Dairy herd going to auction

Auctioneers Halls are expecting interest from both organic and conventional farmers alike when a herd of 80 organic dairy cattle goes under the hammer in a Mid Wales dispersal sale next month.

Mervyn, Beryl and Sarah Edwards, of Tyn y Maes, Llanrhaeadr Ym Mochnant, are selling their herd of Holstein, Brown Swiss and Montbeliarde cross cattle at the farm on Monday, December 4 at 11.30am. The family has decided to retire from milk production to focus on its flock of sheep.

The herd comprises 65 in-milk and dry cows, eight in-calf heifers due in January and bulling heifers. The cows are all year-round calving and, 12 years ago, a three-way cross of Montbeliarde, Brown Swiss and Holstein was introduced, resulting in cows with great legs and feet, described by Mr Dymond as “exceptional”. 

Fed a diet of silage and cake, the herd is yielding 6,905 kilos at 4.34 per cent butterfat and 3.39 per cent protein.

“This is a rare opportunity to purchase quality, organic dairy cattle, with the added benefit of the hybrid three way cross,” said Jonny Dymond, Halls’ cattle auctioneer based at Shrewsbury Auction Centre. “The reason we have decided to hold the sale on the farm is to retain the cattle’s organic status and encourage more buyers.”

For more information about the sale, contact Mr Dymond on Tel: 07803 412617.