Top price in export sale to the Coose herd, Republic of Ireland
Cows and calves sell to length and breadth of the UK
The genuine reduction of the noted Wroxall Simmental herd of CH Evans & Son, Kington Grange Farm, Claverdon, Warwickshire saw a more than solid trade throughout gross just over £120,000 for the 32 cows forward with calves at foot, along with five cows in calf, and three in-calf heifers.
Wroxall Iona Zilla & Wroxall Nii-Zilla 6000gns
Leading the way at a combined 6000gns was the homozygous polled Wroxall Iona Zilla at 1800gns and with her stylish heifer calf Wroxall NII-Zilla at 4200gns. This unit was snapped up by the noted Coose herd of John Tuohy, Whitegate, Co Galway, Republic of Ireland. Wroxall Iona Zilla PP is February 2017 born and is by Losning Iver (P) and is out of Wroxall Daisy-Zilla. PD’d in calf to Forsdale Gallipoli, Wroxall NII-Zilla (P), is her fourth calf. This September 2022 born heifer is by Wroxall Jerome 18.
The Wroxall Sale came about due to the end of the family’s tenancy at Abbey Farm, Kenilworth after more than some ninety years, and the consolidation of the herd at its new new home at Claverdon. Founded in 1969 the Wroxall Simmental herd was based around initial importations from Switzerland. Increasingly the herd has concentrated on the polling gene and as such the sale at Worcester offered functional, working cattle with a high health status, and a catalogue packed with a great selection of modern-day Simmental, and polled genetics. A packed ringside, and buyers online and on the telephone, ensured a strong trade with exports sales and animals selling to all corners of the UK. Some 40 lots, mainly pedigree Simmental cows with Simmental, and Blue calves at foot, grossed over a very healthy £120,000.
Selling at a combined 4600gns was another homozygous polled female Wroxall Jazz Superior PP, and with her third calf, the heifer calf Wroxall Nautical-Superior (P) at foot. January 2018 born, Wroxall Jazz Superior is by Wroxall Electric (P), and is out of Wroxall Gertrude-Superior (P). PD’d in calf to Coose Gambler, Wroxall Jazz Superior made 2900gns when selling to the north of Scotland and R&N Barclay, Harestone Farm, Insch, Aberdeenshire. Her September born heifer calf Wroxall Nautical-Superior, sired by Forsdale Gallipoli, made 2700gns when also purchased by the Barclays.
Wroxall Jessica Lilly (P), sold with her heifer calf at foot Wroxall Nilly-Lilly (P), made a combined 3500gns. March 2018 born, Jessica Lilly is sired by Wroxall Cocker-Leeky-Soup (PP), and is out of Wroxall Forget Me Not-Lilly. PD’d in calf to Wroxall Maxi Power, she was bought for 2300 by AD Heath for the Eaton pedigree herd at Eaton House, Market Drayton, Shropshire. The September 2022 born Wroxall Nilly-Lilly (P), sired by Wroxall Cocker-Leeky-Soup then made 1200gns when selling to Paul Rowden, Simboro House, Totnes, Devon.
Also at the 3500gns mark was the first calved heifer Wroxall Janie Patience (P), who was sold with her January 2023 born heifer calf Wroxall Pamela (P) at foot. Wroxall Janie Patience (P) is by Wroxall Electirc 13 (P), and out of Wroxall Gabriella-Patiance (P) was sold PD’d in-calf to Wroxall Maxi Power. Her calf at foot, Wroxall Pamela (P), was sired by Coose Gambler. This outfit was another to be snapped up by R&N Barclay, Harestone Farm, Insch, Aberdeenshire.
The averages in the Wroxall sale were as follows:
12 cows with autumn born calves £3537 18 cows with spring born calves £2867.08 5 Cows-in-calf £2310 3 In-calf heifers £2800 2 Unregistered cows with calves at foot £3035
• 24 bulls sell to average £5828, up by £195, and a new Stirling May Sale record average. • Two bulls sell at over 10,000gns with eleven at 5000gns and more. • 16,000gns leads the all-breeds prices at Stirling • 16,000gns the top Simmental price, and top all-breeds price, at a May Stirling Sale
Following up his Supreme Championship in the pre-sale show, the January 2022 born Overhill House Neil from Richard McCulloch, Armadale, West Lothian, duly delivered the goods in the sale ring when making 16,000gns to lead the Stirling May Simmental Sale, and to take the top price across the breeds at United Auctions multi breed fixture on Monday May 1st.
