Last Saturday (March 27) was the date of the first Irish Hereford Breed Society Premier sale of 2021 at Tullamore Mart.
It was a sale that was low in numbers in terms of the bulls presented for auction, as 27 males from the 34 catalogued, passed through the rings – with a 65% clearance rate achieved. However, this in turn aided the sale’s prices as bulls averaged a healthy €2,970/head.
One of the stand out statistics of the day is that 10 bulls were sold for €3,000 or more on Saturday.
A major boost to buyers who exceeded the €3,000 figure was that the Irish Hereford Prime was reimbursing them €250 towards the purchase of their bull.
Kye Nando 881
Topping the sale at €4,200 was the July 2019-born Kye Nando 881, exhibited by Padraig McGrath from Elphin in Co. Roscommon.
A son of Free Town Nevada, this bull is out a home-bred dam sired by Steil Gerard {Hyf}. He was catalogued with four stars on the terminal index and was also ranked with calving ease figure of +3% on beef cow matings. Nando made the long trip to a new home in Co. Cork after the sale.
Airhill Raffael
It was the fifth bull into the ring that secured the second highest price of €4,000 for exhibitor Nigel Heatrick from Co. Monaghan. Airhill Raffael is sired by Cill Cormaic Napoleon and bred out of a dam sired by Airhill Feilding.
This bull was presented with a calving figure of +3.3% on matings with beef cows and already has registered calves on the ground. He was purchased by a farmer from Birr in Co. Offaly.
Keenagh Pedro and Prince Pablo
Edwin and Robert Jones from Co. Longford sold Kennagh Pedro for €3,900.
The sire this time was Keenagh L-Jay, with the popular Kilsunny Goliath being his maternal grandsire. The indices were attractive in this 20 month-old bull as he was ranked with €92 on the replacement index, while also having a calving ease figure of +1.3%.
The success did not stop there for the Jones family, as they sold Keenagh Prince Pablo for the next highest price of €3,600. Again, the sire of this bull was Keenagh L-Jay, while sires such as Ballinvena Frankie and Cloonart Jackaroo could be found in his maternal back-pedigree. He sold to the pedigree herd of Wade McCrabbe based in Co. Donegal.
Ballinalick Felix
Ballinalick Felix shown by William Duff from Co. Tipperary sold for the next highest price of €3,200. Sired by the home-bred Ballinalick Gold, he has a calving ease figure of +2.7% on matings with beef cows. He was snapped up by a Co. Carlow farmer.
Feevaghmore Las Vagas 2
Selling at €3,100 was Feevaghmore Las Vagas 2, for breeder Willie Kennedy from Co. Roscommon.
This April 2019-born bull is sired by Haven Kingpin {Hyf} and out of a dam sired by Ballyaville Wally. Having a calving ease figure of +1.9% on matings with beef cows, he sold to a pedigree herd from Co. Cork.
Fortviewpoll 1 Party
Fortviewpoll 1 Party also sold for €3,100 to a farmer from Co. Galway. This 17 month-old bull is sired by Solpoll 1 Pounder and was exhibited by John Morrow from Carrigallen in Co. Leitrim. The replacement index for this bull is valued at €108 and has a terminal index value of €77.
Woodviewpoll 1 Oskar
The next up to sell for €3,100 was Woodviewpoll 1 Oskar.
Exhibited by David Abbott from Co. Cavan, he is sired by Allowdale Rory 594 and out of a daughter of Solpoll 1 Handsome {Hyc}. Oskar had one of the highest replacement index values on the day, by having a value of €140. He sold to a Roscommon-based farmer.
Other leading prices included:
- €3,000 for Grianan Ultra sired by Grianan Parker and exhibited by T & A Fitzgerald from Moate, Co Westmeath;
- €3,000 for Boyanna Storm 1st sired by Cave Hill Storm and exhibited by Mary Farrell from Moate, Co Westmeath;
- €2,800 for Trillick Bronco sired by Free Town Nevada and exhibited by James Farrell from Trillick-A-Temple, Co. Longford.