A standout dairy cow claimed top honours at a festive livestock event.
The overall champion title was awarded at Halls auctioneers’ Christmas Cracker Dairy Show and Sale, held at Shrewsbury Auction Centre, where Shropshire’s Hares family from Millenheath Farms in Whitchurch collected the Bryan Challenor Cup for the second consecutive year.
The winning entry, Millenheath Spring Bernice, sold for £4,000.
Jonny Dymond, manager of Shrewsbury Auction Centre, said: "An immense turn out of cattle, customers and sponsors resulted in a great show and fabulous trade in the face of the industry’s challenges and my thanks go to everyone for their continued support.
"Our champion was a standout from the second she walked off the trailer as the very first cow in the stall and nothing was going to get passed her.
"Millenheath Farms, loyal supporters of the market throughout the year, deservedly took home the Bryan Challenor Cup Home for the second year running.
"Congratulations to Robert, Jeanette, Dave, Sarah and all the Hares family."
The reserve champion title went to the top heifer, Glanmarton Mingus Grace, from C. D. Whitticase of Glanywern Farm, St Martins, which sold for £3,650.
100 freshly-calved dairy cattle went under the hammer at the Shrewsbury sale, including 33 cows that averaged £2,713 and 57 heifers that sold to a high of £3,680 and averaged £2,507.
Other notable prices included Sterndale AM Jodie Red, from W. J. Nadin & Co in Buxton, which fetched £3,600, and Whitgreave Applaud Sally GP83 from Paul Stubbs, Whitgreave, Stafford, which sold for £3,380 to an online bidder.
The day also highlighted emerging talent among Shropshire’s next generation of breeders.
Ian and Claire Whitticase’s Glanmarton Herd achieved reserve champion status but were narrowly beaten to the top-priced heifer by Robert and Charlotte Higgins of Longnor, whose Bentleyford Lock Mona sold for £3,680.
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Second prize in the heifer class went to Seaton Farms in Audlem for Granchester Crush Golda, which sold for £3,350, while third place went to W. J. Nadin’s Sterndale Miss Hardy Noel, which found a buyer at £3,100.
First-quality fresh heifers and cows regularly sold for more than £3,000, with the next tier achieving £2,500 and above.
Demand remained strong for grass-based and Friesian types, with many in that category selling for more than £2,000.
The event was a tribute to the late Bryan Challenor, the Abergavenny farmer and businessman who died in 2016 at age 70 after a battle with motor neurone disease.
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