BLACK COATED Limousins set the trend over their red cousins, with two sharing the day’s top price of 12,000gns at the Perth Bull Sales at Stirling this week.

Those two five-figure prices helped put the average up by more than £150 on last year, with 68 head levelling at £4376. That was a 71% clearance from what was, at times, a sticky trade.

The top prices went to the Adams family of Drew, son Bob and his wife Kay, who brought out a team of six to level at £8855, including both of the sale leaders. All their entries were by the Newhouse herd’s new stock bull Tamarvalley Boscastle.

The first of the team to make 12,000gns was the reserve junior champion, Newhouse Black Dominator, which was a maternal half brother, out of Newhouse Teak, to last February’s Perth champion which made 16,000gns. Weighing in at 1020kg as an August, 2008-born youngster, this bull was homozygous black, meaning he will definitely throw black calves, while he was heterozygous polled (not guaranteed to breed that feature). Making the final bid on him was George McGregor, The Binn, Glenfarg, who was buying a new stock bull for his family’s 200-cow commercial suckler herd.

Later, that big price was matched by herd mate Newhouse Black Denver – which was heterozygous for both coat and horns – which heads off to Northern Ireland after being bought by pedigree breeder, Will Corrie, for his Drumhilla herd, at Newtownards, Co Down.

The next bull in from the same home was the third top of the sale, giving the Adams the hat-trick of top prices. That was Newhouse Black Dakota, which was purchased at 9000gns by Brian Marrs for his Elva Plain herd at Cockermouth, Cumbria.