A major Aberdeen Angus cattle show and sale is set to take place next week, with potential buyers on high alert ahead of the big day.

The Munster branch of the Irish Angus Cattle Society will hold its 27th annual Premier Show and Sale on Saturday, April 7, with 39 bulls and two heifers set to go under the hammer.

The show will start at 10:00am, while the sale will get underway from 1:00pm.

Venue

The sale will take place in Kilmallock Mart; the first of three sales at the Limerick venue, scheduled for 2018.

The popularity of the Angus breed has increased in recent years, according to the Irish Angus Cattle Society, as many dairy and beef farmers are apparently opting for traits such as calving ease, short gestation and easily-finished progeny.

The sale includes an entry of 32 four and five star bulls – and all of the animals on offer have been inspected prior to the sale.

The bulls and heifers are being offered by their breeders, “so potential purchasers can know exactly where the animals have come from”, according to the society.

Some 22 of the bulls on offer have a calving difficulty of 2% or less, making them an “ideal sire” for either dairy or suckler herds, the group claims.

Record numbers

At the Premier sale launch event held in Kilmallock mart, society chairman Patrick Noonan highlighted that last year saw a record number of Angus bulls (over 100) changing hands at this ‘breeders only’ sale.

Noonan wished all exhibitors the best for 2018 and also wanted to thank all purchasers from past and present for their continued support the sales.

On the day there will be a premium of €400 for the purchaser of the highest-price bull and €200 for the purchaser of the second highest-priced bull.

This premium is sponsored by the Munster Branch of the Irish Angus Society.

Full details of the bulls entered into the sale are available from the Irish Angus website.