Gazette News
World record price for bull in the Lake District
4:27pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012
A WORLD record price for a bull has been paid by an Eden farmer.
Alan Jenkinson, of Whinfell Park, Penrith, paid 120,000 guineas (£126,000) to secure the 17-month-old Limousin bull at Carlisle’s Borderway Mart.
The price is £21,000 more than the previous world record.
The seller was Powys cattle breeder Glyn Vaughan, who said he had hoped the bull – called Dolcorsllwyn Fabio – would make as much as £40,000 and that the final price was ‘unreal’.
The animal currently weighs around a tonne, but will be a third as heavy again when fully grown.
He will now go into isolation and, pending tests, semen would be collected to be used around the world.
"He's been an excel-lent shape ever since he was small,” said Mr Vaughan. “There has always been something special about him.
“But the sale was completely unreal. It was a different world to what most breeders ever experience really. I was very lucky that two of the wealthiest bre-eders in the country wanted him.”
The sale on Saturday, which grossed more than £1m, also saw records tumble for a black Limousin bull (£31,500) and junior section bulls (average £10,084). It also broke the UK all-breeds and centre record average of £8,242 – up by more than £2,000.
David Pritchard, ope-rations director of auctioneers Harrison and Hetherington, said: ‘We are delighted that this record price was achieved at Carlisle, the home of the Limousin breed. The sale average was also incredible as this represents an increase of more than 30 per cent on previous ssuccessful sales.
“There is huge con-fidence in the cattle industry although numbers have declined, which in turn has created a supply and demand trend causing prices to increase.
“But the quality of animals presented at this sale was a credit to the industry.”
l A new breed record of 2,000 guineas (£2,100) was paid for an in-lamb Lleyn ewe at the 40th Lleyn Sheep Society sale at Carlisle on Friday.
At the same show, J A and R Geldard and sons, Levens, sold a shearling scanned with twins to a Sackville Hamilton ram for 1,700 guineas (£1,785).