The Irish Blonde d’Aquitaine Breed Co-Operative was founded in 1974 and the first Blondes cattle were imported into Ireland in July 1975, when 20 breeders imported 250 specially selected females and six bulls.
At this year’s FBD National Livestock Show in Tullamore, the Society will celebrate its 50th anniversary of the breed in Ireland with a champion and reserve of the breed, as well as Miss Future, sponsored by FIERBA, the European Blonde d’Aquitaine Breeders Association.
As well as this, the commercial Blonde Extravaganza for a Blonde-sired calf born in 2025 with a prize fund of €2,000 sponsored by the Society will be contested. With almost 25 Blonde d’Aquitaine cattle, it should be a fantastic milestone for the breed.
Aubrac stand
In the Aubrac section, cattle will be judged across six classes by experienced breeder Ernest Mackey. Judging will get underway at 10am in ring 14.
Growing in popularity, the Aubrac breed is ranked number 1 in the latest Dairy Beef Index (DBI) evaluation by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).
To highlight this, the society will have dairy cross beef cattle on their trade stand, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the breed when used within the dairy herd.
In addition to this, the trade stand will focus on the job an Aubrac cow can do for suckler farmers, displaying the benefits of a commercial Aubrac cow within the suckler herd.
Breed Secretary Angela Lacey is hoping to meet new and existing members on the day.
“Members of the Society will be available to discuss the breed on the trade stand throughout the day, so make sure to visit to hear the latest on this exciting breed,” she said.
Overall champion Aubrac at the 2024 FBD National Livestock Show was exhibited by Kelly Stephenson.
Salers
This year the Salers Cattle Society of Ireland celebrates its 25th anniversary. To coincide with this, the society is running a commercial Salers class at Tullamore Show for the first time to showcase what a commercial suckler farmer can achieve when using Salers in their breeding programme.
There will also be a comprehensive exhibition of pedigree stock with judging commencing in Ring 5 at 10am. The Society is also hosting its All-Ireland Calf Championships at Tullamore Show as well as a young handlers’ class.
Judges for the day are French breeder Mr Alex Seyrolle in the main section and social media star Katie Larkin in the young handlers’ class. Council members will be on hand throughout the day at the Salers stand to chat to farmers about the benefits of using Salers and to offer breeding advice.
Call in to their stand for a chat and a cup of tea located at L56-57 beside the show ring.
Belgian Blue
After its successful all-Ireland calf finals in Ossory Show a few weeks ago, the Irish Belgian Blue Cattle Society will welcome 50 pedigree Belgian Blue cattle to Tullamore.
Competing across seven different classes, it is expected the competition will be ferocious, as was seen in Ossory where the competitions were very hotly contested, especially with gold and silver medals up for grabs.
The Parthenaise Cattle Society will also be in attendance with 19 entries across five classes and an overall champion.
The Irish Blonde d’Aquitaine Breed Co-Operative was founded in 1974 and the first Blondes cattle were imported into Ireland in July 1975, when 20 breeders imported 250 specially selected females and six bulls.
At this year’s FBD National Livestock Show in Tullamore, the Society will celebrate its 50th anniversary of the breed in Ireland with a champion and reserve of the breed, as well as Miss Future, sponsored by FIERBA, the European Blonde d’Aquitaine Breeders Association.
As well as this, the commercial Blonde Extravaganza for a Blonde-sired calf born in 2025 with a prize fund of €2,000 sponsored by the Society will be contested. With almost 25 Blonde d’Aquitaine cattle, it should be a fantastic milestone for the breed.
Aubrac stand
In the Aubrac section, cattle will be judged across six classes by experienced breeder Ernest Mackey. Judging will get underway at 10am in ring 14.
Growing in popularity, the Aubrac breed is ranked number 1 in the latest Dairy Beef Index (DBI) evaluation by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).
To highlight this, the society will have dairy cross beef cattle on their trade stand, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the breed when used within the dairy herd.
In addition to this, the trade stand will focus on the job an Aubrac cow can do for suckler farmers, displaying the benefits of a commercial Aubrac cow within the suckler herd.
Breed Secretary Angela Lacey is hoping to meet new and existing members on the day.
“Members of the Society will be available to discuss the breed on the trade stand throughout the day, so make sure to visit to hear the latest on this exciting breed,” she said.
Overall champion Aubrac at the 2024 FBD National Livestock Show was exhibited by Kelly Stephenson.
Salers
This year the Salers Cattle Society of Ireland celebrates its 25th anniversary. To coincide with this, the society is running a commercial Salers class at Tullamore Show for the first time to showcase what a commercial suckler farmer can achieve when using Salers in their breeding programme.
There will also be a comprehensive exhibition of pedigree stock with judging commencing in Ring 5 at 10am. The Society is also hosting its All-Ireland Calf Championships at Tullamore Show as well as a young handlers’ class.
Judges for the day are French breeder Mr Alex Seyrolle in the main section and social media star Katie Larkin in the young handlers’ class. Council members will be on hand throughout the day at the Salers stand to chat to farmers about the benefits of using Salers and to offer breeding advice.
Call in to their stand for a chat and a cup of tea located at L56-57 beside the show ring.
Belgian Blue
After its successful all-Ireland calf finals in Ossory Show a few weeks ago, the Irish Belgian Blue Cattle Society will welcome 50 pedigree Belgian Blue cattle to Tullamore.
Competing across seven different classes, it is expected the competition will be ferocious, as was seen in Ossory where the competitions were very hotly contested, especially with gold and silver medals up for grabs.
The Parthenaise Cattle Society will also be in attendance with 19 entries across five classes and an overall champion.
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