FEELING BULLISH
Opposite page: The finest bulls can sell for five-figures. Left: An auctioneer prepares to bring his gavel down at a packed Stirling Bull Sale.
live online across the world, with countries as far afield as Argentina and Barbados tuning in to take part. The world-famous bull sales regu- larly attract some 12,000 farmers and pedigree beef enthusiasts who gather to buy and sell their prized animals. The bull sales are held annually over two
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weeks in February, one day in May and one week in October. One of the biggest events on the agricultural calendar, the sales began on 2 February at Stirling’s Agricultural Centre with an Aberdeen-Angus bull inspection. The event has a long history. First held in
Perth in 1865, originally only one breed of bull was sold – Shorthorn Bulls. Today, the main British breeds include Aberdeen Angus and Beef Shorthorn but, since the 1970s, the sales have welcomed a number of continental breeds of pedigree cattle such as Simmental, Limousin and the Blonde d’Aquitaine. The sales were renamed the Stirling bull sales
in October 2012, as the event was relocated from Perth to the new Stirling Agricultural Centre, owned and operated by United Auctions. Nowadays the two-week February sale,
known as the spring sales, attracts around 12,000 UK and international buyers, sellers and pedigree beef enthusiasts. Those who cannot attend in person can
t’s an event that dates back to 1865 and still sees bulls bought and sold in guineas, but now the Stirling bull sales are streamed
watch via the internet. Last February’s sales saw more than 4,700 global views from over 25 countries, including Argentina and Barba- dos. United Auctions also updates its Facebook page in real time, with photographs and videos of the sales, as well as sale results. Richard Lochhead MSP, the Cabinet Secre-
tary for Rural Affairs and Environment, was guest of honour at this national event and took part in a public questions-and-answers session with farmers on the first day. Stirling Provost Mike Robbins was a special
guest of the sales on Tuesday 4 February. He said: ‘The Stirling bull sales are an integral part of the farming calendar and a terrific forum for agriculture, and I am delighted that our city is hosting this world famous event.’ The Spring bull sales offered 1,004 pedigree
bulls and females on show and sale over the two-week event. For sales of pedigree livestock, the traditional currency of guineas is still used, where the price in guineas is multiplied by 1.05 to calculate the price in Sterling. Good bulls can often fetch five-figure sums. A great deal of preparation takes place before
attending the sales – the breed catalogues are posted online in January to view and the docu- ments were downloaded over 9,000 in 2013. Cattle must be well prepared before the event, as buyers consider the movement, length and style of the bull, with time being set aside to inspect animals before the auction.
‘The Stirling Bull Sales are an integral part of the farming calendar and a terrific forum for agriculture’
FIELD FACTS
The 2014 Spring Sales run from Sunday 2 - Tuesday 4 February and Sunday 16 - Tuesday 18 February. For more information, please visit www.
uagroup.co.uk/ about/stirling-bull- sales
WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 25
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