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| Boskenna June |
The top priced lot at 2000 gns* was lot 25 Boskenna June EX94. This cow has given over 12,000 kgs and is the highest yeilding cow in the breed for the last 2 years. She was purchased by Posnett & Hope for the Tiresford herd in Cheshire and will be flushed to build on the success of the family at Boskenna. June has a VG daughter and 2 VG Grandaughters Lorelei 2 VG 88 sold for 1000 gns to the Trewey herd of the Mann family, and Lorelei 3 VG 87 sold empty for 600 gns also to Tiresford.
June’s yearling Oak grandaughter sold for 900 gns to the Tredinney herd of the Warrens and June’s bull calf just 7 wks old also by J P Royal Oak sold for 1500 gns to the Bickfield herd of the Durbin family at Bristol.
The leading purchaser with 11 lots was Dean Anderson, who has one of the leading Holstein herds in the UK, a past winner of the RABDF Gold Cup competition for all breeds. The Mayne herd now produces 12,000 litres a day of milk all processed by the Anderson owned Allarburn Dairy in glass bottles and delivered via 30 milk rounds in the Elgin area of North Scotland. The 300 cows are milked 3x a day on a 28 point Rotary parlour and the Guernseys chosen will have to live and compete with the Holsteins. Mr Anderson bought cows privately from the Brymor herd in Yorkshire in March and they have settled well and are predicted to yield 9000 litres in their new home. The 11 cows chosen were mainly first and second calvers and averaged just over £800 with Lot 31 Boskenna Heidi a 6500 litre, heifer by J P Royal Oak at £1500 being the highest priced of his purchases.
Lots 11 and 26 sold for 1500 gns and are both VG cows and were bought by the Grose family for their Trewarnevas herd. Lot 26 is a second calf daughter of Jensgolden Victory Hunter and traces back to the White Ladies Design family.
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| Boskenna Lauren 03 |
James Warren purchased the EX 92 B Karen 2 who gave over 9000 kgs in her third lactation and she was purchased for 1250 gns. The fifth calved B Lauren EX 95 with over 48,000 kgs of milk lifetime and due in December sold for 950gns to the Carne herd of the Hichens.
Whilst the “star” lots above sold well there was demand for the more commercial lots into Holstein herds particularly those selling to Dairy Crest and calves at foot met a great trade with one calf making 280 gns.
On rereading the catalogue I was struck by the differentials earned by the high type cows with the 3 EX cows averaging 1400 gns, the 18 VG cows 742 gns, the 9 GP cows 725 gns whilst the overall average was 702 gns.
* What is a "gns" --- it's a Guinea. According to Paul Lewis' website about Victorian coinage, "A guinea was £1-1s-0d (which is £1.05) and could be written as '1g' or '1gn' or, in the plural, '3gs' or '3gns'. It was considered a more gentlemanly amount than £1. You paid tradesmen, such as a carpenter, in pounds but gentlemen, such as an artist, in guineas. It was a tradition in the legal profession that a barrister was paid in guineas but kept only the pounds, giving his clerk the shillings (they were all men then)."
