The Ponoka, Alta., cow is one five in the world and the second in Canada to sell for more than $1 million.
It only took two minutes for a three-year-old Canadian Holstein cow to make history at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.
Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy, consigned by Morsan Farms of Ponoka, Alta., sold for $1.2 million on Nov. 12 at the Sale of the Stars, one of five cows in the world and the second in Canada to sell for more than $1 million.
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Missy will be owned in partnership with Mark Butz of the United States and Gert Andreasen of Denmark, who had seen the cow at Morsan Farms.
“We knew they liked the cow. We didn’t know how much,” said Chris Parry, Morsan marketing manager.
On sale day, a number of potential buyers were at ringside and on the phone expressing interest in the young cow. The Morsan crew expected a final bid of $200,000 to $300,000. The opening bid was $10,000 and 30 seconds later bids had reached $500,000. Within two minutes, it was all over, Parry said.
“It was very much a surprise to everyone.”
Missy has returned to Ponoka where she will go into a six month flushing program and then be rebred to enter the show circuit in 2011.
A flushing program in September yielded 19 viable eggs when the average flush is four or five. Heifers and bulls will be retained.
“Male or female, they are worth money to us,” Parry said.
The cow was born in Prince Edward Island and purchased as a calf by farm owner Morris Thalen, who strives to invest in elite Holstein genetics.
Over the years, he and his farm crew have built a dairy herd with an international reputation. While Thalen liked the pedigree, he did not expect this kind of performance.
“We didn’t have any idea that Missy was going to be the cow that she is,” Parry said.
Missy’s daughter sold for $70,000 at the 2008 Royal, and a six-month-old son will be used for breeding.
The cow was the only two-year-old to receive a very good rating of 89 under the Holstein classification system and has never been beaten in her class. Missy also won grand champion at Salem, Oregon, and was class winner at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, in October.
Parry said a sale of this magnitude is a boost for the dairy industry and generates international interest in Canadian Holstein genetics.
“Canada has always demanded a premium for its cattle, and its Holsteins are renowned for being the best in the world.”
Morsan Farms is a working dairy and milks 800 cows in Ponoka and another 400 in Saskatchewan.
