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The Cill Cormaic herd name is one which many pedigree breeders will have heard about, particularly with regard to the Hereford breed.
While the prefix always carried an air of prestige, in recent years its success has grown, accumulating numerous championships, sale toppers and even two bulls into AI. This year stands as a monumental year for the herd, as it celebrates its 90th year in existence.
Field Boy had his licence, so we had dozens of females calling to be jumped
The herd, now run by David Larkin and helped at the weekends by his brother Joey, was first established in 1928 outside the village of Kilcormac in Co Offaly.
“When we started back in 1928, the prefix was actually Hermitage. There was no Irish herd book at the time, so when the British one realised they had two Hermitage prefixes, they were asking a substantial sum to secure the rights to it. So we changed to Cill Cormaic around the 1950s. The herd was actually founded the year my mother was born, so it’s a big year in the house,” said David.
Gertrude, David’s mother, was from a house of all women, with most marrying into farms. This resulted in a number of females from the Cill Cormaic herd spread around the country, but the core bunch of breeding females remained at Kilcormac.
“Daddy died when I was nine, so I took over the paperwork at 10 and I suppose I was 12 or 13 when I took over the herd fully. I remember the first show I exhibited at was Nenagh when I was 14; it poured down.”
However, due to the depopulation of the herd by brucellosis in 2000, David had to go in search of females and a bull to try to keep the 70 years of breeding alive.
Best of bloodlines
“Cill Cormaic Generator was one of the best bulls we had bred before that time, so when I saw an advertisement of a bull whose dam was by him, I had to go see him.
“I saw Ballinphraise Brandy on the Sunday and I bought him on the Monday. This helped reintroduce the best of bloodlines back into the newly reformed herd. He really clicked with a lot of my cows and left me €50,000 with his first 13 bulls sold. His first son Clinto was champion at Roscommon, with others selling up to €5,600.”
David admits that, in the past, they have been very lucky with regard to their stock bulls. However, from the early years of the herd, the Larkins have tried to source the best-bred bulls.
“Back in 1957, my grandfather went across to England to purchase a bull. He was Haven Field Boy and he brought growth into the herd. Back then, you couldn’t use a bull unless he was inspected and got a premium licence. Field Boy had his licence, so we had dozens of females calling to be jumped.
“It would be great to see something like this licence reintroduced. These days, there’s pedigree breeders breeding and keeping their own bulls and they’re not fit for the dairy herd, not a mind a pedigree herd.”
Looks come first
Due to the success of stock bulls, the herd has only seen a trickling of AI use recently, but due to the nature of the stars changing, the herd needs to be selective.
“Black Water Lad bred us a bull that made €5,000 in March and we’d be using a lot more of him except for his no stars. We’re in the BDGP and buyers are beginning to look at it a lot more.
“The look of the bull is first, but if he doesn’t have the stars, they can’t buy him. FH William is one we’re starting to use. He has stars now, but we’ll see how he fares out.
“Overall, the stars aren’t reliable enough yet. I know what they’re trying to do with them, but I think it’s going to be 20 years before we are anywhere. I think some of the data coming in is false, because there’s always rogue breeders out there falsifying birth dates and calvings, and, because of that, they’re not going to get accurate figures.
“For me, management isn’t taken into account at all. We’re letting some of the spring calvings go to calf in autumn instead this year, so them cows are going to be hit. You can work the stars with good management, but, really, are you going to be a better breeder?”
The dairy market makes up a key part of David’s sales, so although he aims to have as many pedigree sales as possible each year, he likes to keep bulls as commercially run as possible so that they are fit for work.
“This year, I only brought two out to sales. At the premier, I got the highest and at the May sale in Nenagh, I got the champion. I don’t do many summer shows. I do the odd one, but I don’t push my stock young enough. I don’t believe in pushing cattle, especially heifers; let them come on naturally.”
Greatest achievement
Speaking on his greatest achievement, David was quick to point out the bulls going into stud was the biggest thing for him. “It’s something special getting a bull into AI and having him sire thousands of calves. We’re lucky enough to have got two in, Cill Cormaic Kasper in 2013 and Cill Cormaic Marvel in 2015.
“Kasper is the most popular Hereford in the dairy herd, with five stars on replacement and 2.1% calving. Because of the high figures, there’s a turn in pedigree breeders using him and last October a son of his got the top price of €6,600 at the premier.”
The Hereford breed has seen a very positive upswing in recent years due to the increase in the dairy herd. But with this increase, it’s not always easy to maintain a standard.
“I think there needs to be a serious export for heifers and also I think a certain amount of bulls could be exported, especially the lesser quality. There’s too many heifers being bred from.
“A lot of new breeders are getting in, buying heifers cheap, and the market is going to be flooded. There just won’t be the demand for the supply.
“In the Hereford breed at the moment, I think it’s the hardest I’ve seen it to find a breeder’s bull. Taking into account that the management has only got better, I think the breed is gone back a bit.”
As well as the exporting and culling weaker pedigree Hereford cattle, David says it’s key to watch maternal traits also into the future.
“I know when I was younger, we had cows with bags of milk under them and some out there now, after three months, wouldn’t have enough to rear their calf. It’s probably the same in every breed, but it’s a suckler breed, so milk is number one. Then try to increase quality every year.
“We’re probably going too much on looks at the moment. Top end to me is how they’re breeding, not how they look. Everybody goes for the show animal, but if they don’t drop them on the ground and feed them, then they’re not really top end.”
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