‘There’s still life in the suckler trade for good-quality continentals’
There was a 90pc clearance of the bulls on offer at the opening Charolais Society show & sale of 2020, reports Martin Ryan
Strong demand for bulls led to a roaring trade at the opening show and sale of the season for the Irish Charolais Cattle Society at GVM Mart, Tullamore.
Clearance hit a record 90pc and the average price paid was up by €100 on the first sale of 2019.
“There is still life in the suckler sector for the good continentals,” was the verdict ringside. Auctioneer Tom Cox summed it up as “an excellent trade”.
Society secretary Nevan McKiernan said it was pleasing to see the strong presence of buyers early in the season, with a good entry of both bulls and heifers catalogued.
The overall Championship of the Show was awarded to the October 2018-born Cloughbrack Ohio, bred and exhibited by Mattie Kelly, of Cloughbrack, Newbridge, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.
Sired by Endield Plexus, out of his home bred dam Cloughbrack Cortina, the champion sold for €4,600 to Thomas Hughes of Jonesborough, Newry, Co Down.
The leading price of the day was €4,800 for Rathfeston Oz ET from
Wayne Mulligan’s herd in Geashill, Co Offaly.
The five-star terminal bull is by the sire Jupiter out of a home-bred dam Rathfeston Lizzy Et; he sold to a Kerry breeder.
Judge Alan Burleigh awarded the reserve champion rosette to star-studded 16-month-old Weskel Orlando, who has five stars for both Replacement and Terminal Indexes across the Charolais and all breeds.
He was bred and exhibited by Wesley Kellett, of Fartadreen, Bailieborough, Co Cavan.
Easy calving
The winner of his class at the earlier judging, he failed to reach his reserve in the sales ring, but subsequently sold for €4,000 to a Tyrone breeder.
He was bred by the sire Blelack Digger, a noted easy-calving Charolais, and is out of the homebred dam Weskel Happy.
Second highest price was €4,700 for Kilvilcorris Olav from the herd of Matt Ryan, of Drom, Borrisoleigh, Thurles, Co Tipperary, who was the leading breeder of the day, selling three bulls for a total of €10,900.
His second prize winner, Kilvilcorris Olav, is by one of the long-standing favourites of the Charolais breed, Pirate, and out of his home bred dam Kilvilcorris Ladonna, which has Major and Indurain bloodlines in her genes.
Matt sold Kilvilcorris Oslo for €3,500 and received €2,400 for his third bull, Kilvilcorris Orland.
Other strong averages for their entries were secured by Jim Geoghegan of the Lisnagree herd, at Streamstown, Mullingar, who sold three bulls for a total of €9,800, and Louise Quinn who sold three bulls from her Ballym herd at Ballymoran House, Edenderry, for a total of €9,400.
While the number of bulls offered for sale was back on 2019, the average sales price of €3,254 was €100 higher than last year.
Overall the trade gave a great boost of confidence to breeders of Charolais, with the strong demand for bulls from commercial breeders so early in the season setting a good base for the Premier Show & Sale in Elphin on March 14.