A total of 60 in-calf commercial suckler cows from the Skidoo herd are set to go under the hammer this Friday, October 22, at 6:30p.m at Carnaross Mart.
The Skidoo name needs no introduction to many suckler farmers and is known in farming circles at both national and international level.
Skidoo’s pedigree Charolais female herd was dispersed in September 2019 in what was described as ‘a sale to remember’ by Skidoo farm manager Donal Callery and his team, and the pedigree male herd has been dispersed since then.
Whether it was the pedigree herd or the commercial herd, the main focus when breeding the herd was ease of calving and strong ‘milky’ cows that would have a calf every 365 days, along with good fertility as well as strong feet and legs.
The commercial herd is a split-calving system, with 60% of the cows calving in the spring, while the remaining 40% calved down in the autumn – using 60% artificial insemination (AI) and 40% stock bulls.
Describing the farming system, farm manager Donal Callery said: “Given the farm’s location, an early turnout was achieved each year and an effort was made to include as much grazed-grass as possible in the diet.
“We followed the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) and had great success from it. This allowed us to breed an extremely fertile herd, while not interfering on carcass weights or conformation.”
“By striving to breed elite female animals, this allowed us to improve the genetics year-on-year,” he added.
“We always used 5-Star sires – whether that was in the form of AI or stock bulls.”
According to the farm manager, herd health was always “top of the agenda” on the north Co. Dublin holding and a strict vaccination programme was also in place.
Livestock on the farm were vaccinated against:
- Lepto;
- BVD;
- IBR;
- Blackleg;
- Rotavirus.
The farm is also surrounded by tillage fields which helped maintain a high-herd health status.
The breeds used in the commercial herd were predominately Limousin and Charolais with some Simmental genetics.
When it came to selecting bulls and sires, criteria was very much based around maternal traits, the farm manager outlined.
“The breeding policy promoted an animal that was early maturing and a medium-sized cow, with high figures for milk and fertility.”
The herd is scanned in-calf to both Charolais and Limousin AI and pedigree stockbulls – Keltic Neptune and Novinchristie Nicholas (both Limousin), and Charolais bull Skidoo Jonathan, while AI sires include LM4050 and KCH.
Finally, there will be prizes on the night for the top-priced seven cows. Viewing will take place from 4:00p.m onwards with the sale commencing at 6:30p.m.
Concluding, Donal said: “I would like to wish all the bidders at Friday’s sale the very best of luck and I hope the winning bidders’ lots do as well for them as they have for us over the years.”
A catalog for the sale is available from Ciaran at Tradeforus.