A 260kg October-2022 born pedigree Belgian Blue heifer swept the boards at the NI Commercial Cattle Exhibitors’ Club’s ‘Young Stars’ Show and Sale’ at Clogher Mart on Monday (February 20th, 2023) night when she changed hands for £13,000 (just over €14,770).
Exhibited by Chris Johnston, Gareth Corrie tapped lot 21, Johnstown Sapphire, by Mountjoy Utopia and an Empire cow, out as overall supreme champion 2023 just over one hour before she went under the hammer.
She entered the sales ring later that evening after scooping the silverware with seller, Johnston, a renowned suckler and sheep farmer from Fivemiletown, Co Tyrone, who previously featured on Rare Breed – A Farming Year, accompanied by Allen Shortt on the halter.
£13,000 BB heifer
The auctioneer commented:
“She is registered with the Belgian Blue Society, and a hair sample was sent to it two weeks ago. Chris is standing over this, saying that she will have pedigree papers. He thinks a lot of her.”
“She is the overall champion of the day and is only October born. That is some heifer there,” before he went on to request £15,000 and secured an opening bid of £6,000.
This price tag was met with £1,000 lightening increments thereafter to £12,000, which was followed by a further £500 bid and later a further £500, which brought the hammer price to £13,000 (£50/kg or just over €56/kg) from a phone bidder.
The £36,000 Sassy Girl
Johnston bred Sassy Girl, which made headlines last year after she sold for a record-breaking £36,000 (just over €41,000).
The Trueman Idol daughter out of Rocky-sired, Ashmara Classygirl, was tapped out as reserve champion at the Welsh Winter Fair 2022.
She previously scooped the supreme champion silverware at Harrison and Hetherington’s 13th Borderway Agri Expo as reported by That’s Farming, and secured the first prize winner at the Limousin Society’s 50th-anniversary show.
She made her debut on the show circuit at Balmoral in May before she went on to claim first prize in the national at Carlisle in July.
The Limousin heifer was from the joint (Katrina and James from Wigton) and Shortt (Allen and Little Emma Shortt, Co. Tyrone) partnership.
That’s Farming understands that Emma Shortt purchased Sassy Girl as an embryo as a gift for Allen Shortt from Chris Johnston.
Read more on this news article on That’s Farming.
