32,000gns sets new UK breed record for a Simmental female sold at auction
Five lots, including outfits sell for 10,000gns and more
Sale grosses £347,700
Heathbrow Natasha 32,000gns
Simmental achieved a new 32,000gns female breed record in Stirling on Monday 23 October when David and Lesley Sapsed dispersed their entire noted Heathbrow polled herd following a decision to retire after almost three decades of breeding pedigree Simmental.
Star of the sale at 32,000gns was Heathbrow Natasha, an 18-month-old maiden by the herd’s illustrious Heathbrow Important 17, the multi-title winning show bull, herd sire and European Simmental Bull of the Year in 2019, and she was out of Raceview Emerald Alicia600 EX91 by Milnafua Graduate. A striking, fleshy well-balanced heifer exemplary of the breed, Natasha had already been in the limelight during her short-lived show career having secured the Great Yorkshire Junior Interbreed title and Reserve Breed Champion at Edenbridge, together with a fist full of red tickets. She was knocked down sold to Jimmy and Vikki Wood based at Popes Farm, Dutton, Preston, Lancashire.
The Wood family from the Popes herd with David, Lesley and Brenda and Heathbrow Natasha
Commenting after the sale Jimmy Wood said: “It was actually our daughter Hannah who bought her and will be starting a herd in her own name with Natasha as her foundation female. We first saw Heathbrow Natasha at Herts County Show when she was just a young heifer and immediately saw her potential. We’ve been ‘up close and personal’ to her ever since having shown at many of the same shows through the summer. She’s just kept coming on and we thought she was outstanding at the Great Yorkshire Show. Natasha has everything we would look for in a female. She’s full of femininity with lots of sparkle and presence and is a totally new bloodline with the best of breeding behind her, a real cow maker for the future. It’s a big price tag but it’s a long-term investment and there’s always going to be competition when that quality of heifer and genetics comes to the market.”
The Wood family took home another four entries. At 9,000gns they secured Heathbrow Melody, an April 2021 born in heifer by Heathbrow Klassik 19, out of Raceview Emerald Alicia and scanned in calf to Blackwood Kirk. Also heading home to join their Popes herd at 7,500gns was the Heathbrow Findlay 14 sired Heathbrow Girlie’s Ivy VG88. An in-calf Heathbrow Girlie’s Freesia EX94 daughter she was a successful member of the Sapsed’s show team.
The dispersal’s second top call at 14,000gns went to Heathbrow Milky Way VG85, a January 2021 born heifer by Scotland Hill Cairo 11 EX91 and out of Dirnanean Girlie E31 EX93. She was sold with her three-month-old twin heifer calves at foot, Heathbrow Girlie’s Polly and Heathbrow Girlie’s Poppy, sired by Heathbrow Masterpieve 21. The trio went to breed newcomer, Jimmy Hodge, Fellowhills Farm, Horndean, Berwick upon Tweed.
Heathbrow Milky Way 14,000gns
“Milky Way stood out as one of those animals that you wouldn’t want to change, and she is certainly making a good job of her twin heifers,” said former Holstein breeder, Mr Hodge who currently runs 30 pedigree Herefords. “I was so impressed with the quality of the Heathbrow cattle on offer, I thought I would give them a try and invest.”
Making 13,200gns in total was Heathbrow Kitkat’s Treasure VG87, a rising four-year-old Kilbride Farm Newry daughter and out of Darsham Real Treasure EX91, together with her nine-month-old heifer calf, Heathbrow Paradise Treasure by Blackford Kirk 19 EX91. Kitkat’s Treasure who was scanned in calf to Heathbrow Masterpiece was secured for 9,000gns by J A Griffin, Common Lane, Hemingford, Huntingdon, while her calf attracted a 4,200gns from V M Bailey and Sons, Mixbury Hall Farm, Brackley, Northants.
The same buyers went to 7,600gns for their own pair. Heathbrow Girlie’s Lorna VG87, a February 2021 born heifer by Heathbrow Grand Slam 15 and sold in-calf to Kilbride Farm Morikawa was knocked down for 3,800gns, while the Baileys made an identical 3,800gns bid for her 10-month-pld bull, Heathbrow Napolean 22 by Blackford Kirk 19 EX91.
