Virtual Wagyu sale hits 13,000gns for cow and calf

One of the UK’s first virtual sales hit an average of £6,352 for Wagyu females at Hexham on Saturday (30 June), as online bidders met in a conference suite to bid for leading Wagyu genetics.

No animals were present on the day at the Wagyu Breeder’s Association (WBA), as buyers relied on detailed performance figures and catalogue notes penned by Steve Bennett of Wagyu International.  

A selection of full-bloods, purebreds and first-crosses were up for grabs at the Tynedale Farmers Suite at Hexham and Northern Marts. Full-blooded cattle took the headlines. 

Topping the trade at 13,000gns was Delta Wagyu from High Warrendale Farm, Warter, York, which was sold to an undisclosed online buyer.

She sold with a Peppermill Grove daughter at foot, an Australian-bred sire and son of the famous top-ranking Mayura Itoshigenami Jnr, which sired the AUS$185,000 (£103,000) polled Midnight M0775.

See also: Wagyu beef adds value to dairy calf enterprise

Peppermill Grove boasts a terminal carcass index of +AUS$381 (£213) above a breed average of +AUS$150 (£84).

Another heifer then made 4,200gns, heading home with M&K Chippendale, Wharton Hall, Kirkby Stephen. She was from Devon-based Uprising Properties, Park Farm, Bishopsteignton.

She is by Uprising Kobe Akihito and out of Tyddewi FH6996. She is rated for strong maternal traits and milkiness and was born in September 2015.

Bulls topped at 3,500gns, going to dairy farmers DI and HGB Evans, Parc Cynog Farm, Carmarthen, for American Marine from Earl Stonham Farms, Suffolk. He is by Lake Wagyu C87 and out of Oasis Senaka J62.

Hexham auctioneer Drew Patrick opens the Wagyu sale

Embryos

Eleven embryos were sold to average £869 and top at 1,200gns. This price was paid per embryo for four embryos pairing Sumo Michfuku F126 with Westholme K5035.

Semen

Semen from Peppermill Grove made 100gns/straw for 10 straws, heading to Philip Maddock, Chadwell Park Farm, Newport, Shropshire.

Averages: 4 females, £6,352; 2 bulls, £2,992; 11 embryos, £869; 70 semen straws, £78. (Hexham and Northern Marts)