Overhill House Neil 16,000gns
This stylish, red coated, young bull is by the 24,000gns Islavale Heston, and is out of Overhill House India, a Curaheen Drifter daughter. In November last year, Overhill House Neill won the Overall Junior Championship at the Stars of the Future Calf Show. With top figures for calving ease and maternal (milk), this package of looks, pedigree, and performance figures saw some sharp bidding before the hammer fell and with Overhill House Neil being knocked down to Andrew Leedham for his Grangewood pedigree herd at Pickering, North Yorkshire.
The strong sale demand for Simmental bulls was again evident with the 24 bulls sold averaging £5828, up by £195 and, for the third year in a row, to a new record average for this May Simmental Sale fixture. As well as topping the sale day, the 16,000gns price was an all-breeds record for the Stirling May Sale
A terrific day’s trading for Overhill House saw the herd attain prices of 16,000gns; 7000gns; and 6500gns for three quality Simmental bulls. Commenting on Overhill House Neil after the sale, a delighted Richard McCulloch said: “Neil is the best bull we’ve bred to date within the Overhill House herd. From day one he was just an outstanding calf that had those ‘look at me qualities’ and just kept going on and improving. For me he’s the overall package in a modern Simmental bull. He’s dark red in colour, has a real Simmental breed head, has four good correct legs, is super clean, and has a back end to die for. He’s been sold into a good pedigree home, and I look forward to seeing how he gets on within the Grangewood herd.” The sale saw the Overhill House herd gross £30,975 for three Islavale Heston sons and with this 24,000gns sire consistently breeding sale bulls at the 7-8000gns mark. Of attaining the record sale price for any breed at the Stirling May Sale, Richard McCulloch went on to say: “The record price is just a bonus on top of what was a great sale for the herd and three good bulls that were brought out so well by my stockman Scott Gilmour. The standard of Simmental bulls forward at the sales just keeps getting better and better and with an obvious and increasing interest in the breed. From here we’re just going to continue to cull hard, be selective and with the aim of keeping the quality as high as we can at pedigree sales.”
Placing Overhill House Neil as the pre-sale Supreme Champion, was the pre-sale show judge for the day, Gary Wright of the noted Lagavaich herd, Glenlivet, Ballindalloch.
The 16,000gns was also the top price that Andrew and Yvonne Leedham, who run the 35 cow Grangewood pedigree herd along with their son Callum, have paid to date for a Simmental bull. Speaking after the sale, Andrew Leedham said: “He’s a terrific Simmental bull and just what we were looking for. We first saw him at the Stars of the Future Show and having been keeping an eye on his pictures and videos on Facebook. In addition to the qualities of the bull he has great figures including ease of calving and we think he’ll be very well suited to our Ranfurly Impeccable 14 17 daughters within the herd. From here we will consider taking semen from him and may ease him into the herd to use in this next month or so.”
Delfur Macbeth 10500gns
Taking the second top price of 10,500gns, and again from a strong line up of bulls, was the October 2021 born Delfur Macbeth from Delfur Farms, Aberlour. This calf by Woodhall Instinct, and out of Delfur Annie, carried a Maternal (Milk) figure of +10. Purchaser was the noted commercial producer JR Graham & Partners, Greenshields, Biggar, Lanarkshire. Selling at 9000gns was another from the Delfur team in the shape of the first prize winner in class six and pre-sale Reserve Supreme Champion, Delfur Marvel. October 2021 born, Delfur Macbeth is another by Woodhall Instinct and is out of Delfur Jill, an Islavale Cassius daughter. This bull headed back to Aberdeenshire when being knocked down to high-quality commercial producers Farquharson Farms, Fyvie, Aberdeenshire.
