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One of the newest AI companies to set up shop in Ireland is K Genetics. Owned and managed by Donegal native Kevin McDermott, the relatively new business has become one of many of the small studs looking to market semen to pedigree breeders.
Kevin said: “From a young age, I always had an interest in show cattle and good cattle of all breeds. The gene pool of Charolais available in Ireland had got very small with most bloodlines crossing too closely, so I started looking for new bloodlines.”
Identifying a gap in the market for selling semen for the type of bulls he was searching for, Kevin decided to go about setting up a Department of Agriculture-approved AI centre in 2017. With a lot of help from local vet Fidelma Tonry, K Genetics was born.
The first shipment of semen was made up of old, proven French bulls, which had a track record of producing breed quality and maternal traits - such as Major, Jupiter, Invincible and Utrillo.
“We then added a pair of Paris champions to the catalogue in Hatenon and Jingle who have bred seriously well. Diplo Gir is another very good bull who is leaving really soft fleshing cattle with qualities very similar to CF52, some breeders are saying.”
It was also decided that K Genetics would aim for a maternal type of bull given that there has been such a focus on carcase in Ireland over the past two decades. Having viewed certain sires’ daughters and after speaking to French breeders, Helios was chosen to add to the lineup, followed by Grifondor, Malakoff, Ocean, Horace and Mylove.
To be added to the K Genetics catalogue, bulls must first reach a certain standard.
“I look for an outstanding quality. The bulls must be ‘best in class’ for a certain trait. We have bulls to perform in the show ring, produce females, top-end show calves and high sellers. No bull will do everything, so it’s essential to match the bull to the cow.”
The growth and demand in the semen McDermott was importing led the business to purchasing a bull of its own for jumping. This purchase was Goldstar Othello from the Ryan family in Tipperary.
“Othello is a son of the in-demand Goldstar Echo and out of the show cow Goldstar Haidi. He is visually impressive and has figures to match, standing as the number-one Charolais on terminal index in Irish AI.”
Immediate exports of Othello semen to breeders in both the UK and France helped pave the way for further expansion. In 2020, a new bull was identified which Kevin hopes will add further to his lineup.
“We recently purchased Melvin Piper. This Whitecliffe James son is out of a Pirate cow. He carries two copies of the F94L gene and has a super easy calving pedigree. I think he is a really Irish type of bull that should leave a mark in Elphin. We are finalising a deal for Melvin Piper semen to be exported to France this spring also.”
The success within the Charolais breed over the last three years meant that other breeds, and even hybrids, were quickly added to the mix.
First to be added was the hybrid bull Us Heit Van Knedo which was recently purchased by K Genetics for a five-figure sum.
This 10-year-old bull has a proven track record of producing those red-and-white flashy show calves with Kevin stating that this bull’s semen is in high demand.
“It’s a massive price for a bull of his age, but he is a once-in-a-lifetime bull. Bulls like him don’t come along every day.”
The stud also acquired semen from three Angus bulls in the form of Retties JFK, Rawburn Rommel and Fordel.
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