Herd focus: Sheedy Brothers, Clashagad, Roscrea, Co Tipperary

Pat, Phil and Sean Sheedy operate a pedigree beef enterprise on a 175-acre grassland platform just outside the town of Dunkerrin in north Tipperary. While a 75-head herd of pedigree beef Shorthorns take pride of place at Clashagad, the brothers also run a small select herd of pedigree Angus and Hereford.

It was Philip Sheedy Snr who first sparked interest in the breed, operating pedigree licensed Shorthorn bulls for the Department of Agriculture from the 1940s to the 1960s. This, combined with the Sheedy family farming commercial Shorthorn cattle for decades, led to the establishment of the pedigree Clashagad Shorthorn herd in 1995.

A very small number of the existing pedigree stock were graded up from the commercial Shorthorn-type cattle that were traditionally farmed by the Sheedy family. In the intervening years, however, stock was purchased from a number of successful breeders from all parts of the country.

Helping to further expand the herd in recent years, Pat was the lucky recipient of pedigree heifer, Woodfield Lillian, as a prize from a raffle held at the Irish Shorthorn Society stand at the National Ploughing Championships in 2010 – a good return on a €2 ticket.

Sire choice

The pedigree herd was initially bred solely from AI. Bulls such as Chapelton Typhoon and Creaga Dice were both used with considerable success. However, as cow numbers increased, the decision to purchase a stock bull was made. The bull, Uppermill Madison, was purchased in 2010 from James Porter and the brothers describe the impact on the herd as very positive.

The present herd stock bull on farm is Killure Ace, a Sprys Patents Ace G38 son who was bred by Tony Roper, Claremorris, Co Mayo. His first crop of calves were born in spring 2016 and are looking very promising to date.

Although showing cattle does not form a central part of the yearly activities at Clashagad, the herd has made its mark on the summer show circuit. One of the herd highlights was winning the All-Ireland junior heifer calf championship with Clashagad Pam at Strokestown Show in 2010. Currently six years old, Pam is one of the best breeding cows in the herd, having produced four pedigree bull calves in a row. As well as showing cattle themselves, Pat is a respected member of the judging panel of several beef breeds and has officiated at many of the chief cattle shows across the country.

Sales

In addition to show successes, the herd has really made a name for itself at the Shorthorn sales, with success at a lot of the recent major sales. The Sheedys have exhibited the top-priced bull at the Irish Shorthorn Society premier spring sale for the last three years running. Clashagad Murphy – the top-priced bull at the 2016 sale just a few weeks ago, was sold to a commercial suckler farmer with a view to producing high-index crossbred replacement females. Unlike some other breeds, Shorthorn bulls are usually sold at two years of age and bought primarily by commercial suckler farmers. This allows them to calve in the spring and make the most out of grass without having to push them on with concentrates. Pat explained that a number of Clashagad bulls have gone as far away as Donegal, Down, Armagh, Antrim and Fermanagh in light of the increased demand for good Shorthorn bulls further north.

The Clashagad herd’s success in the sales ring is not limited to bulls. Numerous rosettes and top prices have also been achieved for female stock also. Clashagad Rose was the top-priced heifer calf at the Society Premier sale last November, making €3,000 at just seven months, selling to a pedigree breeder in Roscommon. Along with that, the herd also exhibited the supreme champion heifer at Castlerea and Ennis last autumn. The demand for heifers has been so strong that Phil explains it has been difficult to retain young females as replacements for the main herd each year.

The Shorthorn breed

Phil credits the breed’s ease of calving, tremendous milking ability, docility and resilient hardy nature as the main attributes of the Shorthorn breed.

As such, the Clashagad herd is reared almost exclusively off grass, with small amounts of concentrates fed only to breeding bulls before sales and to calves directly in advance of weaning. Pat also notes that ICBF performance values have become a key issue for potential customers and is pleased to see that the Shorthorn breed has been well placed to capitalise on this trend. “The renewed emphasis on maternal and replacement traits has tremendously benefited the Shorthorn breed, aiding in an upswing of Shorthorn bull usage in the commercial suckler herd in order to breed replacement females of superior mothering ability,” Pat explains.

Shorthorns will continue to take centre stage at Clashagad as the Sheedy brothers are sticking steadfastly to their trusted breeding philosophy, hoping to continue to produce high-end, premium-quality pedigree stock on a low-cost, predominantly grass-based system. Several young stock have already been identified for entry at the upcoming Irish Shorthorn Society sales and it’s very likely that the herd may be on course to breed yet another top-priced animal. Either way, the Sheedlys are as committed to the breed and optimistic about its future as ever before.