The Irish Hereford Breed Society has put together a calendar of the most photogenic Hereford cattle in the country, in aid of funding for a hospice in the midlands.
The society, with Irish Hereford Prime, ran a photo competition in July and August this year to find the best of the breed, with a “couple of 100” entrants and some 30 finalists.
The photo competition was part of a wider effort to raise money for ‘Hooves 4 Hospice’, a charity that uses the proceeds from cattle sales to raise money for the worthwhile cause.
Ivor Deverell, a member of the Irish Hereford Breed Society’s council, explained that the society has been involved with Hooves 4 Hospice, which operates in the midlands to fund a ‘Level 3’ hospice care building.
It’s the only region in Ireland that doesn’t have a Level 3 palliative care unit.
“This year we got involved with them by basically getting 20 of our farmers to donate and rear calves – or just rear – and we also bought some calves for members to rear,” Deverell said.
Most of the animals will be brought to sale around next August or September. Currently, Hooves 4 Hospice has about 400 animals to be sold next year, with the full proceeds going to the hospice fund.
In the meantime, in order to raise some additional funding, the breed society has decided to compile the best photos picked out from the earlier photo competition into a 2021 calendar.
We’re printing the calendar ourselves and paying for the cost of it. We’re charging €10 for every calendar, and all the proceeds from that will go to Hooves 4 Hospice.
“We had good photographs and we decided it was a good way of showcasing them. If we can make a bit more money for the charity out of it, we’ll do it. That was the whole reason behind everything,” Deverell remarked.
“I can see that regional people will buy it, and at the same time Hereford people or people who are interested in cattle in general might think it’s a good calendar,” he added.
Deverell also noted that there was opportunity for people to invest in a calendar as a gift to others who may not be quite as fond of the breed.
People might want to give it to someone who doesn’t like Herefords. If you’re an Angus breeder the worst thing you could get would be a Herford calendar! We have a few people buying it for those reasons, but it’s all for charity.
“One guy bought 10 of them because he’s a Hereford breeder and his neighbours aren’t,” he noted.
With “a couple of hundred” calendars sold already, the breed society is hoping to present the proceeds to Hooves 4 Hospice in January.
The calendar is out now and is available to buy online through the Irish Hereford Prime website.