Archive Article: 1998/01/30
Farmers gathered at Lower
Metcombe, an exposed
coastal farm in Devon, for a
dairy dispersal last week…
Parkroad herd
Average prices £/head
Cows and heifers 704
Served heifers 693
Heifer calves 272
Southpool herd
Average prices £/head
Cows 705
Calved heifers 684
Served heifers 515
Yearlings 392
Heifer calves 318
OK you lot, form an orderly queue and wait your turn… going through the auction ring for R * Chugg was the Parkroad herd of 190 Holstein Friesians. The cows had a 1996/97 average of 7603kg at 4.18% butterfat and 3.39% protein. Margin over concentrates was £1401.
Anyone attending in a four-wheel-drive was at a distinct advantage, with rain falling the night before.
Those ringside saw a top price of 1420gns, paid for a recently-calved heifer, called Parkroad Fancy 5. According to the auctioneers, the best stock met a brisk trade, but there was not the interest in the older animals. Over-quota milk production may also have limited demand.
Getting the brush-off…
Recording the day for posterity… Julie Chugg gets a few snaps for the family album. And the FW photographer gets one of her.
It was a busy week for auctioneer Terry Hamlin of Stags, only recently back in the rostrum after breaking his leg. The jokes about lameness wore a bit thin after a while, he laughs. He was also in action the following day at Court Barton, Kingsbridge, where a top bid of 2000gns came at the dispersal of the Southpool herd of Holstein Friesians. This event also saw a March 1997-born heifer calf make 1700gns.
Whats this – sleeping on the job? For some of the younger visitors to Lower Metcombe, it was all a little too much at times.