The well-known and aptly named 'Goldstar Charolais Herd' owned by Martin Ryan from Thurles, Co. Tipperary, is set to host an online production sale this coming weekend.

The production sale will open at 12 mid day on Friday, October 3, and will start to close on Monday, October 6, at 7:00p.m.

Speaking to Agriland ahead of the sale, Martin Ryan of the Goldstar Charolais Herd explained some of the highlights included in the sale.

He said: "The Junior Champion from the Tullamore Show is in it and the daughter of the Senior Champion is in it.

"There's another heifer in it has been Champion at a number of shows and Interbreed Champion as well."

The sale will take place on MartEye via timed auction in conjunction with Mid Tipperary Co Operative Livestock Mart, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Included in the sale is:

10 premium pedigree Charolais heifers;
Four recipients with calves at foot;
One pedigree cow with her calf at foot;
Eight Grade 1 embryos from some of the top cows in the herd.

The herd has an impressive reputation for producing top-end Charolais genetics and is well known and respected across Ireland the UK, France and further afield.

Martin said: "To put it in a short summary, we started in 1996. We focused more on breeding good females than most breeders do. Most breeders work it as a bull production job.

"What we have done is we constantly replenish breeding stock from France practically every year.

"We make everything that's born on the farm available for sale. If they're born here, they're for sale if somebody wants to buy them and we replace them in France.

"So we keep everything new in that way, keep the bloodlines fresh and keep the stuff interesting."

Martin said they have a large market for their market.

He said: "We have sold three stock bulls back to France we have sold a number of bulls into AI and we have exported to seven countries at this point in time as far afield as the Czech Republic."

The sires of the progeny in the sale includes:

Neptune;
Reglisse;
Nevers;
Goldstar Othello;
Goldstar Hugo;

"They're the main ones that are fashionable right now," he said.

Commenting on some of the cow families with progeny in the sale, he listed:

Goldstar Irene;
Nightingale;
Sephora.

Martin said that the sale will have a great selection for somebody "looking for a really good nucleus female to breed from or somebody who wants something for showing next year."

Martins' advice for young people looking to get started in pedigree Charolais breeding is: "For me, if you're looking at any young female, you're really looking at a few main things, number one, functionality, what will make a good cow.

"Is there calving ability in the bloodline? Is there enough milk to rear a calf in the bloodline? Think of them as future cows, not just buying something just because they're muscly."

He said that much of his inspiration in pedigree Charolais breeding has been derived from visiting up to 20 French herds/year.

He said: "When you really see what's working, you're looking at progeny, you're looking at the dam, the granddam and maybe even the great grand-dam, you're looking at a female line, going back cow lines that are consistently performing and doing the job, you're stacking the odds in your favour massively by doing that.

Commenting on star ratings, he said: "They're important in the market. They're not the be all and end all. I start with the animal and then I check with the stars after that.

"Whereas ones that have only come in, you need to recognise that the data won't be that reliable. That's how we view it.

"They are very, very accurate on things like carcass traits, confirmation, weight, those figures are very accurate."

Viewing of the entries in the sale will be available on-farm on Saturday, October 4, from 12.30 to 5:00pm (Eircode: E41 PX85).