A First For The Luing Cattle Society in the Borders
The first ever Luing Cattle Society Sale of Pedigree and Commercial Luing Breeding Cattle will be held at Harrison & Hetherington’s St. Boswells Mart, on Thursday 27th October, at 1:00 pm.
This is the first official sale in the Borders for the Luing Cattle Society, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. Going under the hammer will be 60 head of breeding cattle, 13 in-calf and 47 bulling heifers, at the Scottish Borders based mart. This is the first occasion that Harrison & Hetherington have carried out a specific sale for the Luing breed and look forward to welcoming breeders and buyers from all corners of the UK.
Ted Fox (Chairman) of the Luing Cattle Society gives some background to the sale:
“As a Society we felt that there was a need to introduce an additional sale to our calendar, and that St Boswells was well placed geographically to capitalise on the growing interest in the Luing Breed. This is an important milestone for the Society and we are delighted to have received a tremendous line up of consignments from renowned breeders across North Northumberland and the Scottish Borders.”
As well as purebred Luings, a number of registered Sim-Luing crosses will also be offered for sale. Identifiable by a ‘C’ before the herd book number, these are sired by a registered Simmental bull and out of a pedigree or A-grade Luing cow. The Sim-Luing has been adapted to suit low ground suckler herds and a breeding programme is actively promoted by both the Luing and Simmental Cattle Societies.
Judged by Gary Herdman of Edlingham Demesne, Alnwick, both Harrison & Hetherington and the Luing Cattle Society will offer cash prizes for the best pairs presented during the sale. These include; the best pair of In-Calf Heifers in both the Luing and Sim-Luing sections; and the best pair of Bulling Heifers in both the Luing and Sim-Luing sections.
Commenting on this, their first autumn sale in conjunction with the Luing Cattle Society, Sales Director and Auctioneer for Harrison and Hetherington, Scott Donaldson said: “We are delighted to welcome the Luing Cattle Society to St Boswells Mart for the first of their autumn breeding cattle sales.
“Developed for commercial reasons to suit today’s climate of sustainable farming, the Luing is becoming an increasingly popular choice of suckler cow, particularly on a low input system. With a good entry of in-calf and bulling heifers, we are expecting to see considerable interest.”
Originating from the Island of Luing in Argyll, the breed was initially a composite between the Beef Shorthorn and the Highland breeds, initiated by the Cadzow brothers. Following this breeding, the Luing was firmly established and was officially registered by the British Government in 1965. Established in 1966, the Luing Cattle Society now has over 210 members, including one very special member; Her Majesty The Queen, at the Balmoral Estate.
Harrison & Hetherington are the UK’s largest livestock auctioneers operating nine auction marts across Northern England and the Scottish Borders. Appointed auctioneers for all major beef, dairy and sheep breed societies throughout the UK, their farmstock business is well known and respected by pedigree/commercial farmers nationwide and in specialist fields worldwide.
