The Cahirmee online sale this week saw a top price of €3,650 given.

The Cahirmee pedigree Holstein herd is operated by Pat and Kevin Smith of Cahirmee House, Doneraile, Co. Cork.

The herd is averaging 10,589kg of milk at 3.95% fat and 3.51% protein.

The 37 freshly calved heifers that were up for grabs are backed by elite lineage, and all have predicted yields of 8,000-10,000kg of milk.

Cahirmee sale

Cahirmee Faith Chelsie Red topped the online sale at a price of €3,650.

The heifer was sired by Cahirmee Faithless Red EX91 and came from Cahirmee Diamondback Chelsie VG89 in May 2024.

She has an Economic Breeding Index (EBI) of -€105, with a milk sub-index of €22 and a fertility sub-index of -€78.

In terms of her milk traits breakdown, milk is 213kg, fat is 4kg, and protein is 5.34kg.

She is currently producing 28L/day, and is projected to put out 8,625kg of milk at 3.83% fat and 3.42% protein, equating to 625kg of milk solids, in her first lactation this year.

The second best price of the sale was €3,550, which was given for Cahirmee Sandy Missy VG86, a September-2022-born heifer due to calve down this week.

She was sired by Cloonboygher Sandy EX90 and comes from Cahirmee Tomahawk Missy ET VG88, who produced 11,733kg of milk at 3.48% fat and 3.24% protein in her second lactation in 2022.

The heifer has an EBI of -€130, with a milk sub index of €48 and a fertility sub-index of -€125.

Her milk traits are broken into 445kg of milk, 9.07kg of fat and 11.25kg of protein.

The third calver produced 10,296kg of milk in her second lactation last year, at 3.84% fat and 3.5% protein, equating to 755kg of milk solids.

Cahirmee Sol Atara EX94 was the star of the sale, the eight generation of VG/EX dams from the highly acclaimed ADA family.

The January-2018 cow is not just backed by lineage, but also production, having peaked in her second lactation with 11,337kg of milk at 3.46% fat and 3.13% protein, equating to 747kg of milk solids.

She was still producing 10,098kg of milk at 3.67% fat and 3.35% protein in her fifth lactation last year, equating to 708kg of milk solids.

As her bidding topped out at €3,950, the Smiths could not justify letting her go for that money.

Some other top prices from the sale included;

€3,350 for Cahirmee Albert Presence, a February-2023-born heifer due to calve down in June. She is currently giving 40L/day and is projected to produced 9,513kg of milk at 3.83% fat and 3.52% protein in her second lactation this year;
€3,100 for Cahirmee Ailibi Marieka, an April-2024-born heifer backed by 10 generations of VG/EX dams. She is currently giving 32L/day and is projected to produce 8,169kg of milk at 3.79% fat and 3.30% protein in her first lactation this year.

Overall, the selection of freshly calved heifers and in calf heifers averaged €2,947/head.

Meanwhile, 2026-born calves, ranging from between February and September, averaged €921/head.

The top price paid for a calf went for February-born Cahirmee Napoleon Joyce, making €1,050.

She is sired by Lisduff Napoleon ET (FR9881), and is out of Cahirmee Diamondback Joyce VG89.