Limousin hybrid heifer sells for €9,500 at Elite Haltered sale
Lot 52 - the Feburary-born hybrid heifer out of Imperial de l’Ecluse and sired by Elite Ice Cream
Christmas came early for sellers at the Elite Commercial Haltered Cattle Sale.
The sale held at Ballybofey and Stranorlar Co-operative Livestock Mart on Saturday had a whole array Charolais, Limousin and Belgian Blue stock on offer.
Top breeds that will always demand top interest.
A catalogue of almost 150 weanling bulls, heifers and breeding heifers met with a fired-up trade.
With prices of €7,300, €6,800 and €5,300 achieved for heifers and in-calf heifers, it was a sale with plenty of interested buyers, both online and at the ringside.
However, the highlight of the day, the highest price paid, went to a February-born Limousin heifer owned by Michael Lynch from Donegal.
This well-bred Limousin-Belgian Blue cross heifer out of Imperial de l’Ecluse and sired by Elite Ice Cream weighed 460kg and sold in a packed sales ring on Saturday for a whopping €9,500.
She's a granddaughter of Rosemount Fatima, who also made her mark, breeding a number of show winners, including Rosemount Jake (ET), who was sold to Progressive Genetics from the Rosemount herd.
Needless to say, the seller, Michael Lynch, was thrilled.
"I'd like to thank everyone who helped over the weekend, to Martin Harold for a steady hand on the clippers, and to Evelyn Nic Fhionnghaile for her great help all year," he said.
"I would like to say a big thank you to all buyers and underbidders, and another big thanks to Brian Crawford and Stewart Thompson and all staff at Stranorlar Mart livestock for a well-organised sale. I hope all buyers have luck with the stock they purchased."
Growing up, the farm was made up of a few pedigree Charolais cattle, with a small number of commercial stock.
Explaining how he got into the breed, he said: "We used to have a herd of 50 and run a Charolais bull and would AI a few to Belgian Blue bulls, but we sold all out and decided to keep less but better quality.
"I got up one morning and headed for Carnew Mart to Trevor Ashmore's clearance sale of pedigree blues and bought a foundation female. I was lucky enough that she flushed well for me and produced a few fine heifer calves, and they are starting to breed some lovely calves themselves now, which I hope to take to Carrick-on-Shannon sale in two weeks' time.
"I suppose it won’t happen every night that you'll get big prices like this, but if you keep at the hard work and put in the time, your turn will come for a bite at the cherry, and i was lucky enough to get mine at the Elite Haltered Sale."
