| 2015-08-10 |    |
Elite Females to Mark 45th Anniversary of Simmental Importation
The Northern Ireland Simmental Cattle Breeders’ Club has announced details of its forthcoming Elite Female Show and Sale.
The one-day event is scheduled to take place at the Pedigree Sales Arena near Moira on Saturday 5th September 2015, and has been organised to mark the 45th anniversary of the breed’s importation into the UK.
Committee members and sponsors of the NI Simmental Cattle Breeders' Club met recently at Kilbride Farm near Doagh to launch the 45th anniversary Elite Female Show and Sale which takes place at Moira on Saturday 5th September.
Club chairman Richard Rodgers said: ”Plans are well underway for the sale, and I am pleased to announce that the catalogue will include 32 heifers from many of the province’s leading herds. The heifers range in age from March 2013 to October 2014, and have been individually inspected on-farm by Irish breeder Peter O’Connell from the noted Raceview Herd based at Mallow, County Cork.
“The sale is a significant milestone in the history of the breed, celebrating 45 years of Simmental breeding in the UK.”
Judging commences at 10.30am, with all entries coming under scrutiny from British Simmental Cattle Society president David Donnelly, who runs the Atlow Herd in Derbyshire. The sale gets underway at 1.00pm and will be conducted by Taaffe Auctions.
Auctioneer Michael
Taaffe said:
“Buyers will be spoilt for choice,
and all prospective purchasers are assured that the catalogue comprises
of one of the most exclusive selections of Simmental females to be
offered in the UK and Ireland.
“All entries come from high health status herds, and will be inspected by a veterinary surgeon prior to the sale. They will be sold under the auspices of the National Beef Association.
“He continued: ”Vendors will carry out the necessary pre-movement tests, and all animals will be eligible for immediate export at the fall of the hammer.”
Richard Rodgers added:” The sale boasts a super selection of maiden and in-calf females, and will offer breeders from throughout the UK and Ireland a unique opportunity to purchase the cream of Northern Ireland’s genetics.
“Local Simmental breeders are among the best in the UK, and are continually hitting the headlines in the show and sale rings at national events such as the Stirling Bull Sales. Our Elite Female Show and Sale will act as shop window for NI-bred genetics, and we look forward to showcasing our cattle.
Herds represented in the catalogue include: Ballinlare Farm (3); Cladymore (1); Cleenagh (2); Coolcran (3); Derrycallaghan (1); Drumacritten (1); Drumagarner (1); Glenock (2); Kilbride Farm (5); Lisglass (1); Omorga (5); Ranfurly (2); Scribby Farms (1); Slievenagh (3), and Woodford (1).
Organisers and sponsors met recently at the Robson family’s Doagh-based Kilbride Farm Herd to launch the forthcoming sale. Sponsors include: Bimeda, Ag-Con Products Ltd, T-Met, Irwins Feeds, Tulivin Laboratories Ltd, Comfort Mats, Animax and Crystalyx.
The Kilbride Farm prefix is one of the UK’s longest established pedigree Simmental herds, dating back to the first importation of the breed in the early 1970s. Billy Robson OBE was a founder member of the Northern Ireland Simmental Cattle Breeders’ Club, and both he, and son Michael, are former presidents of the British Simmental Cattle Society.
