Five years on from their last production sale, the Allowdale Hereford herd of Liam Philpot and Anne Pounds is set for another.

This year’s sale is set to take place on the home farm, outside Kanturk, Co Cork, with online bidding also available through Denis Barrett on the Irish Farmers Journal Martbids app.

Taking place on Saturday 31 July, this year’s sale consists of 47 heifers and three bulls, along with a select number of embryo lots.

Since the outset, the herd has focused on identifying some of the best lines available, not only in Ireland but in Northern Ireland, the UK, Canada and the US.

Now running 100 cows, the herd genotypes all cattle on-farm and rigorously performance records through regular weighings.

This breeding for performance, combined with outcross genetics, means that Allowdale has achieved a lot since it started up 15 years ago.

The herd has had a massive eight bulls purchased by AI centres or the Gene Ireland programme.

These include highly successful bulls such as Allowdale Rory 594 and Allowdale Rambo ET.

Many of the top heifers in this year’s sale are sired by these successful bulls, but also a range of others, as 50% AI is used on the herd to ensure good genetic diversity each year.

Five years ago, the sale saw prices top at €5,750 for the young bull Allowdale Rambo 475, a bull later put into stud. Females that day saw prices rise to €4,800 for Allowdale Serena, with the average settling around the €3,000 mark.

This top-priced female also went on to great things for new owners Gerry and Ciara McNamara, with one of her first sons, Churchcross Hurler, awarded the male and reserve supreme champion at the society’s National Show in Tullamore in 2019.

Speaking on this year’s sale, Liam Philpot said: “I think the only way to do it is to offer everything in the sale, so that’s what we’ve done.

“There’s a classy bunch of heifers in the sale that I’d love to breed myself. It’s a real opportunity to get into some serious stock.” All animals offered for sale are fully registered with the Irish Hereford Breed Society.