Delfur-Marvel 9000gns
On the day the Delfur herd sold three bulls to gross £25,500 and to average £8925, and with the 10,500gns price being the herd’s highest to date at this May Sale fixture. Under the herd manager Garry Patterson, the Delfur herd has been achieving some leading sale prices for Simmental bulls and with the quality and potential within the herd’s females now coming through. The herd presently comprises of 120 cows but with plans to gradually increase that number. When it comes to the sales Delfur Farms takes direct aim at breeding what the commercial producer is looking for and bulls carrying style, thickness and correctness, and with easy calving lines. Any bulls sold to breeders are a bonus on top!
Copper Mill Maverick 7000gns
Selling at 7000gns was Copper Mill Maverick from P Goldsborough, Oakrigg Farm, Old Carlisle Road, Moffat. Another bull with strong calving ease figures, the August 2021 born Copper Mill Maverick is by Rathnashan Linguine and is out of the Samark Superman daughter, Copper Mill Janice. Buying this bull was J&J Marshall, Grantown on Spey, Morayshire.
Overhill House Nash 7000gns
The second bull at 7000gns was another from Richard McCulloch and this time Overhill House Nash. This January 2022 born bull stood second in his class to the day’s Champion and Overhill House teammate, and in a class that saw Overhill take first, second, and third. Another calf by Islavale Heston, Nash is out of Overhill House Emma, a Blackford Ben Mhor daughter. With figures putting him in the top 5% of the breed for calving ease, and top 10% for Eye Muscle Area, Overhill House Nash was bought by JTM MacKay, Thura Mains, Caithness. Overhill House Noah who stood third in the same class made 6500gns when selling to Cumbria and WA Vaughan, High Dovecote, Walton, Brampton. Making up a strong trio of Overhill House bulls, and with strong performance figures, Noah is again by Islavale Heston and is out of the Annick Talisker daughter Overhill House Hanna.
Selling at 6000gns was another from the Delfur Farms pen and this time the October 2021 born Delfur Matey. This bull stood second in his class to the Reserve Supreme Champion and 9000gns teammate Delfur Marvel. Sired by Banwy Bonzo, Matey is out of another Islavale Cassius daughter, Delfur Kayley. Purchasing what was another dark red bull with easy calving figures, was MJ&J McLaren, Fintalich, Muthill, Crieff, Perthshire.
Getting knocked down at 5800gns was Broombrae Munro from Gordon Clark, Auchtermuchty, Cupar, Fife. This October 2021 born bull, who stood fourth in a strong class, is by Corskie Kalgary 19, and is out of Broombrae Delight K1. With a top 5% figure of +11 for Maternal (Milk), this bull was snapped up by Glenkiln Farms, Crocketford, Dumfries.
Other Leading Prices:
Lot 463 5000gns Denizes Montana to A Nicholson, Dunphail, By Forres
Lot 465 5000gns Coltfield Mighty to H MacDonald, Mains of Dalvey, Morayshire
Lot 467 5000gns Dargill Master (P) to J& I Cameron, Hillside Farm, Kilmacolm
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.
Efficient and flexible, Simmentals complement all breeds; are easy calving maternal, milky mothers; produce beef from grass and are easy fleshing, fast growing and the UK’s leading continental beef breed for age at slaughter! This all-round ‘efficiency package’ continues to tick the boxes with commercial beef producers and seeing the breed performing where it matters, on farm and in commercial sale rings, for all classes of stock, at markets around the country and from Caithness to Cornwall!
Leek auction mart had a sale of 163 calves on 18th April. Good calves good to sell with the top seven over £315 and with a top price of £395 for a superb Simmy bull from Messrs Higginson, Knutsford.
At Darlington’s sale of store cattle on 17th April, the feeding buyers were extra keen to step on, with the thirty-three offered levelling well over £1000 with an average age of just 10 months; best of all were a quality quintet of 8–10-month-old Simmental bulls from regular consignor E Parsons, Newstead Farm which sold for a wonderful £1460 per head.
At Quoybrae on 17th April, Aberdeen & Northern Marts sold 585 store cattle. Store heifers (241) sold to £2,000 gross for a 719kg Simmental from Mavsey, Lybster.
