Tomorrow (Wednesday, November 24) Tullow Mart will host the retirement dairy sale of the herd of Mr. Robert Hatton.
In total, there will be 70 lots on offer at the sale: 50 in-calf cows and 20 maiden heifers ready for the bull.
Herd health and performance
Ahead of the sale, Agriland spoke with Tullow Mart manager Eric Driver to obtain some insight into what buyers can expect at the sale. He stated: “This is a long established dairy herd, with Robert now retiring from dairy farming.
“The 50 cows on offer are a British Friesian-cross Holstein Friesian-type cow, which have all been scanned in-calf and are due from February to April.
“The cows are coming from an exceptionally good herd which is fully vaccinated for letpo, IBR and Salmonella.
“The economic breeding index (EBI) figures for these cows does not truly reflect the quality of the stock.
“For me, the herd stands out on paper, with a herd average production of 20.8kg of milk at 4.05% fat and 3.75% protein, with an average of 1.62kg of milk solids.
“With an average somatic cell count (SCC) of 121,000 cells/ml, these figures place the herd in the top 20% of milk recorded herds,” Eric added.
Heifers at Tullow Mart
There are also 20 maiden heifers on offer at the sale, which Eric describes as strong and robust.
Commenting further, Eric stated that: “These heifers were running with the bull, but due to an infertile bull they were scanned not in-calf.
“They have all been scanned and are all cycling and are ready for breeding. These heifers would fit into any system and would suit a winter milk producer looking for heifers for the breeding season.”
The sale will take place on Wednesday (November 24) at 12:30p.m at Tullow Mart.