Agriculture: Stirling Simmentals see healthy clearance rate at good prices

THE second week of the spring bull sales at Stirling kicked off yesterday with the Simmental breed when four five-figure prices helped the average to £4,751.83 for 135. However, it was the commercial trade which underpinned the sale and boosted the 88 per cent clearance rate.

Auctioneer David Leggat said the trade was driven by commercial producers looking for a blend of maternal and terminal traits to breed their own replacements and create self-contained, high-health herds.

Scottish NFU president Jim McLaren was delighted when his bull jointly topped the sale at 20,000 guineas. Blackford Worzel 2nd was bought as a calf at foot when McLaren purchased much of the Blackford herd from Billy and Anne MacPherson last March.

McLaren remembered fondly the first bull he sold – a dairy bull at Carlisle which made 1700gns. It was the demise of the dairy at Dargill, Crieff, which led to the purchase of about 50 Simmentals from the MacPhersons. McLaren also runs 70 commercial sucklers but the plan is to build up the pedigree herd and hopefully eventually phase out the cross cows.

The buyer was Borders breeder, Clive Houldey, who runs the 60-strong Manorpark herd at The Dods, Lauder.

The other bull to make 20,000gns was the junior and overall champion, Auchorachan Wizard from Michael Durno, Glenlivet. This was his first championship at the bull sales; the bull went to breeder, Jo Wilson of Ballinalare, Newry, County Down.

Prize-winner Auchorachan Winger sold for 10,000gns to Robert Macgregor, Kirkton of Mailer, Perth.

Also sold at 10,000gns was Innerwick Winchester from Lindsay and Dorothy Moffat's long-established herd at Dunbar. This one was bought by W J Barclay, Whiteknowes, Buckie.

One of the oldest bulls in the sale and the reserve overall champion, Banwy Wonderbot from R E Jones, Foel, Welshpool, made 9,500gns to J & V Wood, Popes Farm, Preston. Father and son Michael and John Barlow, of Littlewood Hall, Preston, sold Denizes Warrior to Burneton of Lynegar at the same price.

The reserve intermediate champion, Kilbride Farm Warren from Billy Robson, Kilbride, Ballyclare, also made 9,500gns to A Connolly, Stenrieshill, Moffat. Also at this price, the Leedham family from Grangewood, Derbyshire, sold Grangewood Wallace to Perthshire commercial producers, R K Bryce & Son, Airntully, Stanley.

Bringing a bit of Latin American flavour to the Stirling sale was the sombrero-wearing Mexican, Francisco Elizando, president of the Mexican Charolais Association, and his fellow Charolais enthusiast, Dr Fernando Gonzalez. The two are in the country visiting farms and the sales to check out progeny of various bulls before purchasing semen for their herds at home.

They were joined by a Brazilian contingent who were looking at British genetics for various breeds, mainly Aberdeen Angus.

Marcello Vezozzo has the sixth biggest semen-selling company in Brazil, a country with 200 million cows. He said the most important things for him was cattle which were not too big and had good maternal traits in order to produce meat from grass.

The potential for exporting British semen to South America is huge with Brazil taking 600,000 doses of Angus semen alone last year, mostly from the United States and Canada.