After a tough selection process, 75 bulls and 20 heifers will come under the hammer at the Irish Charolais Cattle Society’s Premier show and sale at Elphin Mart on Saturday March 16, 2024.
According to the society, all entries have been pre-sale inspected to “ensure a high standard” for buyers.
In addition, all animals are genotyped, sire verified, myostatin tested, vet inspected, and export tested.
Close to all bulls catalogued are four or five stars on either the replacement or terminal index. There are bulls catalogued with calving figures as low as 1.8% on beef cows.
All bulls are fertility tested; bulls sold within the Republic of Ireland are fertility insured.
Transport costs from Charolais sale
The society will contribute €100 towards transport costs to Northern Ireland, or transport can be arranged following the sale.
Free transport is available to the UK mainland following the quarantine period after the sale.
The society believes there will be “bulls at this sale to suit all markets and budgets”.
Heifers that breeders have put forward for sale carry some of “the top bloodlines” in the breed.
Some of the prize winners from last year’s National Charolais Calf Show are up for grabs. Both in-calf and maiden heifers will be available.
As a massive incentive for buyers, the society will give €300 back to the purchasers of the first 20 bulls and the first 10 heifers to sell for over €4,000 in the ring at this sale.
Sale day
The show will commence at 9:30a.m sharp and will be streamed live at www.charolais.ie and on the society’s Facebook page.
The sale will commence at 12:30p.m in catalogue order. Ringside and online bidding will be available through Martbids.
Breed progress
Speaking ahead of the sale, Nevan McKiernan of the Irish Charolais Cattle Society told Agriland: “The Charolais breed has made significant strides in recent times regarding calving ease and key terminal traits, such as carcass weight and feed efficency.
“The average calving difficulty of the breed continues to decline. Meanwhile, terminal traits such as carcass weight and age at kill out continue to improve.
“This has seen an increase in Charolais usage in the national beef herd over the last few years.
“As well as this, Charolais cross cattle continue to dominate the mart trade, topping sales across the country.
“This sale will provide buyers with a choice of bulls for breeding top-end Charolais weanlings, premium beef cattle, and top quality replacement females,” he concluded.
For more information about the sale, contact the Charolais office on 014198050 and you can view a catalogue here: https://charolais.ie/2024/02/26/premier-charolais-show-sale/
