A large number of dairy farmers attended the dispersal sale of more than 200 milking and dry in-calf cows at the Wilson farm, near Church Hill on February 14.

Auctioneers, Norton and Brooksbank from Stroud, conducted the sale on the farm which they said presented a great opportunity for milk producers to purchase hard-working cattle with great functional type, suited to modern systems.

In the foreword to the catalogue, the auctioneers stated: “The Wilson family have milked cows in Co. Fermanagh for many decades with Harold Wilson taking over the management of Bunnahone in 1980 and, along with the support of his wife, Eileen, the business was developed and expanded over the years until the herd reached over 300 milkers in 2018.

“At this point the decision was made to split the herd between their sons Philip and Jonathan, with the latter moving to farm in Scotland, with Philip continuing at the home farm.

“With large numbers of replacement heifers in the pipeline, the family have taken the decision to sell the milking herd to allow time for major refurbishment of the milking facilities at Bunnahone.

“The Wilsons would like to take this opportunity to thank all their staff both past and present for their hard work and faithful service to the family.

“Over the years, management and breeding was originally focused on type and high yield, but this has shifted more recently to concentrate more on fertility and milk quality.

“The farm operates a relatively simple system with grass-based Winter TMR together with extensive grazing as soon as ground conditions allow it.

“At the time of the auction, the cows were currently fed a flat-rate herd TMR with top-up blend fed in the rotary parlour, resulting in an average yield in excess of 8,500kg, with current quality constituents of 4.54 fat 3.60 protein with SCC 128.

“Cows are calved all year round, milked twice daily and are all housed in cubicles.

“Particular emphasis is paid to health status, with the herd vaccinated for Lepto & IBR.The herd is BVD free status.

“The herd is regularly health monitored with screening for Johnes. There are currently no Johnes-positive cows in the herd.”

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