The North of England Beef Shorthorn Club’s ninth annual show and sale of bulls and females has attracted another solid entry of 76 head and will again feature a standalone show class for 2016-born senior heifers, plus two others for 2017-born junior heifers.

2017 Beef Shorthorn Judging

The Hon Gerald Turton’s Upsall herd, Britain’s oldest, based near Thirsk, will not only be bidding to retain its 2017 title, but also possibly eclipse its top price with a junior heifer of 6,500gns, a new centre record for the breed.

In total, 14 well-known Beef Shorthorn breeders taking in an area from Scotland down to Cambridgeshire and virtually coast to coast, will be represented at the fixture, among them the locally based Beautry and Hartlington herds. Other herds from further afield also holding entries are Appleton, Glenariff, Sandwick, Gilven, Gonder, Stonehills, Stoneyroyd, Burnfoot, Inglestone, Kimrina and Podehole.

The last mentioned is run by Charles and Sally Horrell in Thorney, Peterborough. Mrs Horrell, who is also president of the Beef Shorthorn Society, said she was looking forward to the annual breed highlight, feeling it was growing in both stature and popularity year on year.

“The society goes from strength to strength. In fact, Beef Shorthorn recorded the highest percentage increase in native pedigree breeding females between 2002 and 2015 - up by 1,400%, according to Defra. We continue to attract new members and registrations are on the rise, confirming evidence that breeders are increasingly looking more to Shorthorns as good, solid commercial cows,” she said.

Also on the same day’s agenda is the much anticipated dispersal sale of Michael Abrahams’ entire Newfield Beef Shorthorn herd from Mickley, near Ripon, featuring some of the oldest and top bloodlines in the UK. The 35 head remaining in the herd will all go under the hammer.

Inaugural Aberdeen-Angus females show

A brand-new fixture for Aberdeen-Angus females, being staged on behalf of The Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society, will run alongside the Beef Shorthorn Club’s fixture.

It follows hot on the heels of September’s extremely successful dispersal sale at Skipton of the entire Ribble pedigree herd from Henry Rowntree, of Rowntree Farms, in Gisburn, one of the biggest dispersals of Aberdeen-Angus cattle ever staged in the UK, with almost 400 head going under the hammer.

The new show and sale for breed females has attracted a robust turnout of 57 head, including entries from the Liley, Yearsley, Cragg and Buckhurst herds, along with 25 matron cows from the local Airedale herd run by the Isherwood family in Farnhill. Their entries feature leading bloodlines from the Blelack, Rawburn and Weeton herds.

Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society chief executive, Barrie Turner, said:
“We recognised there was a need for an official breed sale in the area and the overwhelming success of the recent Ribble herd dispersal has confirmed this.

“The popularity of the Aberdeen-Angus breed is growing across Yorkshire and our females are ideally built and bred to both live and thrive in the county, which is a huge livestock area and has a wonderful reputation for producing quality food in general. Most of all, beef and lamb from Yorkshire carries a badge of quality that is widely recognised in the trade.

“The entry for the inaugural sale is extremely encouraging and we are hoping to build on it in future years. It sits very nicely with the Beef Shorthorn fixture the same day. Both these native breeds need grass – and there’s lots of it in Yorkshire!”

Judging for the Beef Shorthorn showcase is from 9am, followed by the main sale at 11am and the Newfield dispersal at approximately 12.45pm. The Aberdeen-Angus show class for haltered heifers is scheduled to start at 11am, with the sale starting around 1.30pm

Catalogues for both fixtures are available. Prior viewing for both sales is available in the pens on the Tuesday evening 5-7pm.

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