Co. Down-based Charolais breeder, Harry Heron hosted his first-ever online sale in conjunction with Harrison and Hetherington auctioneers last month.
The herd is home to the Loughriscouse prefix and Heron had selected a range of females and one bull for the sale which was held online through MartEye.
Pre-sale interest was strong with a large number of new and established breeders attending the open viewing at the home of Loughriscouse in Newtownards.
Statistics from sale:
- Seven heifers averaged £4,757.14;
- Three cows and calves at foot averaged £5,250/outfit;
- One bull sold at £4,000.
Prices soared to a whopping £7,100 for Loughriscouse Tannisha who was Senior Female Champion at Charolais Future Stars in 2023, in addition to collecting a red rosette at this year’s Balmoral Show.
She was purchased by Matthew Ham from Somerset in the UK.
Changing hands at £6,700 was a super outfit selling to AR and J McKeown, Ballymena, Co. Antrim.
Loughriscouse Sahara and her heifer calf are the full package, and were sold running with the multi-award winning stock bull Falleninch Sancerre.
Lot number one was high on the wish list, realising £6,000. Loughriscouse Tafara. This beauty won her class at the NI Charolais Club Future Stars Show in 2023, and was bought by local breeder Liam Clarke from Portaferry, Co. Down.
Speaking after the sale, James Little from H&H revealed that there were 8,930 views over the sale weekend with a total of 216 bids, and a 100% clearance recorded! 42% of the lots in the sale were purchased for export to the mainland UK.
He said: “The beauty of online sales for a select offering like this is that besides the fact that it is cost effective for the vendor, the ability to reach far across the country is phenomenal.
“Tie that together with a strong marketing campaign and the success story is there to tell.”
Heron wished all buyers well with their Loughriscouse purchases and also thanked all those who assisted to ensure the sale was a success.
