Cherryvalley Valuable became the second-highest-priced beef Shorthorn heifer ever sold and the highest-priced beef Shorthorn female ever sold in Northern Ireland when she sold for £17,200 (€20,016) in the recent Cherryvalley production sale.

It proved a strong first outing for Mitchells Auction Company in the pedigree sector and also marked the company’s first sale conducted through the online platform MartEye.

Demand stretched well beyond Northern Ireland, with seven lots - representing 54% of the offerings - heading across the water to British buyers.

Cattle found new homes as far afield as the Isle of Bute, Aberdeenshire, Somerset and Cornwall.

Irish sire

The record-breaking Valuable is an April 2024-born daughter of the Irish-bred sire Creaga Rolex, which was purchased from the Dowd family in Co Galway.

Valuable came to auction with the reserve female championship from Balmoral Show in her locker and sold in-calf to Creaga Malibu, secured in the end by Yvonne Hopkins of Splotts Farm in Somerset.

Averages

Following the sale leader, CherryValley Voila realised £4,700 (€5,469), while CherryValley Valentine sold for £4,500.

CherryValley Young Gun reached £4,200 (€4,887), with CherryValley You’re The Boy completing the leading prices at £4,000 (€4,655).

The two bulls forward averaged £4,100 (€4,771), while five in-calf heifers produced an impressive average of £6,780 (€7,890).

Six maiden heifers averaged £3,566 (€4,149).

For herd manager Mervyn Robinson, the sale was a memorable result for the CherryValley herd, which is owned by Dr Peter Fitzgerald of Randox Health.