A total of 1,500 Friesian bulls – with certain specifications – are being sought by a Co. Wicklow based livestock company for live export to a foreign market.

Wicklow Calf Company has confirmed that it has “secured a job” for the 1,500 bulls weighing between 200-300kg.

Seamus Scanlon, the Wicklow Calf Company boss, confirmed to AgriLand that he had secured the deal this morning, Thursday, October 24.

The animals being sought should also:
  • Have no ringworm;
  • Have two tags;
  • Have at least one clear TB test;
  • Must be Friesian bull on the card.

Farmers interested can contact James on: 087-923-8232; or Seamus on: 087-254-7339; otherwise, contact the office on: 040-235-257.

500 Angus bulls

Meanwhile, earlier in the month, 500 Angus bulls with certain specifications were  being sought by Wicklow Calf Company.

The livestock business secured a job for 500 Aberdeen Angus bulls. The bulls sought for export were required to weigh between 200–250kg.

New calf index

In other dairy-calf news, a new calf index is set to be piloted next spring in a bid to address the looming influx of dairy-bred calves for beef production.

The index, which is currently being researched by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) and Teagasc, has been described as a “follow-on” from the Dairy Beef Index (DBI) – a breeding goal for Irish dairy and beef farmers launched last year to promote high-quality beef cattle bred from the dairy herd that are more saleable as calves and profitable at slaughter.

The aim of the pending index is to improve purchaser confidence ringside, with the goal of providing the buyer with an indication of the calf’s genetic merit and its ability to produce a viable carcass down the line.

Speaking to AgriLand, Sean Coughlan CEO of the ICBF said: “The DBI is an index that dairy farmers use to pick a beef bull to use on the dairy herd.

“Obviously, for the dairy farmer calving is still a very important issue – dairy farmers are not going to be able to tolerate difficult calving, so calving is still a big piece of the DBI.

“But once that calf is born it still has an index; the calving piece is in the past. So, for the person that is going to buy that calf, they are really only concerned about its beef merit and how it is going to grow and finish in the factory.

“This is effectively an index that will indicate the finishing characteristics for that calf to grow, and what its carcass traits are going to be – carcass weight, carcass fat, carcass conformation etc.”