A top of $23,000 was paid for a 10-month-old Jersey heifer calf, creating a new sales record, at the Cultivate First Class Genetics sale on Thursday, December 7.
And an unborn Jersey heifer calf sold at $10,500.
The 10-month-old Jersey heifer, born on February 1, 2023, and bred by Roger and Amanda Heath, Mitchell and Lyndsey Flemming and Callum Moscript, is Wanstead FCG Vanahlem Fernleaf ET, and has potential embryo contracts to North America.
“She’s a standout calf. Her dam is the first EX96 classified Jersey in Australia for nearly 50 years,” Mitchell Flemming said.
“The Fernleaf family is so pertinent globally in the Jersey breed.”
Mitchell said part of the purpose of First Class Genetics — owned by himself, Lyndsey and Callum — was to value add to Australia’s dairy industry.
This was why Wanstead FCG Vanahlem Fernleaf ET was sold with overseas interest.
“We pinpoint international buyers to invest in Australian genetics,” he said.
“We wanted to be able to sell a heifer like this with international interest.
“Araluen Park’s principals have purchased her with the choice to sell embryos from this heifer to North American interests.”
The purchasers were Anthea Day and Trevor Saunders, of Araluen Park, Shady Creek, Victoria.
“This price set a new record for an unjoined Jersey heifer,” auctioneer Brian Leslie said.
“The top-priced heifer is a daughter of the Jersey breed’s only EX96 cow, Wanstead Valentino Fernleaf.”
The sale was hosted at Tinamba Hotel, in Gippsland’s Macalister Irrigation District, and interfaced between Dairy Livestock Services and Elite Livestock Auctions.
The second top lot sold was the young cow, Brookbora Love Lies 812, EX90, who was classified EX86 as a two-year-old and won her class at the NSW State Fair.
The four-year-old calved in July 2023 and was joined by sexed semen to Victory Rhondas Big Red ET in late October.
Brookbora Love Lies 812 sold at $16,000 and was purchased by C. Davis of Longwarry North.
Two Jersey heifers sold at $12,000 each — Lightning Ridge MB Bontino Rose Imported ET and Impression FCG Metalic Rosegold.
Rose was born in May 2022 and is PTIC to sexed semen from Victorious. Rosegold, born in July 2022, was Supreme Junior Champion at the Sale Show 2023.
The Jersey heifer calf, Lightning Ridge MB Roll the Dice Fern Imp ET, born July 2023, sold at $11,000.
A Holstein heifer calf of the same age, Impression Diamondblack Dahlia, also sold at $11,000. She was joined with sexed semen in October to Alpha RC/Have it all.
Dahlia was First Winter Calf at IDW 2023 and First Winter Calf and Junior Champion at the Sydney Royal Show.
The pick of two Jersey heifer calves born in February 2023 saw the price climb to $8500, for Impression Nuance Flirt Imp ET or Impression Nuance Foxy Imp ET.
A Jersey heifer calf to be born in July 2024 was sold at $10,500.
The buyer selects the calf at 100 days after hitting the ground, from three sexed heifer embryos that join Avonlea Chocochip ET sexed semen and Victory Rhondas Big Red ET sexed semen with Hazel Vale Valentino, the champion cow in the on farm challenge in East Gippsland.
The Hazel cow family has a long history in the Macalister Irrigation District, being bred by the Clyne family and sold into dairy herds across Australia.
“We have been wanting to buy Hazel Vale Valentino for years, and bring her back to this district,” Mitchell said.
“She’s from a great cow family and her pedigree has been in the area of a long time, and is spread across Australia. We were able to buy her in 2021.
“Avonlea Chocochip and Victory Rhondas Big Red are two bulls we use a lot on IVF transfer in our own breeding.
“We wanted to make those genetics available to others in the industry.”
The unborn heifer calf was bought by Brad and Jess Gavenlock, of Cherrylock Cattle Co, Tallygaroopna.
The Brown Swiss heifer offered by Tandara — Tandara Omalley Heidi 323, born September 2022 — sold at $12,500.
The Ayrshire calf, Munden Farms Reynolds Klassy, born August 1, 2023, sold at $11,000.
“The Ayrshire heifer is from an EX dam from the same line as the current International Dairy Week Supreme All Breeds Champion,” Brian said.
“The top selling Holstein was Impression Diamondback Dahlia, the Junior Champion at Sydney Royal and the Victorian Winter Fair — she sold at $11,000.”
A half share in Rockstar Victorious Ghanda ET, born in February 2022, sold at $7500.
The overall average across 37 lots was $8600. The 24 Jersey females sold for an average $8958. The nine Holstein females sold for an average $7833.
Buyers were from Victoria, NSW and Tasmania.
There were two lots of semen — two straws out of Braedale Goldwyn sold at $700 each; 10 straws of sexed semen out of Audibel Jordan sold at $125 each.
Three sexed embryos from the matching of Victory Rhondas Big Red ET and Brookbora TBone Bonita sold at $1400 each.
“Sale organisers Mitchell and Lyndsey Flemming and Callum Moscript assembled a wonderful offering of Jerseys, Holsteins and a Brown Swiss and an Ayrshire, with world class pedigrees,” Brian Leslie said.
The sale was viewed online by more than 500 people.
“This — the Cultivate First Class Genetics sale — was something that Lyns, Callum and I have aspired to do for a long time,” Mitchell said.
“Collectively, between us, we believed it was time.
“We’d done some online sales and elite embryo sales, and this was the next step for us.
“We endeavoured to put together as good a group of genetics as we could, and we chased particular breeders and cattle to do that.
“The sale 100 per cent exceeded our expectations.”
The Cultivate First Class Genetics sale rounded off a day of discussion panels with some of the dairy industry’s leading breeders and farmers.
“We wanted to do something different, instead of just having a sale,” Mitchell said.
“We wanted to create a forum that creates conversation and connects people.
“We all love the dairy industry and felt if we combine the discussion panels with a sale, we’d reach a broader group of people and connect people who also love the industry.”