Dairy farmers came out in force to Central Auctions, Nenagh, on Thursday 3 April, for the Irish Hereford Breed Society's show and sale of bulls. A total of 24 bulls were presented for sale, with 18 of them finding new homes for an average of €4,444.

It was clear Euro-star indices played an important role with buyers, as dairy farmers looked for bulls which met the requirements of the Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme (DBWS).

Trade peaked at €7,800 for Appel 1 Powerhouse PH bred in Co Cork by John Appelbe. Born in September 2023, this heterozygous polled bull packed a tremendous set of figures, which included five-star terminal and replacement indices.

Sired by Solpoll 1 Lawman, his mother Kingsgrovepoll 1 Han Josie is a daughter of Solpoll 1 Handsome. After some intense ringside bidding, auctioneer Eamonn Gaffney eventually dropped the hammer to a farmer from Co Kerry.

Full horned bull

A bid of €6,100 secured the full horned bull, Mullaghey 1 Maurice HH, exhibited by local man Rory Farrell.

Bred in Co Meath by Larry Carpenter, this Corlismore Cormac 076 son goes back to a Knockglass Donald sired dam and offered buyers a five-star terminal index of €78 along with a five-star beef sub-index of €100. He was knocked down to Pat Heffernan, a dairy farmer from Co Tipperary.

Mullaghey 1 Maurice HH which sold for €6,100 shown by Rory Farrell.

Three bulls exchanged hands at €5,000, two of which belonging to Maurice Geary from Co Limerick. First to trade was the full horned bull, Dromona Wizard 1003 ET HH, a Haven Wizard son out of a Tullaha Apple bred dam.

Born in July 2023, Wizard displayed a nice balance of indices, with a five-star beef sub-index of €110 and a carcase weight figure of +15.5kg.

Geary's second offering, Dromona General 1005 HH also hit the €5,000 mark. Another full horned bull, this Border General son is out of a Cill Cormaic Kasper bred dam. He carries a massive dairy beef index (DBI) of €126 along with breed average calving figures on beef and dairy, and will now join a dairy herd in Co Cork.

Reserve champion

The final bull to trade at €5,000 was Ballinalick Marvel 2 HH, which received the reserve championship in the pre-sale show for Co Tipperary breeder, William Duff.

Born in September 2023, this Quinsboro Marvel 1st son is out of a Trillick Emmet bred cow and despite being low on indices, attracted significant ringside interest before selling to a farmer from Co Kilkenny.

Cork judge

Judge Daniel Lehane from Co Cork awarded the overall champion of the show to Ardmulchan Volcano HH, a full horned bull brought out by Co Meath breeders, Catherine and Phil Smyth. A farmer from Co Clare snapped up this Ballinveney Tiger bred bull at €4,600.

Read all about the Irish Hereford Breed Society show and sale in Nenagh in next week's Irish Farmers Journal.