COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • MAY 2019


Top seller was no-show at


Holstein sale Ontario calf fetches $200,000 at BC dairy sale


by DAVID SCHMIDT CHILLIWACK – Elite cattle


auctions have changed a lot in recent years. Although there are still a lot of animals parading through the ring, neither the buyers nor the consignments actually have to attend to participate. That was certainly the case for the top seller at the Westcoast Classic Holstein sale in Chilliwack, Thursday, March 21. Topping the sale with a final bid of $200,000 was Siemers Milk Bombi, a five- month-old calf still at home in Wisconsin. She was purchased by Velthuis Farm of Ontario after a spirited auction among in-person, cell phone and online bidders.


What made Bombi so


attractive was not her presence in the ring, nor even the production statistics of her mother, who had just


calved as a two-year-old and therefore has no production record yet. Instead, her value is based on both her pedigree (she is a great-great- granddaughter of Gen-I-Beq Shottle Bombi, one of the recent queens of the Holstein breed) and her genomic rating of 2,932 GTPI (Genomc Total Performance Index). The rating places her among the top 10 calves for type in North America.


Bombi was easily the star of


the auction, as Ferme Blondin of Quebec claimed the next highest seller for $41,000, less than a quarter of what Bombi fetched. Ferme Blondin acquired Dicklands Absolutely Unstopabl, consigned by Dicklands Farm and T&L Cattle of Chilliwack. The calf has the world’s highest PTAT (Predicted Transmitting Ability for Type) rating for a red-and- white Holstein.


Six-month-old Dicklands Absolutely Unstopabl was the second highest seller at the Westcoast Classic Holstein sale in Chilliwack, March 21. Consigned by Dickland Farms and T&L Cattle of Chilliwack, she was sold to Ferme Blondin of Quebec for $41,000. DAVID SCHMIDT PHOTO


Westcoast Holsteins


purchased the next two highest sellers, paying $18,000 for Elmbridge Doorman Rolex, a very good two-year-old consigned by Elmbridge Farms in Chilliwack, and $14,000 for Daridelite Mogul Darby, another very good two-year- old consigned by T&L Cattle. One unique feature was


the last-minute addition of 10 animals from Ferme Jacobs of Quebec. One of the premier


showstrings in North America, Ferme Jacobs made the trip west to participate in the BC Holstein Spring Show and brought both its top show cows and heifers and 20 animals for a “tag” sale. The first 10 were sold at the tag price and the rest were added to the auction. The sale averaged a little


over $7,000 per animal on a total of 95 animals. Westcoast expressed


extreme satisfaction with the


results, although some observers suggested prices were lower than they expected. One purchaser noted with extreme pleasure that she was able to get a deep-pedigreed calf to build her herd upon for only $3,000. Another purchaser said he missed a golden opportunity during the sale, so much so that he purchased the animal a day later for a $1,200 premium over the price it fetched at auction.


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Cows and heifers relax while awaiting their turn in the auction ring during the Westcoast Classic Holstein sale in Chilliwack, March 21. DAVID SCHMIDT PHOTO


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