Caledonian Marts Ltd, Stirling had 537 Cattle Forward at their fortnightly sale on 17th April. Bullocks sold to £1960 for a pen of Simmentals from J & J Brown, Loanrigg, Slamannan.
In Frome’s sale of store cattle on 14th April, a really good show of younger continentals were forward, and with single suckled well shaped sorts again on fire. Good runs of Simmentals presented by RM & JE Brown IOW, PJ & PP Samways, Swanage and P & S Foot, Weymouth all produced wonderful prices. Phil Samways saw his homebred outwintered steers 11mo at £1060, 9mo at £880 and heifers to a marvellous £820. Sam Foot of P & S Foot continuing to produce the very best of cattle seeing bunches of 12mo steers at £1172, £1090 and £1050. 12mo heifers from the same home to £1115, £1012 and £960. Quality Simmental steers and heifers from Westcourt Farm again from IOW saw bunches at £1100, £925 while their smart heifers topped at £900.
In a sale of cast cattle at Lancaster on 14th April, beef cows sold to 249.5p/kg for a Simmental x from JE&AC Clarke & Son, Melling. Top grossing beef cow was a Simmental from Barlow Bros, Croston, achieving £1973 with a further Simmental from the same home at £1897. AJ&AC Clarke & Son, Melling achieved £1739 also for a Simmental.
£1850 CENTRE RECORD AT HALLWORTHY Simmentals were setting new market records at Hallworthy’s sale of store cattle on 13th April. Some real deep bodied and tremendously well fleshed cattle from AP & DJ House of St Issey, saw a pair of Simmental x with depth and width at a new centre record mark of £1850, with another pair of Simmental x to £1765. In the heifers, AP & DJ House were on top again with an absolute stunner of a pen of four Simmental x Heifers, deep muscled and wide as a house to a top of £1630, with a second pen of four to £1505.
In a sale of rearing calves at Gisburn on 13th April, Graham Billington’s trio of Simmental bulls all one month eight days old sold very well indeed at £412 a piece heading up to the North East.
Another good entry of cast cows forward at Longtown on 13th April met with a competitive ringside of purchasers. The sale peaked at £1,590 for a Simmental shown by DR & E Nichol, Gowanburn, Kielder, with others to £1,325 from A Maclean, Killeonan, Campbeltown. Top per kilo of 248p for Simmentals from Gowanburn.
In a sale of prime cattle at Truro on 12th April, Simmentals featured in the top prices with Messrs R E, G L & M R Body of Hayle marketing a fine Simmental steer at 268p/kg, with a larger Simmental following on at 257p/kg. On the same day in the sale of store cattle, a 15 month old Simmental from Messrs D R & J C Vincent and Son of Tregavethan, Truro, sold to £1110. A good pair of 1 year old Simmental steers from Messrs L E C White and Son of St Buryan, Penzance marketed at £1105.
In Frome’s sale of prime cattle on 12th April, prime bulls in short supply but very much wanted with Simmental bulls from LJ & AJ Curry to 258p/kg for 675kg, grossing a top price of £1738. The same vendor also led the cull cow trade at £1679 for a Simmental.
Market Drayton’s sale of clean cattle and young bulls on 12th April saw the top headage being £2,025.10 for a Simmental heifer weighing 770kgs from A.J. Warner & Sons, Woodseaves. In the store sale on the same day, Simmentals sold to £1,700 for a 690kg steer from DE&SE Furnival Ltd.
United Auctions, Stirling on 12th April sold 1530 store cattle, young bulls and 104 out of spec cattle, cast cows and bulls. Simmentals featured throughout with leading bullock prices including: Yonderhaugh £2000 & £1840, Balquhatson 334.40p; Leaston £1575, Cockerstone 314.00p; Strath £1550 & £1545, Overton 308.50p; Wester Highgate £1440, Mount 305.10p; South Kirklane £1400, Killnochonoch 304.10p; Cockerstone £1400, Craegorry 298.10p; Craegorry £1350, Strath 297.10p. Simmental heifer prices included: Strath £1650, £1520 & £1500, Balwherrie 308.60p & 298.10p; Balwherrie £1500, Balquhatson Mains 294.60p; Wester Mye £1470, Strath 294.00p.
