Which Pedigree Cattle Breed

Angus but top of the range. Expensive game.

I have seen shorthorn suckler weanlings and SH bucket fed calves selling here in West cork and they only sold very poor.

If I was a breeder I would stick with the Angus. I had a few salers calves they sold very well. They are getting a bit more popular. My favourite is the Hereford for their temperament. But the Angus are more profitable at the moment I think. What type of farmer would you be selling too?

the way I see it, every man and his dog has limos and Charolais so if you want to get to the top you need to spend serious money on foundation stock.

that’s why I went for Parthenaise. Good cattle but not that many breeders so you have a chance of breeding the best.

Personally I’m not a fan of a shorthorn- their calving difficulty can be high and in some cases crazy high for financial outcome.

They don’t sell well in Ennis mart either.

speckle park seemed to be taking off a bit locally and I am a fan but I see breeders list getting shorter on the website.

I reckon there will be a market in future to heritage or rare breeds. The nitrite/fertiliser and lime and lads looking at organic.

but some prices they are looking for are crazy.

I'm a part time farmer with an off farm job so calving difficulty is a big thing for me so I went with Salers - biggest pelvic area of all the breeds. Haven't had an issue calving them to Ch and BB bulls with 10+% calving difficulty. They say docility can be an issue with them so i did my research and bought from pedigree breeders at show and sales having seen their cattle at summer shows. I make it my business to be around my cattle at least every second day so thankfully have had no docility issues. Any replacements are kept based off their Milk and docility, I've no time for chasing cattle around a field!

Good demand from England at the moment.

as for the home market, I can’t comment on females as I haven’t tried to sell any but I’ve had no problem selling bulls but then I have no problem squeezing one of o don’t think he’s right

one mistake that many make no matter what the breed is thinking that just because they are pedigree that all their geese are swans and should get a premium just because they have papers.

And from a buyers perspective it’s the same, just because one lad got 4K for his bulls doesn’t leave them all eorth that.

I offered a lad 5k for a bull a couple of years back, he laughed at me and told me he would take nothing less than 7k . He took 5.4 a couple of months later at a show.

Another breeder sold a bull privately for 3.5k then when the buyer came to collect he looked for another 1500. He was told keep the bull so he brought him to one of the shows and he couldn’t even get the 2.2 minimum bid.

I spent weeks driving around the country looking at overpriced scrap. The breed societies need to be monitoring what’s being registered more .

What breed was averaging 4k for all his bulls, you would be surprised the percentage of bulls that are culled for wrong legs, calving problems, etc. the worst thing you can do is sell a wrong bull to a person as the news travels quicker than the internet, one breeder sold a bull that was a zip job as easy calving and was a tractor job to either to pull the calf or pull the cow out for the knackery lorry and ended up having to disperse his herd. Sell honestly and you will have return business.

I'm starting to hedge my bets on breeds at the moment. Always had limousins here and would have a good few repeat customers for bulls and breeding heifers. Wouldn't be at the higher end of the market price wise (€1800/2000 for bulls at 16 to 18 months) but they aren't costing us an arm and a leg to bring to that stage. Most or all are sold out of the yard too with little or no advertising and the usual Sunday callers that follow it. Trying to breed a bit of polled genetics into them at the moment too with varying levels of success. I imagine it will take a few generations for it to take hold but when I do get it sorted it will be one less job for me to do around the place and I am hoping it might make them a little more attractive to farmers who don't want the hassle of dehorning calves. Have a few non-registered cows here too and there is little or no difference in what their offspring are selling for as far as I can see once you take the cost of registration etc. into account.

Bought a couple of polled Herefords 2 years ago and will have a bull to sell in the spring so will see how that goes. Will have to see how he turns out over the winter to put a price on him but what I will say is that the temperament of the Herefords means they are a joy to deal with compared to the Limousin. If they go well I plan to go to around 10 cows and cut back the limousins a bit. Have a heifer too but she will stay in the herd for breeding.

Just after buying a couple of Irish Moils lately too but that is more of a little side project for myself and I am not really expecting huge interest in them from a commercial point of view.t I knew that before I got them though. Again the temperament is good so far. Also they are polled which at the moment for me is really high on the priority of what I will breed. If they go ok I will hang on to them, maybe go to 4 of 5 cows if they are successful but won't be hanging my hat on them I would imagine unless they prove me wrong

All 3 of the above have their own pros and cons from what I can see.

Hereford:

They have great temperament, even after calving, and smaller animal so a bit easier on the land especially this year. Polled.

Donedeal is full of bulls for sale and dairy lads will hang onto the bulls for a good few years if they are quiet and fruitful. Found them a bit harder to catch bulling but started using tail paint to make that job a bit easier.

Limousin:

Plenty of repeat customers available here and know what my breeding is like as they are here with 20 years. Anything that doesn't sell for breeding can easily be sold in the marts albeit with not the same margin.

They can be a small bit mad at times and again the country is full of them but they are a good seller. Dehorning required. Heavy on the ground which is a problem this year.

Moils:

Good temperament, small polled cattle and will keep them on the more marginal areas of the farm and they will hopefully do OK there.

They are a rare breed for a reason I suppose, limited sale for bulls commercially and fear from the buyer that their calves will be worth less than an established breed. They might be a bit more attractive to the small holder type farmer due to their size and ability to survive on marginal areas but not too many of them out their unfortunately.

Maybe that's why we have plenty of repeat customers 😫

There's a good bit of messing going on too with lads bidding up their mates animals at sales. Top prices for animals never heard of again