Jerry O’Keefe, his wife Kathleen (Kay) and their son Gerard collectively and successfully run the Grangewood Charolais herd in Knocklong, Co Limerick.

Unlike a lot of the pedigree farms we see in recent times, the O’Keefes' farm is not one of generations and instead began with the purchase of one pedigree Charolais heifer almost 30 years ago.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Jerry explained: “Our first purchase was actually pigs would you believe!

"We dabbled in sheep for a little while and then we made the plunge into cattle. Neither myself or Kay come from a farming background, but I was always interested in cattle growing up.”

Kay went on to explain: “Jerry actually set out to buy blacks (Angus). Twice he went looking with the intention of starting a pedigree Angus herd and twice he failed to buy!”

Foundation

The foundation female at Grangewood, Gallic Gloria, was purchased at a society sale in Naas from the late David Moloney in the mid-1990s, which was shortly followed by the purchase of two pedigree females from France in December 2000.

One of these breeding females was Le Piat D’Or, which Kay suggested was the beginning of all things good for Grangewood Charolais.

We asked the O’Keefes the secret to breeding a sale topper - the family were undivided on the idea.

“You have to pick a bull to match your cows and heifers. You have to look at what the people want, stars and figures come in to it, but an animal has to be correct, balanced and stylish.

"Any cow might breed a good one with the right bull, but if you can find a cow that will breed consistently with a range of bulls you’re on to a winner.”

While on the topic, we asked the O’Keefes what advice they would give a young person starting out.

“Buy the absolute best female that you can afford," advised Kay. "Look at the breeding over a couple of generations, but make sure you love the animal that you are looking at.”

She was the start of everything for us

“The top cow in our herd is Grangewood Emerald. She was the start of everything for us. She is an Enfield Picasso daughter and has been so lucky for us over the years.

"We’ve hardly had to take less than €5,000 for any of her progeny and she is the mother of Grangewood Jolly Holly, who seems to be breeding equally as consistent as her mother.”

Grangewood Royal Oak, pictured at the Irish Charolais Cattle Society national calf show 2022.

The Grangewood team believes strongly in using embryo work to maximise their chances of breeding the next star and explained the advantages of embryo work for their herd.

“Embryo work is a fantastic opportunity to try out new or different bulls. You can be more adventurous when dealing with embryos because you’ll never run into difficulty with your donor cow in terms of difficult calvings or things like that.”

“We have been very lucky with a number of sires such as Gin and Tonic, Inverlochy Ferdie, Jacquard and, of course, probably the most influential sire on our herd - Goldstar Echo.

"Echo is a bull that has matched really well with the females in our herd and has been very consistent in breeding easy calving and stylish bulls and heifers.”

These crosses have gone on to produce numerous show champions and sale toppers for the O’Keefe family over the years.

Influences

We also discussed who and what influenced the team when they were making their breeding and buying decisions.

“We are always trying to breed and buy something better than the one before. No matter what, the number one goal is always to get a better female to breed a better calf.

“I remember going to fatstocks as a young boy in Kilmallock and going to local shows like Charleville, Limerick and Cappamore and always having a huge interest.

Billy Gubbins and his father before him were at the top of their game at that time and I knew I always wanted to be out there at the top of the game too.”

The O’Keefes have enjoyed huge successes over the years within the Charolais breed, winning at shows locally and nationally and topping sales all over the country.

Their first ever bull brought forward for sale was sold to Northern Ireland at a society sale in Naas and since then, the herd’s genetics can be seen in other herds near and far.

Shows

Shows are a huge part of what the team at Grangewood Charolais do and they have become a big part of their lives since they began showing almost 20 years ago.

Jerry explained how he used to go to the RDS Show in Dublin, which is where he first saw cattle being shown and where he fell in love with the idea of showing.

Kay said: “Jerry used to work very long hours driving the truck and sometimes it made it difficult to travel, but we weren’t long getting bitten by the show bug.”

Speaking on their times at shows, Gerard commented: “Shows are the place to be if you have stock to sell or if you want to build a name for your herd. It’s an ideal shop window and it’s a great way to meet people all over the world, not just locally or in Ireland.”

Everybody that goes out is aiming for the top

When we asked Jerry what was the most enjoyable aspect of farming for him, he told us: “Awe, going to a show or sale and coming home with a champion rosette!

"Everybody that goes out is aiming for the top, so when you can get to the top, especially with a homebred animal, that is some feeling.”

Commenting on some of their happiest and proudest memories to date, the family reflected on a number of dream days, which saw them win both the male and female championships at a society sale on the same day in Naas in 2001 with Grangewood Rufus and Grangewood Pretty Woman.

Another highlight for the family was winning the national Charolais show two years in a row with Jolly Holly, first as a calf and then as a two-year-old heifer.

One of the most recent successes for the herd came when their homebred bull, Grangewood Royal Oak, was purchased by one of Ireland’s leading AI companies Progressive Genetics.

Royal Oak is sired by Goldstar Echo out of Grangewood Emerald and is a full brother to Grangewood Rock on Barney, which sold earlier this year for €8,000.

The family plans to continue breeding Charolais long into the future, trying out new bulls and enjoying shows and sales with the life-long friends they’ve made along the way.