At Dungannon on 12th April, suckled cows and calves sold to £1470 for a 2014 born Sim Cow with AA Bull Calf at foot presented by N Berry, and £1380 for a 2015 born Sim Cow with an AA Bull Calf at foot.
Dingwall’s sale of store and OTM cattle on 12th April saw OTM prime & feeding cows average 197.4p per kg and sold to 239.5p and £2,060 gross for a 860kg Simmental cross from Kinnahaird Farm, Contin.
Melton Mowbray’s sale of prime cows on 12th April, saw the top cow being a heavy weight Simmental from James Griffin Farming which sold to £1804.96. In the sale of breeding cattle on the same day, Simmental cows & calves from Kingarth farms sold to £2220, £2020 and £1750 respectively. In the store ring, Howard Farms sold yearling Simmental heifers to £1290 ahead. In a bumper sale of calves, Chandler & Dickman had 3 week old Simmental x bull calves to £285, with heifers from the same run to £250.
At Holmfirth on 11th April, the top price in the cows with calves at foot was £1430 for a Simmental outfit from G Ellis and sold to L Broster.
Lockerbie Auction Market saw a blinding trade for store cattle at its fortnightly sale on 11th April. Buyers came from far and wide in search of all types but especially grazing cattle. Simmental bullocks sold to 375.5ppk from Messrs Robson, Laverockhall.
In a sale of prime bulls at Borderway Mart, Carlisle on 10th April, an 840kg Simmental from Ward Farms, Westmains Farm, Lanark sold to £2633.40 to feature in the leading prices.
At Worcester’s sale of store cattle on 8th April, Simmentals took the top two prices in the continental heifers with a Simmental X at £1305 (264ppkg) from T Barbour & Son, and a further Simmental X from DJ & M Edwards at £1000. A 13-month old Simmental X at £1055 took the second top price in the steers and again from DJ & M Edwards.
At Thainstone on 7th April, Aberdeen & Northern Marts held a sale of Cast Cows and Bulls on behalf of Orkney consignors. Beef Cows sold to 280.5p per kg for a 638kg Simmental from Holland Farm, Stronsay.
On 7th April and a sale of cull cows at Frome, RM & JE Brown led the way at 220p/kg grossing £1470 for a Simmental X.
In a sale of OTM cattle at Lancaster on 7th April, steers sold to to 259.5p/kg and £1925 for a Simmental from A Kirkby & Co, Pilling.
At Gisburn’s sale of rearing calves on 6th April, Jonathan Peel’s month old Simmental bulls sold to £400 and to feature in the leading prices.
At St Boswells sale of store cattle on 6th April, Simmental bullocks from South Common sold to 338.7ppkg to feature in the leading prices.
In a sale of store cattle at Truro Market on 5th April, young steers sold well with Messrs A M & V R Pascoe of Gweek, Helston featuring in the top prices when they sold five 14 month old Simmentals at £940 and a trio of 13 month old Simmentals at £930.
On Wednesday 5th April, Harrison and Hetherington held their weekly sale of Store Cattle at Carlisle. Dairy bred bullocks sold to £1940 for a Simmental x from Auchengray Farm, Dumfries.
In a sale of calves at Oswestry on 5th April, Simmental heifers aged 2-3 months sold for £358 & £320 from J R James & Son, Church Farm.
UA’s sale of 43 rearing cattle on 5th April at Stirling, and consisting of mainly stirks, was topped at £740 for a SimX heifer from JCN & Sons.
Market Drayton’s sale of clean cattle and young bulls on 5th April saw the young bull trade race away to 326p (£2,092.92) for a Simmental from distant traveller Mr Richard Taylor, Park Lane. In the sale of store cattle, a 548kg Simmental from Mr David Swinson led the steers at £1390.
At Llandovery’s feeding cow sale on 4th April, Simmentals sold to a top of 205.70ppk or £1730 from MO Jones, Pantyrefail.
