The Swiftsheath Friesian herd of Tom and Maura Murphy, Kilkenny, hosted an on-farm sale of young stock earlier in the month.

Undertaken by Taaffe Auctions, the sale boasted a 100% clearance with prices rising to nearly €4,700.

Comprising 51 lots of served heifers, bulling heifers and heifer calves, the sale attracted bidders from across the country.

A fully online sale, a total of seven of these 51 lots sold for over €2,500, with four of these in excess of €3,000.

Topping the sale at €4,672 was Lumville G Danoise. This show potential yearling heifer is a granddaughter of the famous Lumville Danoise 2 EX94, who won a number of titles including the prestigious Baileys cow competition and was twice champion at the RUAS Winter Fair.

Sired by EDG Bob Cyprus, the young heifer is backed by three generations of VG or EX dams, with production yields in excess of 10,000kg milk.

Hitting the market at €3,832 was Swiftsheath Susie Mist 1968.

A potential 10th generation VG or EX classified cow, her VG87 classified dam hit nearly 10,000kg milk of 755kg solids in her second lactation. This February 2020-born heifer is a daughter of Seagull-Bay MVP ET.

New Dexter sale for Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Dexter Cattle Group is set for a brand new sale at midday on Saturday 29 May at Beatties Livestock Sales Centre, Omagh.

The sale will be the first official UK Dexter society sale to be held in Ireland and has attracted an array of top-quality cattle from some of NI’s top breeders. A total of 10 males and 16 females will be on offer with black, red and dun-coloured animals on offer.

With a thriving demand for Dexter beef, alongside the breed’s ability to flourish in all types of ground, which produces top-quality grass fed beef, this sale is the ideal opportunity for both new and existing breeders to add some top quality cattle to their herds.