The past few weeks have proven we are now oversupplied with pedigree bulls. What’s more, there seems to be a sharp rise in the number of lesser-quality bulls attending sales. Breeders need to stand up and take responsibility for this.

Waste

Bulls that are not good enough need to be unregistered and culled, not sold for a lesser value. By selling weaker bulls for lesser value, you will inevitably reduce the price of the better bulls also.

It has come to a stage where a large proportion of pedigree bulls are now being bought for between €1,800 and €2,400. Breeders need to sit down and do the figures.

At these prices, the majority of bulls in a normal year would make more by being culled four-to-six months earlier.

Balance

When there’s an oversupply, the basic law of supply and demand comes into play and everybody loses. If breeders reduce the amount of bulls available, then the price paid increases. By culling the bottom tier of bulls, we will also see an increase in the quality of commercial animals coming on stream.

The time when selling a bull as a bull just because he has a pedigree cert is gone, and breeders need to realise that. If breeders fail to recognise poorer-quality bulls going forward, then it’s up to the breed societies to step in to inspect and reject animals based on quality.