On 4th April Lawrie and Symington sold 920 Store Cattle at their April Show and Sale at Lanark. 590 bullocks were sold to a top of £1900 for 2 Simmental’s from Messrs Gilmour, Broomknowes. In a sale of store and breeding cattle at Bakewell on 3rd April the trade for bulls was led at £2550 for a Simmental from WHI Mellor, Hazel Grove.
In a sale of weanlings at Market Drayton on 3rd April, heifers topped at £750 for 11-month Simmentals from R.W. Adams & Son, Stoke-on-Trent.
In a sale of store cattle at Dumfries on 3rd April, bulls topped at £1490, & £1450 for Simmentals from Lantonside, and to £1360 for Simmentals from Abune the Brae.
At UA’s Huntly Mart on 1st April, 905 cattle were sold. OTMs sold to average 215.7p per kg selling to 253.2p per kg or £2220 for SimX from Corskie, Garmouth.
At Gisburn’s sale of rearing calves on 30th March, J & RJ Parsons, Barnoldswick had the second top price of the day with a beautiful Simmental bull calf, 1 month and 21 days, at £445.
In a sale of calves & stirks at NWA’s J36 Crooklands auction mart on 29th March, a run of suckler bred six month old Simmental bullocks from A&M Carter, Witherslack topped at £870.
At Dungannon 29th March, suckled stock saw in-calf heifers top at £1320 for a Sim presented by B Sheridan.
At Borderway, Carlisle’s sale of weaned cattle on 29th March saw the trade of bulls up massively on the week. Leading the sale was Simmental bulls sold to £1580 from Messrs Tallentire, High Griseburn, with further Simmentals sold to £1400 from Messrs Skelton, Waterloo.
Market Drayton’s sale of clean cattle and young bulls on 29th March saw a blistering trade. Distance traveller Richard Reynolds sold Simmental bulls to 313p (£1,740.28), 306p (£2,001.24), & 290p (£1,629.80). In the heifers, the Warner Family’s Simmental returned at £1,974.46.
In the sale of prime cattle at Frome on 29th March, some cracking well fed steers from EM Horn & Son topped at 262p/kg and £1974 for a Simmental x at 18mo. Others from the same good home returned at £1931, £1863.
At Oswestry’s sale of calves on 29th March, J R James & Son, Church Farm sold smart Simmental heifers aged 2-3 months for £392, £390 & £385.
At Sedgemoor’s sale of prime cattle on 27th March, heifers rose to £1,786.05 for a quality pure bred Simmental from R Bigwood, Burnham on Sea, who sold another at £1,726.46.
On Monday 27th March, Lawrie & Symington Ltd had forward 139 cattle comprising of 52 bullocks and heifers and 87 cast cows at Lanark. Beef cows sold to 274p/pk for a Simmental from Messrs Lowry, Newsteadings Farm, Lanark.
A flying sale of store cattle at Darlington on 27th March saw bulls around 12 months of age impress as local producer E Parsons sold Simmental’s to £1430 and to feature in the top prices.
Market Drayton’s sale of cull bulls on 27th March saw Simmentals lead the way at £2168 from Paul Mullee & family.
At Gisburn on 25th March, feeding cows were a flyer, selling to a high of £1260 for a Simmental X from Stephen Duckworth.
On 23rd March, at Market Drayton’s Orange Market Sale, a strong trade saw the best yarding cattle top at £1480 for a 548kg Simmental steer.
At a sale of 603 store cattle at Ayr on 23rd March, 250 Heifers Averaged 269.2p or £1147.64. Heifer prices topped at £1850 for a Simmental off Laigh Drumdow.
In a sale of prime cattle at Frome on 22nd March, Simmental heifers with shape and cover from Waddon Farm sold to 257p/kg and to lead the gross prices at £1603.
The carbon footprint of agriculture in Ireland is under the microscope and whether you agree with it or not, we have fixed targets to achieve in the next seven years.
From a beef production point of view, age of slaughter is the area that is expected to lead to the greatest reduction in emissions. The logic is simple; the longer an animal is alive, the more it eats.
Producing beef at a younger age, significantly reduces not only the carbon footprint of the beef produced, but also the input costs.
