The final sale to disperse the Webbery herd of the Yewdall family was held yesterday 11th December 2012 on the farm near Bideford ,Devon.
The herd had passed three TB tests in the previous 9 months and the first sale in July 2012 of the spring calving cows saw an average of £1100 per head for both the Guernsey and Jersey sections of the herd.
Following a clear test in October a second sale was planned, but a cull cow was identified at the slaughterhouse with TB lesions (yet to be confirmed) and the herd sale was then restricted to buyers who were themselves under TB restriction.
As you might expect this had a negative effect on yesterdays trade. There were only two Guernsey herd owners present and one of them only had a licence to buy “dry” stock . Therefore Maurice Durbin was able to buy most of the in milk animals. The auctioneers had sorted the animals into batches of similar age and stage of lactation and the first batch of 8 first calved heifers which included the pick of the sale Lot 123 Webbery Rachel 9 by Tregallant Jester and tracing back to the Treloweth Rachel cow family sold for £600 as did the second batch of 8 fresh calved heifers. There were 3 daughters of Trewarnevas Ivor in these two groups which impressed.
Batch 3 of 8 second calvers made £560 again sold to the Durbins
Batch 4 which were a mixed bunch of 3rd and 4th calvers and included a couple of cows with foot or udder proiblems were withdrawn unsold.
The final batch of older cows included a couple of real good cows including Lot 134 Webbery Ivy Girl 5 by Trewey Surprise who will surely go VG or better when classified and Lot 143 Webbery Slipperwort 9 VG 85 a fifth calver sold when giving 30 kgs a day. She is a daughter of Brymor Stingboy . This batch of 6 good cows sold to the Durbin’s for £520.
Andrew Lewis bought 8 in calf Guernsey heifers for £500 a head and there were a couple of Spring Walk Sherbert Mint and Les Jaonnets Pippas Lad daughters that stood out in this bunch.
Andrew also bought 5 in calf Guernsey cows for £500
The Jerseys of which there were more than 100 in milk met a similar trade to the Guernseys sold to a top of £640 for a batch of 8 2nd calvers included some outstanding cows including Lot 42 who had not been classified but was Ex91/92 on the day and the fourth generation VG and was one in a batch of 9 that sold for £500. Older cows were sold for less than £400 and to my surprise there were no bidders for the spring calving Jersey in calf heifers.
The weaned calves which were mainly cross bred proved difficult to sell, making around £100 a head.