Heathbrow Girlie’s Lorna 3,800gns & Napoleon 3,800gns
Two entries shared a 10,000gns bid. First to go was Heathbrow Sarah’s Elegance EX94, a Celtic Comet daughter and out of Dirnanean Sarah. This 10-year-old was sold with her July-born bull calf, Heathbrow Polo, by Heathbrow Grand Slam to Mr R J Grenham of Boars Head Farm, Crowborough, East Sussex.
The second 10,000gns call was made by George Scrivens and Holly Grant, Highfield, Shrewley, Warwickshire for Heathbrow Magical Star sold in-calf to Blackford Kirk. A January 2021 born Heathbrow Important 17 daughter, she was out of Heathbrow Ice Star. George commented: “We’d visited the Sapseds four or five times over the last 12 months and rather than coming away with five or six average animals we really wanted a couple of the very best. Magical Star was top of our shopping list. She meant more to us than any other animal in the sale and we’re thrilled to come away with her.”
Heathbrow Magical Star 10,000gns
The couple’s quest to invest in a heifer calf to show next year was achieved when they paid 5,200gns Heathbrow Precious, a six-month-old by Heathbrow Important 17 daughter with her dam, the rising ten-year-old Heathbrow Fancy EX92 who goes back to Dirnanean and Swallowhill lines.
A cow and calf pair attracted the next highest total at 9,700gns. The EX90 classified nine-year-old Heathbrow Fizzy by Dirnanean Welcome and scanned in calf made 3,200gns to Ward Farming, West Mains Farm, Carnwath, Lanarkshire. A 6,500gns bid secured Fizzzy’s eight-month-old bull calf Heathbrow Phoenix 23, by Heathbrow Important 17 for Robert Blyth and Son, Harestonhill Farm, Wishaw, Lanarkshire.
Heathbrow Fizzy 3,200gns
Minutes later, the next heifer and calf unit was sold for a total of 8,400gns. The three-year-old Heathbrow Luxury VG86, by Cairo made 4,200gns to John Tuohy, Coose Farm, Whitegate, Co Galway, while the same 4,200gns price tag went to her 10-month-old bull calf Heathbrow Nautical 22, by Blackford Kirk. The buyer was Speirs Farms Ltd, Pepsal End, Pepperstock, Luton.
Totalling 7,800gns was Heathbrow Kimberley VG88, an April 2019 born Heathbrow Grand Slam daughter sold in calf to Morikawa and her nine-month-old bull Heathbrow Paddy 23 by Heathbrow Important. Kimberley made 3,800gns to Nether Balfour Farms Park, Balvenie House, Drumolk, Banchory while Paddy attracted a 4,000gns bid from Wisson and Son Partnership, Southwood Farm, Abbotsley, St Neots.
Heathbrow Kimberley 3,800gns
Heathbrow Heidi VG88 and her eight-month-old twin bulls by Heathbrow Important 17, went for 7,700gns in total. The seven-year-old Heathbrow Freddie Star 14 daughter sold in calf to Morikawa was bid for 2,500gns to Simon Kemp, Kingston, Canterbury. Heathbrow Pele 23 made 2,400gns to J and M Troup, Southbank Farm, Skene, Aberdeenshire, while his twin Heathbrow Pogba 23 sold for 2,800gns to J C McLaren and Partners, Dargill, Crieiff, Perthshire.
Next pair at 7,500gns was the January 2020 born Heathbrow Lavender VG88 (pictured below) together with her eight-month-old bull calf, Heathbrow Principal 23. Another Important daughter, Lavender was sold scanned in calf to Moriawa and made 5,500gns to Inverdunning Ltd, Inverdunning, Dunning, Perthshire ,while K Thain and Son, Shank, Huntly, Aberdeenshire went to 2,000gns for Principal.
Heathbrow Lavender 5,500gns & Principal 2,000gns
David Sapsed commented after the sale: “We’re both really delighted with the trade and it was fantastic to see such widespread demand for the Heathbrow cattle. There were a lot of new entrants and younger breeders buying cattle and we hope their purchases set them off on as enjoyable a pedigree road as we have had. Cattle sold into Scotland, back to England, and with an export trade to both Germany and the Republic of Ireland.
