A Victorian Highland cattle breeder has sold a 14-month-old heifer for what could be a world record price of $67,500.
Glen Hastie has bred Highland cows in Gisborne for 26 years and has never seen such demand for the heritage breed.
"It's out of this world for us, it's certainly going to look after our next lot of imported genetics and put up a shed for us," Mr Hastie said.
"She's a really nice heifer, out of a bull and cow that we bred. Still, we weren't expecting that sort of price,
"The average price over the six lots was $38,000 and in the previous sale we had six months ago, the average price was $13,000, which we thought was amazing back then."
After contacting breeders in the USA and Scotland, Mr Hastie believed the latest price was a world record for the breed.
"It certainly was a record for us and a record for Australia for the breed," he said.
"I have made some contacts with people in Scotland and North America and it's roughly double the previous records for each of those countries.
"Certainly more than anyone has got in the home country.
"I contacted a Scottish breeder that we import from, he is an ex-president of the Highland cattle society over there and he was astounded."
The record-breaking heifer, named Calmore of Bairnsley, was purchased by a NSW buyer and will be the start of a new fold, or herd.
What's driving Highland price?
The price for Highland cattle has been on the rise since the pandemic when more peopled began moving to regional areas.
In Australia, Highland cows were considered rare and mostly a boutique breed for hobby farmers due to their good looks and low maintenance.
They were also ideal for first time cattle owners.
Highland breeders across the country have not been able to keep up with demand which has led to soaring prices.
"Any of this is really just supply and demand, " Mr Hastie said.
"It comes down to scarcity of good quality, registered Highland females.
"Their temperament is exquisite, they really just are very quiet animals.
"I think people who are less experienced with cattle are more interested in Highlands than they would be with the other more commercial breeds."
With prices high for the cows, Mr Hastie said there had also been more interest in embryos which could cost up to $3,000 each.
"Interestingly, the embryo side of things suddenly becomes pretty cheap compared to $67,000 for a cow," he said.
"Since the sale, there's been a considerable amount of interest in the embryos that we have in our tank at the moment."
