Charolais establish new UK record £5,049 average
UK - 25,000gns top; 140 lots sold; 72% clearance.
31 October 2006
2 minute read
Charolais bulls met a solid trade peaking at 25,000gns in Perth on Thursday 26 October, with a new UK all beef breeds average of £5,049 established for 140 lots traded. Those figures represented the highest number of bulls of any breed coming under the hammer sold during the week’s autumn multi-breed sales and a 72% clearance.
“Trade was underpinned throughout by commercial producers who in the last few weeks have reaped the rewards from their Charolais cross calves which have attracted premium prices from finishers at the autumn store sales,” commented British Charolais Cattle Society chief executive, David Benson. “These suckler men are beginning to realize that as the new payments recede and modulation begins to bite, the one way they can improve their returns is by investing in a Charolais bull to produce fast growing calves that achieve that weight for age, together with good conformation and quiet temperament.”
Sale leader at 25,000gns was Garracloon Vidame, a rising two year old who had collected the senior and overall supreme championships the previous day for Sean McGovern and his 11 year old daughter, Eimear, of Clogher, County Tyrone. “Vidame has length and scale, he is a very correct bull with immense power,” commented Kevin Thomas after the five hour judging stint.
Sean McGovern, who established his 12 cow Ratory herd of pedigree Charolais five years ago and has since sold to 15,000gns, commented: “Winning the Perth title was among our goals and we feel very incredibly lucky in that we haven’t had to wait as long as many others.”
Vidame was bred in County Mayo by Susan MacHale and offered at an official breed society sale at Carrick-on-Shannon earlier this year where he was identified by Sean McGovern to have that Perth potential. Irish breeders were out in force in Perth keen to return him home, however they lost out to a telephone bid from Scottish purchaser, Gordon Cameron, Acharacle, Argyll. Sired by the Paris Show champion, Jupiter, he was out of a Garracloon bred cow by Doonally New. Vidame who weighed in at 1,040kgs, made his inaugural trip across the water in June to the Royal Highland where he secured the Marks & Spencer Beefbreeder interbreed championship, and since then has taken the breed and interbreed championship titles at Clogher Valley show.
Source: farminguk.com
