The Handleys – Ian and Diane and Ian’s brother Peter – Gunnerfleet, Chapel-le-Dale, made their presence felt at the Craven Champions calf sale at Skipton, buying several of the lead priced lots.
Top on their list at £2500 was the reserve champion, a 10-month-old Limousin heifer by Lodge Hamlet, from Janet and James Huck, Sowerthwaite, Austwick. She is out of a British Blue cross Limousin dam.
Following a successful career breeding pedigree Limousins at Gunnerfleet, Mr Handley explained that the family’s farming policy is now to buy in the best bulling heifers, follow a strictly planned and controlled health regime, then put them to an easy calving pedigree Limousin bull, a Plumtree Fantastic son from the Garrowby herd at Bugtorpe, York.
Moving forward, he added that the plan is to sell progeny in calf at a special sale, with some 52 show potential breeding cattle already on the ground.
The Handleys also bought the champion, an un-haltered British Blue cross heifer for £2200 from Geoff Walker and his two sons, John and Rob, Brennand Farm, Dunsop Bridge, who landed a record breaking eighth championship, this time with an un-haltered 13-month-old heifer.
She is by the Walker’s former stock bull, Cromwell Fendt, which bred the family’s eight previous champion winners. The Walkers also sold the second top priced lot at £2300, a 13-month-old haltered British Blue heifer again by Fendt but out of a Blonde cross cow. She was knocked down to BE and CA Allsop, Sproxton on the Leicestershire-Lincolnshire border.
The two second prize winning haltered heifers from Sheila Mason, Keasden Head, Clapham, both sold to Gunnerfleet, with the dearest at £1900, being a Limousin cross by Coachhouse Lionheart, and the other at £1800, a British Blue cross by Keasden Head Laddie.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here