Records Broken In Friesian Sale

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32323, 15 June 1970, Page 10

Records Broken In Friesian Sale

Five New Zealand records (i were broken in a notable sale); of Friesian cattle held on be-(I half of a former Canterbury i breeder, Mr M. B. Leslie, of': Kaipaki, near Hamilton, on Friday. Mr Leslie farmed at : Prebbleton, near Christ-j: church, before moving toi Waikato. The sale was the final phase of the complete dispersal of his Lesdale herd. For 96 head the total sale proceed were $llO,Ol5 —a ( record aggregate for the breed;: at an auction. The average a: head for the sale of $1146 was ; also a record for the breed at : auction. In the first phase of the : dispersal sale last September l 70 head sold for an average I of $747. The top price of the sale i was $3200 for an in-calf hei- i her, also a record for the i breed for this age group at i auction. The heifer went to | J. J. and J. A. Geddes, of Tai )1 Tapu. Mrs Geddes is Mr; i Leslie’s daughter 1 Mr and Mrs Geddes brought u

a total of nine lots and among these was also a yearling heifer, for which they paid $lBOO. This was a) record, too. Australian buyers took 21 head at the sale. Among these were two cows each at $3lOO. Altogether three cows were sold for $3lOO each and this set a record price for a cow of the breed at auction The former record for a cow, $2200, was at Mr Leslie’s sale last year. The third cow at | $3lOO came to Canterbury. It was bought by Messrs T. H and B. M. Jones, of Springston. The previous record for an in-calf heifer at auction was $lB5O and for a yearling heifer $950. ' One of New Zealand’s lead ing Friesian herds, the Lesdale herd last season had a record of 5851 b of butterfat and 14.7521 b of milk with a 4 per cent test. Mr Leslie was one of the first breeders to use overseas blood in his) herd in the form of deep-; .frozen semen.