Dispersal sales are often bittersweet events, but Donie and Maura McKeown are selling their prized Milan Limousin herd in good faith, safe in the knowledge that their success through the years should pass on to the buyers when their cattle come under the hammer in Elphin Mart on Saturday 20 July at 1.30pm.
Forty lots of cattle, comprising of cow-calf pairs, in-calf cows, maiden and in-calf heifers and a selection of bull and heifer weanlings, will be on offer, as well as a selection of embryos and a host of pedigree Limousin semen.
The herd began with the purchase of Pelletstown Lorraine in Roscrea in 1998 for £3,100 from Roger McCarrick, "which would have been a fair bit of money in ‘98," remarks Donie.
"She done very well for us, she left when she was about 16 and left a lot of good progenies to us, some of which are in the sale."
A second pedigree was added to the herd, again from Roger McCarrick, but this time a Danish import, the following year. After several years of breeding and flushing, an additional five animals were sourced in the UK in 2005 from the Greenwell herd.
The herd is well known nationwide and especially in the northwest region, where the McKeowns have been actively involved in the Limousin club for many years, with Donie holding the title of club secretary for two terms, having collected many club awards for their cattle along the way.
Lot 12 Milan Lilly May sired by Wilodge Tonka and AI'd to Bel Orient. /Tricia Kennedy
Milan Jefferson is arguably the herd’s most successful produce, with a host of accolades to him.
The 2014-born calf by Ampertaine Foreman won the north west calf championship in 2015 and went on to collect 16 firsts, four breed championships, four reserve breed championships, two interbreed bull classes, one interbreed championship and one reserve interbreed championship during the 2015 show season.
He went on to sell for €12,200 in the Roscrea sale that year at just over 12 months of age.
"I didn’t go down the star route," explained Donie. "I just wanted to breed good cattle.
"We used the British bulls, but they went a bit extreme lately on muscle, so we went back to the French bulls and they seem to work very well on the English [bred cows]."
Ampertaine Foreman, the French bull Vagabond, Ronnick Hawk and Cameos are all bulls that have left their stamp on their herd throughout the years.
Lot 17 Milan Tamara, a Loyal daughter, sells AI'd to Ampertaine Metric. / Tricia Kennedy
The McKeowns have opted for functionality in their breeding females throughout the year, with "length, good legs and a good frame, with a small bit of muscle".
"We never went the extreme route regarding muscle and we can say that looking at the pictures for our catalogue, there is no cow in it with bad feet."
The herd’s ambition was always to use "bulls from strong female lines and deep pedigrees to breed stylish, quality cattle true to breed type".
Lots 15 and 15A sell together. Milan Peachy by Millington Leslie and her April-born heifer calf Milan Victoria at foot./ Tricia Kennedy
The herd is being dispersed as the McKeowns look towards easing into retirement without walking away from farming entirely, with the plan being to finish cattle on the holding, meaning the entire pedigree herd is to be sold - no animals are being held back from the sale.
In anticipation of the sale, no heifers were sold in recent years, with several in-calf heifers on the point of calving which should offer "value for money for customers" making up part of the 40 lots on offer.
Lot 20 a Milan Varga, a Claddagh McCabe daughter sells with her On-Dit dam. /Tricia Kennedy
The herd has always ranked level one for Johnes, with yearly vaccinations for lepto and blackleg undertaken, while no case of BVD has ever been recorded in the herd.
Viewing of lots is available beforehand, with the sale running between 1.30pm and 4pm, while buyers can also use Martbids to purchase online.
Dispersal sales are often bittersweet events, but Donie and Maura McKeown are selling their prized Milan Limousin herd in good faith, safe in the knowledge that their success through the years should pass on to the buyers when their cattle come under the hammer in Elphin Mart on Saturday 20 July at 1.30pm.
Forty lots of cattle, comprising of cow-calf pairs, in-calf cows, maiden and in-calf heifers and a selection of bull and heifer weanlings, will be on offer, as well as a selection of embryos and a host of pedigree Limousin semen.
The herd began with the purchase of Pelletstown Lorraine in Roscrea in 1998 for £3,100 from Roger McCarrick, "which would have been a fair bit of money in ‘98," remarks Donie.
"She done very well for us, she left when she was about 16 and left a lot of good progenies to us, some of which are in the sale."
A second pedigree was added to the herd, again from Roger McCarrick, but this time a Danish import, the following year. After several years of breeding and flushing, an additional five animals were sourced in the UK in 2005 from the Greenwell herd.
The herd is well known nationwide and especially in the northwest region, where the McKeowns have been actively involved in the Limousin club for many years, with Donie holding the title of club secretary for two terms, having collected many club awards for their cattle along the way.
Lot 12 Milan Lilly May sired by Wilodge Tonka and AI'd to Bel Orient. /Tricia Kennedy
Milan Jefferson is arguably the herd’s most successful produce, with a host of accolades to him.
The 2014-born calf by Ampertaine Foreman won the north west calf championship in 2015 and went on to collect 16 firsts, four breed championships, four reserve breed championships, two interbreed bull classes, one interbreed championship and one reserve interbreed championship during the 2015 show season.
He went on to sell for €12,200 in the Roscrea sale that year at just over 12 months of age.
"I didn’t go down the star route," explained Donie. "I just wanted to breed good cattle.
"We used the British bulls, but they went a bit extreme lately on muscle, so we went back to the French bulls and they seem to work very well on the English [bred cows]."
Ampertaine Foreman, the French bull Vagabond, Ronnick Hawk and Cameos are all bulls that have left their stamp on their herd throughout the years.
Lot 17 Milan Tamara, a Loyal daughter, sells AI'd to Ampertaine Metric. / Tricia Kennedy
The McKeowns have opted for functionality in their breeding females throughout the year, with "length, good legs and a good frame, with a small bit of muscle".
"We never went the extreme route regarding muscle and we can say that looking at the pictures for our catalogue, there is no cow in it with bad feet."
The herd’s ambition was always to use "bulls from strong female lines and deep pedigrees to breed stylish, quality cattle true to breed type".
Lots 15 and 15A sell together. Milan Peachy by Millington Leslie and her April-born heifer calf Milan Victoria at foot./ Tricia Kennedy
The herd is being dispersed as the McKeowns look towards easing into retirement without walking away from farming entirely, with the plan being to finish cattle on the holding, meaning the entire pedigree herd is to be sold - no animals are being held back from the sale.
In anticipation of the sale, no heifers were sold in recent years, with several in-calf heifers on the point of calving which should offer "value for money for customers" making up part of the 40 lots on offer.
Lot 20 a Milan Varga, a Claddagh McCabe daughter sells with her On-Dit dam. /Tricia Kennedy
The herd has always ranked level one for Johnes, with yearly vaccinations for lepto and blackleg undertaken, while no case of BVD has ever been recorded in the herd.
Viewing of lots is available beforehand, with the sale running between 1.30pm and 4pm, while buyers can also use Martbids to purchase online.
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