Farming: Poor day for Charolais sales in Stirling

If BUYERS throughout the week had been selective, yesterday they were downright choosy as only 64 per cent of Charolais bulls forward at the Stirling sales were sold and the average dropped £1,151 on the year to £4,536 for 103 sold, 20 fewer than 2009.

There were some highlights however, including the top price of the day of 13,000gns for Goldies Empire, a first prize bull by Goldies Ambassador from Hamish Goldie, South Bowerhpuses, Dumfries, which was knocked down to investment banker Jan Boomars, Heathdown, Woldingham, buying for his Vexour herd. On Monday he had paid the top price of 12,000gns for an Aberdeen Angus.

The overall and intermediate champion, Thrunton Explosive, went for 12,000gns in a joint deal to two of the north's leading show calf producers, Michael Durno , Auchorachan, Glenlivet, and Iain Wilson , Wester Cairnglass, Gollanfield, Inverness. This son of Burradon Talisman was sold by the Campbell Family, Thrunton, Alnwick.

Two Aberdeenshire cattle men, Ian Thomson, Airdlin, Ythanbank, Ellon, and Ronald Smith, Wester Coull, Tarland, teamed up to buy two of the top-priced bulls of the day including the 12,000gns Mountjoy Eros from Northern Ireland seller, Caldwell McAskie, Lisnagirr Road, Omagh.

Thomson has 25 pedigree cows and Smith is a large-scale commercial producer and they also paid 10,000gns for the reserve intermediate champion, Maerdy Oag by the 55,000gns Thrunton Voldemort, from Esmor Evans, Monfa, Flintshire.

Evans also sold his junior bull, Maerdy Ellwood by Maerdy Padiracwhich, to fellow Welshman Williams for 8,800gns.

Father and son John and Raymond Irvine, Inverlochy, Tomintoul, sold at 9,000gns for Inverlochy Diehard to JI and WN Stout, Whitehall, Stronsay, Orkney. Apache was this year's Royal Highland interbreed junior champion and the reserve overall Beefbreeder.

Another to go at this price was Jimmy Wilson's junior reserve champion Ugie Echo from his Barnyards Farm at Mintlaw. This one was bought by Major David Walter, Balthayock, Perth.