcairn Dynamite Diane 260 who was bred by Richard and Alexander Tinney from Drumcairn, Letterkenny. She is sired by Wilder Dynamite PP (S3745.
This red and white heifer is calved six weeks and is currently yielding 36L/day.
She is projected to yield 8,800kg of milk and 588kg of milk solids in her first lactation.
Lot 28: Ballyelly Praser Leaf 3 bred by Trevor Lockhart sold for €2,420. She sold calved five weeks and milking 32L/day.
She is a potential third generation home-bred VG/EX cow, and she is sired by VH Praser (FR4573).
The Champion of the pre-sale show Lot 15: Ballyelly Pepper Lupin bred by Trevor Lockhart – calved three weeks and yielding 28L/day, she sold for €2,400.
Sired by Delaberge Pepper VG (S2049), she is bred from the deep-pedigree Creva Lupin cow family .
Lot 14: Ballyelly Future Lisa also bred by Trevor Lockhart sold for €2,240. Calved four weeks, she sold milking 36L/day.
Selling for €1,980 was Lot 58: Inishowen Glen Ronald Cindy bred by Ian Mc Keague, Culdaff.
Calved one month, she sold milking 28L/day, and is backed by three generation of home-bred VG/EX Dams. She is sired by Glenaboy Ronald (FR4785).
With an economic breeding index (EBI) of €212, her predicted breeding values include +31kg of milk solids, +0.22% of fat and +0.13% of protein.