“Very much the icing on the cake was the fantastic sale of Heathbrow Natasha to the Wood family. That’s our first female at auction to sell for over 10,000gns and for her to set a new Simmental female record, well it was an unbelievable finale to our pedigree breeding career. We were so pleased with how the cattle travelled and looked at the sale and huge thanks are extended to Brenda Hide, Rhys Grenham, Richard Rettie and all the team for their hard work. We’ve always tried to breed genuine, long, stylish cattle that have good locomotion, are quiet and a little bit slightly later maturing. Lesley and I would like to thank all of the bidders and buyers on the day and we wish everyone the very best of luck with their new purchases.”
Averages: seven cows and calves £6,555; 25 cows £3,948; 12 bull calves £3,509; eight heifer calves £3,728; 10 in-calf heifers £5,975; 14 maiden heifers £5,955; two bulls £4,883.
It’s the first ‘big reveal’ of this years Simmental Virtual Show, and we are delighted to announce the results for Class One -Bull Calf born on or after 1st August 2022.
1st Place, class 1 – Kilbride Farm Norton P
Congratulations go to the Kilbride Farm herd of WH Robson & Sons, Ballyclare, Co Antrim whose October 2022 born bull Kilbride Farm Norton P has been awarded first place. Norton is sired by the imported bull Flop Agrochyt, bred in the Czech Republic, and is out of Kilbride Farm Jolly 17G (P).
This first class had a great entry of 74 bulls and the top eight places have been awarded by the judge Harry Houldey of Manor Fields Simmentals, Lockerbie, as follows:
1st Kilbride Farm Norton P 2nd Lisglass Nugget 3rd Mixbury Hall Pioneer 4th Auchorachan Noble P 5th Omorga Nashville 6th Oaktree Farm Pablo 7th Cladymore President 8th Kilbride Farm Nebulus 22
Please look out for a short video clip from Harry and with his general comments around this first class.
A huge thank you to everyone who entered Class One. We have been thrilled with the quality of the entries and have had some terrific comments and feedback.
Producing quality Scotch Beef to a high standard by utilising home-grown cattle is the name of the game for the Smith family from Laurencekirk, who’s Simmentals are tickling the tastebuds of consumers from across the UK.
Douglas Smith opened the shop in 2020
Passionate about producing sustainable & traceable beef products, while making extra income from the farm, Doug Smith of Drumsleed Farm with the help of his wife, Fiona & mum Morag, has opened his own honesty shop which is fully stocked by their own Drumsleed cattle – a herd comprising 240 suckler cows, which is an even split of 110 pedigree cattle & 130 commercials.
“Following Covid-19, we opened up our little beef shop which is situated on Drumsleed Farm. It’s an honesty shop so there’s no one there manning what is sold, it is just filled with freezers & fridges which are packed with our own beef products that are made available to customers at any time of the day,” explained Doug.
A snapshot of tasty products available from Drumsleed Meats
“Our main driving force behind the shop was to improve the traceability of our meat & cut out the middlemen in regards to supermarkets, as well as to interact more with our customers. There are not so many cattle in the area & people in our local villages love being able to see the cattle in fields, so we have always wondered if locally sourced beef would be of interest to them – which it has.
“My wife also runs an honesty shop – Farm to Table – selling her own vegetables & potatoes from her family farm, so I jumped on the back of that idea. We’re continually being encouraged to reduce food mileage & you can’t get anymore sustainable or locally sourced beef than this,” he added.
With the Drumsleed herd being well known within the breed for producing quality pedigree stock – annually selling bulls at United Auctions’ Stirling Bull Sales & Thainstone’s Spring Show – it is, however, the commercial heifers which are proving to be the ultimate when it comes to producing quality prime cuts of beef.
“Our commercial herd is made up of mostly pure Simmentals that don’t meet the pedigree standard we are looking for, with a small selection being Saler & Beef Shorthorn crosses. We prefer to rely on heifers for our meat business as we believe the beef is sweeter & more tender than bull beef, which can be tougher with a little bit more testosterone through it.
Typical Simmental Heifers destined for the Farm Shop
“At the moment we are putting away around one heifer every three to four weeks for the shop & we would like to increase this over the next few years on the basis that the demand for our beef continues to be there,” he said.
