The Irish Shorthorn Society will be out in force again this year at the National Ploughing Championships.

Its stand will be located at LS 21 in Block 3. Beef Shorthorns from 2014 all-Ireland classes will be on display along with commercial beef shorthorn crosses.

It has been a very exciting year to date for the breed, with a marked increase in interest. This is said to be due in a large part to market changes in the beef industry.

Website

The Society recently launched a new website with a lot of user-friendly features. It says the early-maturing beef Shorthorn and also the crossbred beef Shorthorn are proving very profitable for numerous reasons. The cows are easily calved and have a short gestation period. They are quick-finishing and the females have an excellent temperament, excellent fertility and milk. This adds to their usefulness as suckler dams.  

The society will have a number of flyers on the various beef bulls available from easy-calving bulls to bulls with the best milk. They will also guide farmers to beef Shorthorn bulls suitable for use in the dairy herd.

There will be a number of beef breeders and members of the Shorthorn Council on site each day to chat and offer breeding advice.

There will be a number of milking animals on display, with breeders on hand to chat and advise dairy farmers on the qualities the dairy Shorthorn can bring. The milking Shorthorn brings excellent constituents and volume with super fertility and excellent feet. Once again this year a Raffle for a beef Shorthorn heifer will take place on the Thursday afternoon.

Tickets are for sale at the stand or from your local Shorthorn breeder.