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In order to do that we buy different semen . You have to have a mix . We always like to introduce new genetics every year and we buy lots of semen . Mark AI ’ s them .
“ You have to provide all sorts of information these days , such as muscle scanning , DNA tests and a myostatin test , so that everyone knows . They are all aides to a prospective buyer when actually buying an animal .
Jane and Mark have never shown their stock at the summer agricultural shows but they are regulars at the Charolais breed sale at Carlisle , as well as having such a good reputation that they also sell bulls direct from Great Carr .
“ We like to go to the main sale at Carlisle every year and always like to have some bulls to take , but then we do sell a lot off-farm . We get lots of repeat customers either here or at Carlisle . Last year we sold 20 bulls through the year , with 11 sold at the main sale and 9 from home . This year , before the main sale we had already sold 6 from home and
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two at very good prices . We like to make sure we always have something available throughout the year if anyone is looking for a Charolais bull .
“ At the sale this year our 16 and a half month old bull Whitecliffe Stallone made 7000 guineas . He was out of Whitecliffe Othelia who is a Whitecliffe Highlight dam by Westcarse Houdini . We took 7 bulls this year selling 6 , of which 4 were to repeat customers .
“ This year ’ s top price was 15,000 guineas , with another two sold at 12,000 and 10,000 . There were a lot of good bulls
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there , about 75 in all , but only 40 got sold . Sales are so strange , sometimes they are on fire . I was very pleased at what we managed to sell .
Jane talks of how everything comes back to breeding .
“ Linkins Olivia was a very important heifer for us and one of our foundation stock . It ’ s through her breeding that we bred Whitecliffe Highlight which set the breed centre record of 31,000 guineas at H & H in Carlisle in May 2013 that is still the record today . Whitecliffe Highlight was 14 months when he achieved that price .
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Westcarse Houdini made 14,000 guineas at the same sale .
“ During the 20 years we ’ ve been here we have sold 4 breeding bulls into Cogent ’ s stud . We ’ ve only ever bought a bull once when we started off . It was a Thrunton bull . Our herd has been completely closed since 2004 and we are in High Health Herd Status .
“ We have about 100 breeding cows . The thing with farming is that you are always culling out cows and introducing new heifers . We don ’ t really sell heifers because I like to keep the best of them , what isn ’ t good enough for breeding we will normally fatten and sell straight to either liveweight or deadweight . We support both systems because each need each other .
“ A month or so ago we sold a 1000kg bull at Darlington Market for £ 3 per kilo so he made second highest price on the day of £ 3000 . That shows the strength of the Charolais and why farmers use the breed . Charolais X cattle continue to provide consistent returns in local markets and often top the markets in suckler sales and fatstock sales . It all goes back to it being such a fantastic terminal sire .
Jane also pays her own personal tribute to two other people who are important members of the Great Carr and Whitecliffe team .
“ Daniel Cockerill came to us at 16 on an Askham Bryan College apprenticeship , has been with us for 10 years and is a valuable member of the team ; and Helen Craggs has been responsible for getting the bulls ready for Carlisle for the past two years .
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