The inaugural Genetic Gems Hereford female sale is set to take place on Saturday 20 November at GVM Marts, Tullamore, in conjunction with the National Hereford Calf Show.

This select sale of handpicked heifers will offer buyers the opportunity to purchase the best and most proven Hereford genetics that Ireland has to offer.

The heifers have been selected based on their genetic potential and appearance and include both the champion and reserve female champions, along with several prizewinners from this year’s national Hereford show.

The sale consists of in-calf and maiden heifers, with a mix of horned and polled bloodlines. All heifers will be sire- and dam-verified and genomically tested.

In addition to the selected heifers, there are also two wildcard slots open to the champion and reserve champion female from the National Hereford Calf Show, which means they can join the Genetic Gems sale on the day. It will be up to the exhibitor if they wish to add their winner to the sale.

Viewing

The heifers can be viewed from 7pm on Friday evening and the sale will start after the calf show at 3pm. Bidding will also be available online. For more information and catalogue details, check out Genetic Gems on Facebook or Instagram.

The Genetic Gems, along with the National Hereford Calf Show, will showcase the pinnacle of the breed and will be a must-see event for breeders and interested parties alike.

All-Ireland Angus champion herds announced

This year, the Irish Aberdeen Angus Association hosted its first ever all-Ireland herds competition.

While clubs within the association have regularly run herd competitions, the overall all-Ireland competition was launched in 2021.

Tasked with judging the various stages were Albert DeCogan, Cathy O’Hara and Thomas and Patrick Beirne.

After visiting the herds over the past number of weeks, the overall winners were decided as follows:

  • All-Ireland small herd 2021: John Brady’s Lisnafanna herd.
  • All-Ireland medium herd 2021: Eustace Burke’s Clontead herd.
  • All-Ireland large herd 2021: Malachy Tighe’s Tara herd.
  • The Irish Aberdeen Angus Association now looks to this weekend for the return of its premier sale in Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday 13 November.

    Attracting an entry of 32 heifers and 17 bulls, the pre-sale show will take place at 11am, with the sale following at 1pm.

    Online viewing and bidding is available through LSL, with pre-registration necessary.

    The sale will also award four €500 vouchers to the buyers of the bulls with the highest terminal and dairy beef indices, with full details available on the association website.

    Return of elite commercial sale in Donegal

    The elite commercial haltered sale in Ballybofey and Stranorlar is returning for a second year.

    Viewing for this year’s sale will take place on Friday 12 November from 4pm, with a live parade at 5pm, which can also be viewed on the Facebook page titled ‘Elite Commercial Haltered cattle sale’ or on the LSL app.

    The sale of stock will take place the following day on Saturday 13 November at noon. Those wishing to bid online are asked to contact the mart in advance.

    Included in this year’s sale are 40 bull calves, 93 heifer calves and 37 breeding heifers. These are made up of mostly Limousin, Blue and Charolais cattle.