[H]arrison and Hetherington have today announced that the annual spring sale of pedigree Limousin cattle has attracted the largest collective sale of the breed seen at Carlisle for many years at 418 head.
Held under auspices of the British Limousin Cattle Society, and taking place at Harrison & Hetherington’s Borderway Mart on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th May, this sale is one of the key dates in H&H’s annual livestock calendar. This year there are 218 bulls and 200 females entered, almost double the number of females entered last year.
With consigners from the length and breadth of the UK, including Northern Ireland, this two day show and sale of Limousin Cattle has attracted entries, appropriately described as the cream of the crop. The sale is expected to attract keen interest.
The Limousin Society is very honoured to have Dougie Graham from Burnbank, Stirling, judging the pre-sale show of bulls. Judging will commence at 9.00am on the Friday, followed by the sale of females at 2.30pm. The sale of bulls will commence on the Saturday at 10.30 am.
Speaking in advance of the sale Harrison & Hetherington’s auctioneer, Grant Anderson, said: “There is, and always has been a very close association between ourselves and the Limousin Cattle Society. This is one of the Society’s key sales of the year, renowned for attracting outstanding animals and this year will be no exception as we have such a tremendous catalogue of entries.
“Currently there is strong confidence in the pedigree and commercial sectors of the cattle industry and this sale will as always, provide a very good spring benchmark as it is aimed at both commercial and pedigree breeders.”
The Limousin is the largest numerical beef breed in the UK, often claimed as the ‘Carcase Breed’. The bulls are extremely fertile and their conformation is passed on to all progeny whilst their lighter frame ensures ease of calving. Limousin females, both pure and cross-bred, have demonstrated high fertility, a good milking ability, high conception rate and ease of calving.
Commenting, the British Limousin Cattle Society’s (BLCS) Chief Executive, Iain Kerr said: “Harrison & Hetherington’s Borderway Mart has developed over many years into the well-established centre for Premier BLCS Pedigree Sales for both bulls and females. We are really delighted to see over 400 pedigree Limousins entered into the upcoming May Sale. There will be a terrific choice on offer across both bulls and females for both pedigree breeders and commercial producers and to fit all budgets.
“The market is looking for easy-calving, quality, cheap-to-produce cattle that hit targets, and recent changes to weight specification at slaughter fit the Limousin breed extremely well. It’s an exciting catalogue for both bulls and females with some of the best Limousin genetics on offer and backed up by strong performance figures.”
Full details of the sale and consigners can be found on www.harrisonandhetherington.co.uk.