“We have no real checklist for picking our meat heifers, but they have to be quiet in regards to temperament & have a good shape & fat cover on them’” commented Doug.
In order to produce alternative cross cattle on the farm & reduce the herd from becoming too pure, a Saler bull is used over the younger Simmental heifers at two years old with a small selection being crossed to the Beef Shorthorn in order to provide some replacement females.
Heifers which are selected to be butchered for the shop are reared on a 90% grass-based diet having been grazed out on grass throughout the summer months, as well as fed a silage & straw mix when indoors, which is also mixed with homegrown cereals to improve fat cover on the cattle.
“We hold back between 12 & 15 heifers per year for the shop & aim to be killing out those heifers between 16- & 20-months old at around 700kgs, with any other surplus stock being sold store or for breeding females,” stated Doug.
“Our breeding females are sold privately to repeat customers at one year old & we aim to retain around 20 commercials & 20 pedigree females for replacement purposes too,” he added.
Within the shop itself, beef products on offer include burgers, sausages, all cuts of steak, roasting joints & beef olives – all of which are made by Allan Rennie of Rennies Butchers, based in Forfar.
“We have a good relationship with Allan Rennie having used him for private kills beforehand, so when it came to sourcing a butcher for the shop, there was no doubt he was our first pick. He is very flexible with us, which is a huge bonus as our customers have the option to phone in & pre-order specific cuts of meat, so Allan is always keen to help us meet the requests of our customers & keep them returning,” said Doug.
The heifer beef is hung for a minimum of three weeks before it is vacuum packed & returned to Drumsleed to be sold.
“Allan Rennie is an Aberdeen-Angus man but there’s nowhere within the area that is specifically dedicated to one breed. We have sold some of Allan’s Angus meat through the shop if we are in short supply & it’s great meat but it’s all down to how the meat is hung & if it is the right carcass’” explained Doug.
“We like a bit of fat cover on our meat which we believe brings flavour to it, & it helps that the heifer meat is really tender. Overall, we are receiving some really great feedback about our Simmental beef & our customers seem to love the marbling content through the cuts.”
As well as selling their own beef through the shop, Doug is also providing Simmental mince & steaks to a local restaurant – Gannets of Laurencekirk – who transform the meat into their own pies which are then sold on.
“We team up with Gannets of Laurencekirk to run a hot food stall at some of the farmers’ markets & local events, where we used our own supply of burgers & beef. We are aware that there are a lot of small & local businesses within our area & it’s important that we support on another as much as possible, so we hope to continue with this venture later in the year,” he said.
“Consumer demand for beef is always dependant on the time of year & you tend to find that through the summer, demand outstrips supply as it’s barbecue season, whereas it can be quieter over the winter months. However, we can’t fault the support of the local community who have been fantastic at keeping us in business & we really do appreciate them,” added Doug.
The Smith’s little farm shop is also gaining popularity with customers further afield, which has been aided with the help of social media.
“Social media has been the only form of advertisement we have relied on when it comes to promoting our products. One of our Valentine’s boxes was bought by a customer in Wales so that goes to show how far social media has promoted our little business, but we are aware that it costs a lot to deliver straight to the doorstep & we do want to try & keep costs as low as possible. However, the next step is to hopefully get a website set up & running in order to try & sell beef to customers online too,” he stated.
Looking to the future of their little shop, Doug has big plans for extending the meat options available for his customers.
“Ideally, we would like to add in lamb or pork to the meat line and preferably would like to do this ourselves and invest in fat lambs or pigs in the future, but this is a long-term goal and not something that will happen any time soon – so watch this space! I’m passionate about the low food miles aspect with our meat & I will continue to promote this aspect as I believe it’s a real driving force behind gaining the consumers attention.
“It’s really enjoyable to engage with the public & allow them to see what we do here at Drumsleed. When it comes to running an additional business like this, you really do need to dedicate time to do it properly, which is probably something I didn’t fully appreciate with ties to the farm & my family. However, my advice to anyone thinking about diversifying in some way would be to just do it! Don’t be scared to try it out & if it doesn’t work then try something else. From start to finish, it really has been one of the best decisions we have made & I’m looking forward to what the future holds for our wee shop.”
