Guernsey breeders from across the country gathered in Cross Plains, Wis. in late June for their annual convention and National Guernsey Convention Sale. The Sale set records for the Guernsey breed, with an all-time high sale average of $5,794 on 46 live lots. The sale also included 77 embryos that averaged $645 each.
“The demand for registered Guernseys is incredible,” says Seth Johnson, executive secretary of the American Guernsey Association, Reynoldsburg, Ohio. “The 2007 national sale was a record breaker; however, this record was shattered by $1,000 in 2008.”
The high seller at $34,500 was a stunning, deep-pedigreed senior two-year-old. Dymond H Mentor Babyruth was nominated All-American fall calf in 2006 and is out of an excellent 90-point dam that was the All-American fall calf in 2003. Her dam produced more than 25,000 pounds of milk. Consigned by Cindy Harrison of Gray, Tenn., Babyruth sold to John and Bonnie Ayars of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, and Dr. Kenny Manion of Scottsville, Ky.
Mike Weimer of Emlenton, Pa., and Doug Handley of Logan, N.M., purchased the next high seller — the chance to select any animal from the Maplehurst herd in Lynden, Ontario, Canada. The herd has long been known for its show-winning cows with exciting pedigrees that have been exhibited in both the United States and Canada. In the past decade, the Ken Forster family has exhibited the Canadian national champion on numerous occasions and bred and shown a Reserve Grand Champion at World Dairy Expo. The choice sold for $18,500.