Increased commercial interest at Hereford’s new livestock market saw pedigree breeders outbid for a number of the top-priced bulls as Solpoll Herefords from Northern Ireland stole the show.

The Grand and Junior Male Champion, 19-month-old Solpoll 1 Geronimo, bred by J & W McMordie, Co Down, sold for 6,200gns to commercial organic beef producers, D P & G Jones, Machynlleth, who specialise in producing organic beef for Dovecote Park/Waitrose.

Geronimo, by the highly successful, Solpoll 1 Dynamite, weighed 830k and is a superior carcass sire recording a self-replacing index in the top 5% of the breed and a terminal sire index in the top 10%.

The second highest price of the day was paid for the Senior Male Champion, 23-month-old Fisher 1 Generator by the successful show bull, Fisher 1 Cracker, bred by W J Hutchings & Sons, Chichester, West Sussex, selling for 6,000gns to G F Harrison, Causeway Herefords, Lakenheath, Suffolk.

Messrs J R B Wilson & Sons, Kelso, Roxburghshire, sold their Reserve Grand and Reserve Junior Champion, 18-month-old Romany 1 Gem D1, for 4,700gns, purchased by Rob Wills, UK Sire Services, for a client, Gerty Strohm-Stiftung, Frankfurt, Germany.

Gem, weighing 885k, with EBVs for 200, 400 and 600 day weight in the top 1% and top 5% for milk, self-replacing and terminal sire indices – he is the first son of the Danish bull, SMH Castro.

Messrs Wilson also sold the youngest bull in the sale, 13-month-old Romany 1 Hero, again by Castro, to commercial suckler producer M Spendlove, Kettering, Northampton for 3,400gns.

Hero, weighing 650k also has EBVs for 200, 400 and 600 day weights in the top 1% and milk in the top 3%. Mr Spendlove had also purchased a second bull earlier in the sale, the 23-month-old superior carcass sire, Bosa 1 Google, for 3,000gns bred by G Blandford & Son, Bosbury, Herefordshire.

Messrs Blandford sold a second bull at 3,000gns, 19-month-old Bosa 1 Gazza, weighing 835k, to Messrs. T G & E I Thorne, Glenvale Herefords, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire.

Messrs S W Quan & Co, Wormbridge, Hereford, sold their 25-month-old Border Rory G37 for 4,000gns to fellow Herefordshire breeder, Andrew Goodwin of Honeybrook Herefords, Ivington, Leominster.

Rory, weighing 1,050k had EBVs for 600 day weight, terminal and self-replacing indices in the top 1%.

Returning to the commercial demand for bulls, Messrs D E, E D & A L Jones of Newtown, Powys, saw their young 16-month-old Dendor 1 Gaffer sell for 4,000gns to commercial beef suckler producers, Portman Burtley Estate, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.

Likewise, H A Hatt, Basingstoke, Hampshire, sold 19-month-old Weybrook 1 Blender 4th for 3,000gns to commercial beef producers, C M G Sutton Scott Tucker, Dartmouth, Devon.

The 26 bulls sold for £79,590 to average £3,061.15.

Breed secretary, David Prothero, commenting on the sale afterwards, said how pleased he was with the new market facilities and the marked increase in commercial interest with a number of the top priced bulls going into beef suckler herds.

Female sale.

In the female for sale only section, it was again the McMordies who led the way, offering four in-calf heifers selling to average a little shy of £2,200.

These included three heifers by Solpoll 1 Dynamite and in-calf to Fisher 1 Charlie – 25-month-old Solpoll 1 Nan G5 for 2,200gns to M Ludgate, Rempstone Herefords, Oxfordshire; 22-month-old Solpoll 1 Starlet G12 also for 2,200gns to newcomers to the breed, G D & M R Watkins, Hollybush Herefords, Ocle Pychard, Herefordshire; and 24-month-old Solpoll 1 Pansy G10 for 2,100gns to M & M Roberts, Bromley Herefords, Hoarwithy, Herefordshire.

The last heifer sired by the Australian bull, Yalgoo Boulder, 24-month-old Solpoll 1 Starlet G7 sold for 1,800gns also to G D & M R Watkins, Hollybush Herefords.

Messrs D D Rowley & Ptns of Swadlincote, Derbyshire, sold a 31/2-year-old in-calf cow, Hollowseal 1 Kings Curley 19th, along with her eight-month-old calf, Hollowseal 1 Kings Curley 27th for 2,000gns to R & S E Poole, Leek, Staffordshire.

D & E Colledge, Coventry, Warwickshire, sold their 19-month-old in-calf heifer, Hawkesbury 1 Layla for 1,700gns to N & L Holdsworth, Pebworth Herefords, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.

R & G Morgan, St Clears, Carmarthen, sold a 31/2-year-old cow, Blackwell 1 Eve, along with her heifer calf, Llywynpoll 1 Eve, for 1,600gns to E C & M Everall, Ashley Moor Herefords, Ludlow, Shropshire.

The 34 lots offered sold for £44,824.50 to average £1,318.37.