| 2018-05-04 |    |
Airedale Tops Skipton Pedigree Native Cattle Sale
Father and son pedigree Aberdeen-Angus breeders and family butchers, David and Josh Isherwood, secured a championship and reserve championship double with a brace of home-bred 26-month-old bulls at Skipton Auction Mart’s third annual pedigree native cattle show and sale. (Wed, May 2)
The Isherwoods, who run their fast-expanding Airedale Angus herd at Lane Bridge Farm, Kildwick, retained the title they also claimed last year at the 2018 renewal, the second fixture of Skipton’s current pedigree cattle show season.
Josh Isherwood, right, with the Skipton native breed cattle show reserve champion, joined by judge Andrew Fisher.
While their show victor Airedale Exchequer, returned home, the reserve champion, Airedale Kirston, went on to sell for the day’s top call of 2,100gns to brothers Keith, Graham and Andrew Furniss, of Deering House, Dacre, and will be put to work on their commercial dairy herd with a view to producing some first-rate calves.
The overall runner-up is by Rawburn Boss Hogg, bred in Kelso by John Elliott, out of the Chapeltown Eventer daughter, The Moss Kirsi. The dam, from a strong cow line, is one of the Airedale herd’s flushing cows.
“We got 11 embryos from her and the reserve champion is the second animal to come out of our embryo programme, from which we have also retained two daughters for breeding,” explained Mr Isherwood Snr.
The Isherwoods established their Airedale herd five years ago to give added prestige and stature to the combined farming and butchery operation, and it has since grown rapidly to currently stand at 172 head, with 72 due to calve this season.
Meat from the herd is also in big demand at the family-run Isherwoods Butchers in Kirkgate, Silsden, founded in 1987 by Mr Isherwood and now run by his son, Josh, allowing his father to concentrate on the pedigree herd, though he still remains a familiar face in the shop.
The show classes formed part of the annual Craven Native Day sale of 88 head of store and breeding cattle, the majority either Beef Shorthorn or Angus-sired.
Shorthorn classes were sponsored by Morrisons plc and taking the prize for the best pair of stores was The Hon Gerald Turton, whose Upsall pedigree herd, Britain’s oldest, is based near Thirsk. The duo made £1,035 when sold to regular Kirklees buyer Stephen Eastwood, of Emley.
The majority of cattle were yearlings or younger, with 12 to 13-month-old heifers selling up to £1,050 for an Aberdeen-Angus from Nick Carlisle, of Kilnsey, while a pen of five ten-month-old Angus heifers from Joe and Nancy Throup, of Draughton, each made £810. A run of Shorthorn-sired heifers from Page Farms in Rookwith, Ripon, sold from £900 to £980.
Overall native averages were £940 per head for young bulls, £733 for store heifers and £719 for store bullocks. Beef breeding cattle sold to a top of £860 for a Hereford-cross cow with Beef Shorthorn bull calf at foot from L&B Abbott, of Fewston, where they also run a farm shop.