The importance of age of slaughter is further highlighted in the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation’s (ICBF’s) recent announcement that it will soon have its own sub-index, which will feed directly into the existing terminal and replacement indexes.
This represents the first major change in the index calculations in seven years and there is an expected terminal breeding value increase of approximately €1/day lower slaughter age.
SIMMENTAL CATTLE’S RAPID GROWTH RATE
Simmental cattle have always been renowned for their rapid growth rate. This fact is to the fore if you look at recent reports from Tullamore farm.
The 2022-born Simmental heifers on the farm have an average liveweight in February or 435kg – 50kg higher than any other breed. The top was a February-born Simmental heifer which weighed 485kg at just a year old.
The top weight of last year’s bulls was a February-born Simmental weighing 580kg at a year old, which translates to an average daily gain of 1.52kg/day since birth. All this growth rate was achieved before the bulls even started their intensive finishing stage.
The kill data for the 2021 bulls was presented at the Tullamore Farm open day earlier this year, where the Simmental bulls produced the same carcass weight as the other main continental breeds 10 days earlier and with a higher fat score.
This level of performance is in line with previous results from ICBF’s Tully test centre. In one trial, eight Simmental bulls were slaughtered at 13 months with an average carcass weight of 374kg and a feed efficiency 6.2kg.
The top performer had a carcass weight of 404kg at 13 months with a feed efficiency of 5.98kg.
One of the biggest challenges of slaughtering bulls this young, is to achieve an adequate fat score, however the Simmental bulls averaged 3- for fat.
Another example is that in seven year of Tully trials, the average age of slaughter for Simmental steers was between 50 and 80 days younger that the other main continental breeds.
Weight for age has always been the motto of the Simmental breed. Our years of dedication to maximising growth potential, particularly pre-weaning has given the breed a head-start in what is probably the single biggest challenge facing the future of our sector.
AGE OF SLAUGHTER AND CARBON RELATIONSHIP
As a sector we have been set a target of reducing the age of slaughter to under 24 months, and top-performing Simmental bulls are taking a further 10 months off that.
It’s not just 10 months less emissions, it’s 10 months less feeding too.
In summary, the key message is having a breed type that can be slaughtered at a young age with the necessary fat cover, will result in much less input costs, deliver greater returns and help in the carbon challenge.
NOTE: Thank you to the AgriIand Team, and also the Irish Simmental Cattle Society for the use of this article
Let’s hear it for Lizzie Harding, Cornerfields Farm, Uxbridge, Bucks, who won the Young Stockperson award at the recent record-breaking Stirling Simmental Sale held in February. A young but long time Simmental enthusiast, Lizzie is heavily involved with the family’s Hallway herd. On a bit of a busman’s holiday at Stirling Lizzie, who is studying veterinary medicine at Nottingham University, was working with the Westridge Simmental bulls of Ward Farms, West Mains Farm, Carnwath, Lanarkshire.
Held at the February and October Stirling Simmental Sales each year, the Young Stockperson award recognises the Young Simmental member who over the three days of the inspection, pre-sale show, and the sale itself, has been judged to have shown enthusiasm, an eye for detail, and an all-round ability in the preparation, handling, and presentation of their Simmental bulls.
Judging the Young Stockperson Award at the February Sale was BSCS Council member Richard Storer Smith who himself runs the Storersmith Simmental herd at Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. Commenting, Richard said: “These high profile bull sales provide fantastic experience for Young Simmental Members both in the skills of looking after and preparing the sale animals, but also in communicating with fellow breeders, potential purchasers, and general promotion of the Simmental breed. Lizzie shows fantastic ability, is just full of bubbly enthusiasm, and was a very worthy winner of this award.” Come sale time and it was a solid sale for the Westridge herd who sold their bulls at 6500gns, and 4800gns x2.
No stranger to Young Simmental events, and general breed shows and sales, Lizzie has been competing in and winning young stockperson awards over some ten years. Lizzie’s abilities and enthusiasm for all things Simmental is backed up by her tremendous in-depth knowledge of pedigrees in the Simmental Herdbook! A big well done is extended to Lizzie and all of the Simmental Young Members at Stirling who promoted the breed so well.
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