“The Angus brand is truly a worldwide brand and whether you are in South America, Europe or Asia Angus steaks are always recognised at the top of the menu,” according to Dovea genetics export sales manager Conor Ryan.

"The UK and USA are seen by many as the origins of the Angus breed, but here in Ireland we have also over the years developed a herd incorporating the best genetics from around the world and traditional Irish Angus genetics to deliver easy-calving and early-maturing Angus cattle."

Talking about Dovea Genetics' export business, Ryan said: “Dovea Genetics now exports Angus semen to 25 countries. With dairy farmers across the EU looking to deliver better margins the Angus cross from the dairy cow is now seen as an alternative.”

Dutch demand

Ryan says that Dovea has invested heavily to create a large portfolio of easy-calving, short-gestation and easy-fleshing bulls to best place them to take advantage of this move in dairy-beef crossing.

“The most interesting uptake in recent times has been the demand from Holland, where 50-60% of the total dairy herd is inseminated to beef to produce veal calves. The Belgian Blue has been the breed of choice for this market for many years but there is now a move towards premium beef brands and Angus semen is been used for this purpose.”

Bull options

Going through the bulls available at Dovea, Ryan said Lisduff Leonardo (AA4305) and Smerwick Luke (AA4030) have both been used in Holland on Holstein cows along with Dovea's export star Bunlahy John G (BJG).

Other Dovea Angus bulls such as Kealkil Lord Justy (AA2370), Duibhgiolla Luigi (AA2301) and Portauns Volcano (AA2259) can also be seen in breeding catalogues across Portugal, Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania.

Speaking about Bunlahy John G, Ryan said: “We have delivered 30,000 doses of Bunlahy John G (BJG) to Spain over the last 12 months with great results. He is used on Holstein cows in Spain and I have seen calves on the ground which are exceptional”.

A customer of Bunlahy John G semen in Spain, Jose Manual Vidal seconded this, saying: “If you want a good calf you must use a good bull, we have had no issues with Bunlahy John G, in fact he is always the first preference of our salesmen on the ground.”

Red Angus

The AI centre has seen an increase in the demand for red Angus genetics in recent times. To meet this, Dovea acquired two red bulls, namely Hawkley Red Zepplin (ZEP) and Lisduff Red Pepper (AA4303).

Others areas of interest for the export division of Dovea include the non-EU countries such as Serbia and Georgia as well as Vietnam and Malaysia.

Ryan also added that there have been enquiries from Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia for semen, as Dovea loooks to become a worldwide AI power.