A top price of €4,100 was realised at the Udel Hereford production sale for David and Daithi Carroll, Coole, Campile, Co Wexford. The sale drew buyers from all over the country, with a strong interest from Northern Ireland, Scotland and the south of England. The Udel pedigree herd is one of the leading polled Hereford herds in the country and is well known in the UK, Denmark and Northern Ireland, where a number of cattle have been exported to over the years.

In Ireland, no more than 10% of pedigree Herefords are polled, compared with 55% worldwide.

Forty-two in-calf and maiden heifers were on offer and 78% sold for an average price of €2,567.

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The sale topper, Udel 1 ALC Mayflower 1127, was described in the catalogue as “out of one of the best breeding cows in the herd and with sires like WTK Bond, Circle D Wrangler and Nick the Butler in her pedigree, she could be the pick of the sale”. And so, she took the top price of €4,100 for purchaser Daniel Gallagher, Co Fermanagh. The same man also bought Udel 1 Mayflower for €2,800.

Next highest at €3,800 was Udel 1 BC Fijian Gem, a Kidman Blue Chip daughter, purchased this time by William Andrew, Arranview Herd, Auchincruive, Ayrshire, Scotland.

Not stopping there, the same Scottish farmer went on to buy Udel 1 BH Garden Gem, by stock bull Udel 1 B1 Ben Hur, at €2,600; Udel 1 BL Edible Orange, a Yalgoo Boulder daughter, at €2,600; and the yearling heifer Udel 1 ALC Heavy Curly, by Udel 1 R51 A La Carte, at €2,150.

Udel 1 BC Frisky Curly, another Kidman Bluechip daughter, sold to Daniel Conlon, Trillick, Co Tyrone, for €3,250.

The same purchaser also bought Udel 1 Honey Gem, an 18-month-old Ben Hur daughter, at €2,450.

Meanwhile, Anthony McCarthy, Banteer, Co Cork, purchased Udel 1 BC Floral Necklace at €3,150. She is also by Kidman Bluechip, one of the youngest bulls ever to win the Australian Polled National Show and Sale at Dubbo, NSW.

An Allendale Waterloo B50 daughter, Udel 1 WL Fairy Snowdrop, in-calf to Allendale Superstar, sold for €3,200 to John Nolan, Co Carlow.

Michael McDonald, Co Wexford, purchased another Allendale Superstar daughter, Udel 1 SS Lovely Emma, at €2,600, while Ronan Kerrigan, Kells, Co Meath, paid €2,600 for Udel 1 ALC Happy Melody, a 16-month-old daughter of Udel 1 R51 A La Carte.

Fergal Morohan, Boyle, Co Roscommon, purchased the 21-month-old Udel 1 WL Gayle, by Allendale Waterloo, for €2,550.

At nine months old, the two youngest heifers in the sale, Udel 1 BH Mayflower 1270 and Udel 1 BH Hippy Plumb, were bought by Eric Humphreys, Newbliss, and John Bass, Gorey, Co Wexford, respectively for €1,800 each.

The only bull on offer, Udel 1 BL Ben Hur, was unsold at €3,000. He was the stock sire of 15 heifers that were on offer at the sale.