Based in Co. Westmeath, the McGee family’s second online on-farm sale of E- and U-grade breeding suckler stock drew to a close last night (Monday, December 5).
The sale was a timed auction and took place on the MartEye app in association with Mid Tipperary Co Operative Livestock Mart (Thurles Mart).
The sale featured 43 lots and the reserve price was surpassed on all lots in the sale.
Taking the top price in the sale was January 2022-born Belgian Blue Bull Rainbows End (372 2144752 1 4713). The red bull sold for an impressive €52,500.
The bull was a pedigree-registered embryo calf and was described in the online sale catalogue as “a very rare and special calf”.
The catalogue also said: “Looking past his colour for a moment, he also has everything else you’d desire in a bull.
“He has enormous width and length, full up of the plates and a softness not every blue has. He also has four super legs with bone and how often do you get all that and still have correctness and mobility.”
The catalogue outlined that the red and white colour came from both red and white parents.
Rainbows End was sired by BE 7638 5 3271. The sire is described in the catalogue as an “exceptional” bull.
Top-priced heifer
The top-priced heifer in the sale was Lot 1, Pretender to the Crown selling for €22,500. According to the catalogue, this March 2022-born Belgian Blue-cross heifer is a maternal sister to last year’s sale topper She’s The One, which sold for €18,000.
At seven and a half months of age, the heifer was also described as “as near as it gets to perfection for a foundation flushing female”.