Breeders couldn’t have imagined just how challenging the Spring of 2020 would be – their worries only being doubled by the global pandemic – Covid-19 and now facing into a potential drought it seems to be turning into a very hard year for all farmers alike.

The Irish Hereford Breed Society held their first ever online bull sale in GVM Kilmallock on Thursday 28th May. It was very different from a conventional sale with there being no show, bulls having to be delivered at designated intervals and buyers having to make appointments to view unmanned stock. This style of sale is very new to breeders of Pedigree bulls across the market and there are several teething issues such as technology gaps and broken communication between the mart and buyers/sellers. Despite this, the Society wanted to mark the Spring with a sale in a safe manner and thought to be the most advantageous for breeders after researching several different options.

There were 24 bulls presented for auction from across the country and each bull was pre-recorded walking around the show ring on a video on arrival to the mart. The video was played back later at the time of the live auction for bidders to view. An overall clearance rate of 30% was achieved at the sale.

Top of the town was ‘Ardmulchan Omagh’ bred by long time breeders Phil & Catherine Smyth of Ardmulchan Herefords, Co. Meath. This top bull was sired by Church Preen Galileo and has a quality blood line – perfect to improve any herd. Omagh not only is fertility tested but has a 5 star rating for docility & daughter calving interval across all beef breeds. The bull was sold to a breeding herd in Kerry for a top price of €2400. Although much lower than the value of this fine bull and much lower than the desired top sale price – this price is indicative of the hard times that breeders are facing across the country.

Next top bull was ‘Ryemountpoll 1 Knight’ bred by Dermot Kelly from the Ryemount Hereford herd in Co. Kerry. This Solpoll 1 Handsome son, has stars to burn coming out with 5 star replacement & 5 star terminal rate along with being easy calving. This fine bull has moved to new pasture to a breeding herd in the South.

The Society would like to thank all breeders for their patience and support at this time and and take this opportunity to wish all the buyers the very best of luck with their purchases. We hope safe and normal times are in the not too distant future when we can all meet again. Until then – stay safe!

The Society office is still temporarily closed & the phone service is not in use but staff are working remotely. Please contact the Society via  e-mail; irishhereford@gmail.com with any questions or queries.