This article by Kathryn Dick, and use of the pictures by Rob Haining, is republished with the kind permission of The Scottish Farmer (TSF). Our thanks are extended to both Drumsleed Simmentals and TSF.
The April 2021 born Hollybrook Maximum from Chris & Zara Curson, Hollybrook Farm, Welbourne, Dereham, Norfolk sold for 3900gns to top the small section of Simmentals at the fledgling Melton Mowbray Multi Breed Sale on Saturday, 25th March.
Hollybrook Maximum, Overall Reserve Interbreed, Overall Simmental Champion and Top price of £3,900gns
Earlier in the day this bull had been placed as the Simmental Overall Champion by the judge, John Barlow of the noted Denizes herd, before going on to lift the Overall Reserve Interbreed in front of all seven of the breed judges. Commenting, John Barlow said: “This is just a natural Simmental bull with plenty of length and a good second thigh. He’s a good commercial Simmental bull ready to work.” Hollybrook Maximum, got by AI, is sired by Clonagh Diehard Gallant, and is out of Williams Vikki’s Blossom. Purchasing the Champion online, and one of two bought on the day, was the significant Simmental based commercial enterprise in the shape of Fristling Hall Farm, Swan Lane, Ingatestone, Essex. Melton Mowbray represented only the second Society sale for the Cursons who run a 20-cow pedigree herd alongside a 60 cow Simmental based suckler herd.
Selling at 3200gns was the homozygous polled bull Blue Cedar Mungo from Nigel Darling, Intwood Farm, Intwood, Norwich. This January 2021 born bull is by the Danish bred AI sire Sneumgaard Imperator, and is out of Blue Cedar Edwina, with both parents being homozygous polled. With both calving ease, and gestation length figures in the top 1% of the breed, Blue Cedar Mungo was purchased by H Catlin, Leylandii Farm, Boston, Lincolnshire.
Selling two bulls at 3000gns was CH Evans & Son, Kington Grange Farm, Claverdon, Warwickshire. The first of these was the red ticket winner Wroxall Marmite. Heterozygous Polled, this January 2021 born bull is by Forsdale Gallipoli, and is out of Wroxall Esprit-Zilla. Arriving with a show track record that had seen him win breed championships at the Three Counties and Staffordshire Shows respectively in 2022, Wroxall Marmite was another bull to be snapped up by Fristling Hall Farm, Essex. Following directly on was the March 2021 born Wroxall Meatball. This March 2021 born calf, who stood second in his class to the Champion, is by Coose Gambler (P), and is out of Wroxall Favour-Patiance (P). With Calving Ease figures of +3.6 placing him in the top 15% of the breed, Wroxall Marmite was purchased by GT Hall & Son, Dudley Wood Farm, Atherstone, Warwickshire.
Champion, Hollybrook Maximum and Reserve Champion, Key Marvel with Judge John Barlow
Gavin Brown, Springfield Farm, Penicuik continued his strong run at the 2022 winter calf shows when he picked up both Simmental Champion and Reserve at the fledgling Pedigree Calf Show held within the Live Scot event at Lanark Agricultural Centre on Friday 25th November.
Springfield Moss, Overall Senior Champion and Overall Senior Male
Lifting the Championship award was the July 2021 born Springfield Moss. Sired by Islavale Jabba and out of Cleenagh Eliza, a Drumlone Anchor daughter, this latest title follows on from the recent Stars of the Future Show and where Springfield Moss won both the Overall Senior Championship and Overall Senior Male.
The judge at Live Scot was Garry Patterson of the noted Aultmore herd at Upper Forgie, Keith, Moray and who commented on his Champion: “Springfield Moss is a good, correct bull with fantastic style and I look forward to seeing what he can achieve in the future.”
Springfield Moss will now be aimed at the February 2023 Stirling Simmental Bull Sale.
Making it a Springfield one-two was the April 2022 born heifer Springfield Nita who lifted the Simmental Overall Reserve Championship. Again by Islavale Jabba, this calf is out of Springfield Goldie, a Popes Barclay daughter. Of his Reserve, Garry Patterson said: This is a very young, sweet heifer full of potential, and just the kind of heifer that I like”.
Springfield Moss, Overall Champion & Springfield Nita, Overall Reserve Champion with the Springfield Team
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement
1 year
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Recent Comments