Keith Young Farmer claims the Calladrum Cup at the Overwintering competition at Thainstone
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The annual Young Farmers overwintering competition hosted by Aberdeen & Northern Marts in conjunction with the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC), and kindly sponsored by Ledingham Chalmers took place at Thainstone Centre, Inverurie on Friday,
The Calladrum Cup, which is won by collecting points for highest feeder margin, highest average daily liveweight gain, best presented and paraded animal and best quality animal, was presented to Amara Nairn, Upper Clashnoir Auchnarrow, Ballindalloch from Keith Young Farmers Club.
The competition now in its 32nd year encourages young farmers to take part in the buying and selling of cattle through the live auction system and, in particular to practice the art of stockmanship in the tasks of selection, feeding, presenting and parading animals for Show and Sale. Young farmers took up the opportunity to purchase cattle at the autumn sales, feed them through the winter with a key part of the competition covering the commercial aspects of production in the feeders’ margin and daily weight gain categories.
Derek Nelson from Mains of Lundie, Edzell judged the proceedings with and larger entry of 49 Young Farmers, including 10 novice exhibitors from across the north-east of Scotland participating in the event, with 89 head of cattle forward.
Finn Christie, Newton of Balquhain, Pitcaple, Inverurie won the Best Quality Animal position with a British Blue cross heifer scaling 642Kg, which also took home the overall heifer prize. The best quality animal went on to sell for the top price of £4000 to Miller Farms, North Lurg, Midmar, Inverurie.
The overall bullock was also awarded to Finn Christie for his Limousin Cross bullock weighing 570kgs, which sold for £2,120 to the Judge L Nelson, Mains of Lundie Farm, Edzell.
Overall Home Bred was awarded to a Charolais heifer weighing 666kgs from Harvey Stuart, Lettoch Farm, Braes of Glenlivet, Ballindalloch which went on to sell for £3100 to J B Wilkie & Sons, Braigiewell, Echt, Westhill.
Graeme Rhind, Newton of Struthers, Kinloss won first place in the Best Presented and Paraded.In the new format of being held over one day, the sale was held after the show and witnessed a strong trade, with a busy ringside of buyers. A second top price of £3800 was achieved for a Limousin cross heifer scaling 474kgs from Finlay Hunter, West Cairnhill, Culsalmond selling to Miller Farms, North Lurg, Midmar, Inverurie.
A 522kg Limousin cross heifer from Amara Nairn, Upper Clashnoir Auchnarrow, Ballindalloch also sold to Miller Farms for £3500.
Bruce Forbes, Little Kildrummie, Nairn sold his 470kgs British Blue cross heifer for £3400, selling to J S Youngson, Westerton, Echt, Westhill.
A 558kg Limousin cross heifer from Jack Stuart, Lettoch Farm, Braes of Glenlivet which achieved £2500, being purchased by Ian Grant, Seaview Cottage, Slattadale.
Molly Stuart, Lettoch Farm, Braes of Glenlivet sold two animals to K Milne, Meikle Rowater, Cornhill, Banff. The first was a 642kgs Limousin cross heifer selling for £2400 and a the second was a 556kg Limousin cross heifer which achieved £2300.
Keira Smith achieved £2210 for her Limousin cross bullock scaling 682kg, which sold to A J Ingram.
A Limousin cross heifer weighing 512kg from Anna Wilson, Wester Cairnglass sold to J M Fraser & Sons, Easter Clune, Lethen, Nairn for £2050.
Three animals cashed out at £2000, the first was a 600kgs Limousin cross bullock from Ellie Milne, Meikle Rowater, Cornhill, Banff which sold to G M Barclay & Sons, Tullo of Garvock, Laurencekirk. The second was a Limousin cross heifer scaling 474kgs from Fergus Forbes, Little Kildrummie, Nairn,selling to Faye Wilkie, Braigiewell, Echt, Westhill and lastly, was a Limousin cross heifer weighing 524kgs which sold to E M Smith & Sons, Towiemore, Keith.
The sale saw 67 heifers sell to a top of £8.02 per kg and averaged £3.732ppkg, £1841.11 average per head and 21 bullocks selling to a top of £3.78 per kg and averaging £3.278ppkg, and £1769.52 per head and with an overall sale average £3.61ppkg £1823.41 average per head was achieved.
