The Charolais bull Beachview Uberto, shown by breeders Dermot O’Dowd and Sarah Curran, caused quite a stir at Saturday’s 'Christmas Cracker' sale in Elphin Mart.

This outstanding young bull was awarded the overall intermediate championship before going on to sell for the top price of €15,000 to the famous Maerdy herd in north Wales.

However, it was the fact that the bull does not qualify for the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) that had everyone talking.

Carrying just a two-star replacement index of €57 and a one-star terminal index of €99, the bull was unsellable to most Irish customers.

A bull of this calibre not qualifying for SCEP raises major questions for the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) and the scheme itself.

Top UK pedigree herd

Some of the country’s top suckler herds and main AI companies were in the market for a bull on Saturday. Unfortunately, the ineligibility of this bull left him out of contention for most.

Customers from Northern Ireland and the UK were smiling though, as their competition around the ring was halved. The fact that the bull sold to one of the oldest and best pedigree Charolais herds in the UK speaks volumes.

Bulls such as Beachview Uberto don’t come along very often - when they do, they should be utilised to improve the national herd. Instead, another promising young bull has been exported out of the country - not by choice, but by the rules of a scheme.