On Friday 24 March, the Cork Holstein Friesian Club held its annual heifer and cow in milk show and sale in Corrin Mart, Fermoy.

There were 56 females forward from Cork club members for the annual spring show and sale, with plenty of quality on offer for the purchasers around the ring and online.

The poor weather conditions and a recent drop in milk price failed to deter the vast number of buyers, the results of which saw the females reach highs of €3,500.

Champion heifer: John O'Callaghan, Mountfarna herd, with judge Ivan Nagle.

The champion heifer in milk title was awarded to John O’Callaghan’s Mountfarna Mistie Dawn.

Out of a VG85 dam Mountfarna Twist Dawn, she was sired by Mountfarna Mistie and sold for €2,420.

Reserve champion

The reserve champion heifer in milk title was awarded to Glenrea Bardo Lulu from the herd of Martin and Michael Kennedy.

This heifer was bred out of a VG86 Glenrea GTW Lulu dam and was sired Benner Bardo and she sold for €2,600.

The champion cow in milk was again from the herd of Martin and Michael Kennedy; this time it was Glenrea Monty Kim 2752 that took the top spot. Classified VG83 and with an EBI of €170, she sold for €2,660.

The reserve champion cow in milk spot was scooped by Ballydehob Casp Patsy from Robert Shannon.

Out of Ballydehob Buster Patsy and sired by Claynook Casper ET, she sold for €2,880, which was the second-highest price at the sale.

High note

The sale finished on a high, with the top price of €3,500 being secured for the final lot of the sale when the hammer fell for Kevin Dillon’s Mountcarmel Sidekick Laurie.

The young cow was bred out of Mountcarmel Atwood Laurie and was sired by Walnutlawn Sidekick and had multiple generations of VG- and EX-classified cows behind her.

The 56 animals forward met an 86% clearance rate and met an average of €2,250, highlighting the strong demand for well-bodied pedigree dairy stock with good udders and strong milk components.