A Charolais bull that has been described as âa spectacle of an animalâ and that took this yearâs Royal Welsh Show by storm, is now being marketed by Cogent as part of the Signature Beef range.
The bull is Barnsford Ferny, and his victory in both the breed and interbreed championship at the Royal Welsh this summer, was a clear endorsement of his sheer physical presence and power, combined with his correctness.
âItâs not often you get the two things together,â says Cogentâs beef specialist, Boomer Birch. âBut this bull not only catches the attention through his sheer physical scale, but he carries his weight superbly, bringing everything together in a truly correct package that epitomises the character of the Charolais breed.
âIt is no surprise that on his first ever outing into the show ring, he swept the board with the prizes,â he says.
Ferny has also hit the headlines in the sale ring, having been purchased by his current owners, Boden and Davies Ltd from Stockport, at the October 2011 Stirling sales, for 70,000 guineas. This is the second highest price ever paid for a Charolais bull, and exceeds the sale price of his sire, Balmyle Bollinger at 30,000gns.
âHis first calves are already on the ground, and they too are showing all the characteristics of Ferny himself, and more,â says Mr Birch.
His offspringâs performance is also reflected in Fernyâs Estimated Breeding Value (EBV), which puts him in the breedâs top 10 per cent for the all-important 400 day weight. This index is independently described as âthe best single estimate of an animalâs genetic merit for yearling weightâ.
His daughters too are expected to make outstanding suckler cows, as reflected in the high âself replacing indexâ of this good looking bull.
âWe are delighted to have such high calibre bloodlines to add to the Cogent Signature Beef portfolio,â concludes Mr Birch. âThis gives the widest possible cross-section of pedigree and commercial producers the chance of breeding some truly outstanding beef animals.â