Pedigree Aberdeen-Angus breeders flocked to Skipton Mart in North Yorkshire for the dispersal of the Norfolk-based Shadwell herd.
The two auctioneers behind the sale – Craven Cattle Marts (CCM) and United Auctions – hailed a “tremendous trade” with 153 cattle selling for a combined total of £653,730.
Two new breed record averages were set – £9,400 for in-calf heifers and £10,500 for maiden heifers – and the sale topped at 28,000gn for a cow and calf outfit.
The sale topper – when sold to John Steel for his Westdrums herd based near Allanton, Duns – was 2014-born Shadwell Lady Heather P738 and her January-born heifer calf, Lady Heather Y292, at foot.
The cow is by Te Mania Berkley B1, out of the Netherallan Peter Pershore EO52-sired Lady Heather M572, and her calf is by Shadwell Evolution T003.
The next best price of 22,000gn was paid for a daughter of Lady Heather P738.
This was maiden heifer Lady Heather X250, by Shadwell Evolution, selling to Devon breeders Mike and Melanie Alford at Foxhill Farm.
Other leading prices included 10,000gn for 2015-born Shadwell Blackbird R797, by the £40,000 Rawburn Black Hawk. Scanned in-calf to Evolution, she sold to the Adam family at Newhouse of Glamis, Forfar.
Her bull calf son – Shadwell black Magic X281, by Evolution – sold for 14,000gn to Neil and Mark Wattie for their Tonley herd at Mains of Tonley, Alford.
Speaking following the sale, herd manager Robert Clarke said: “It was a sad day for myself and my family, including daughters Maddie and Isobel, and I can only thank them for their hard work over the past 10 months.
“We had been with the Shadwell herd for the last 12 years with much success along the way, but I couldn’t have asked for a better sale.”
He added: “I thought the herd was heading in the right direction with the young females we had coming through and was so pleased that the prices reflected this. It’s never a one-man effort and I can’t thank everyone enough for their help with the sale.”
Sale averages: in-calf cows, £6,021; in-calf heifers, £9,400; heifer calves, £4,830; maiden heifers, £10,500; cows and calves, £6,253; bull calves, £5,378; stock and senior bulls, £7,350; and intermediate bulls, £2,100.
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