Elite Angus stock expected to fly at Gigginstown sale
THE renowned Gigginstown House Pedigree Angus Herd is placing 40 animals on offer for its annual elite sale scheduled for April 24.
Bloodlines imported from as far afield as the United States to Australia and the EU have been used in developing the 180-cow breeding operation.
The herd has become widely recognised for its heavily star-rated progeny carrying the characteristics of high Terminal Indexes and ease of calving figures in their pedigree since the herd was established in 1997.
In recent years the annual sale of stock from the herd owned by Ryanair boss, Michael O’Leary, has attracted buyers from all parts of this country and beyond to compete for the limited stock on offer.
In 2019, the top price was €4,300 which was paid for Gigginstown Lord Incaid for export to Northern Ireland. A North Tipperary breeder paid the highest price of €3,550 for a heifer.
Restrictions
Covid-19 restrictions prevented the usual on-farm sale being held last year, but there was a full clearance of available animals in direct sales within days of stock being placed on the market with the bulls averaging €3,000.
“We are selling directly to breeders again this year. The catalogue of animals on offer will be available later this week, and arrangements can be made by appointment for customers to view the animals on the farm one at a time,” said Gigginstown farm manager Joe O’Mahony.
“We are offering 25 bulls and 15 heifers aged 18 to 20 months including two Red Angus bulls and one Red Angus heifer this year. About 80pc of the bulls are four and five star and they are all low calving difficulty figures,” said the west Cork man who has been in charge of the herd for more than 20 years.
“There is very strong demand for bulls this year and competition is driving the prices. I’d be expecting several repeat customers because we have them every year,” he added.