Earlier this month, Ashbourne Meats ran a select carcase competition for pedigree and commercial Limousin cattle.

It had been three years since the last competition in January 2015. This year’s intake saw more than 300 cattle taken in over the three days from 8-10 January, which was up significantly on the 2015 levels.

Tasked with judging the carcases was Henri Hoffman, a buyer of cows for the French market.

Premium prices were paid for all cattle meeting specifications, but those that ranked highly on Mr Hoffman’s list secured added prize money.

The winners of the pedigree and commercial cow classes received €500, while the heifer class winners collected a cheque of €250 each.

The overall winner of the competition was also rewarded with the John O’Grady Memorial Trophy. The late John O’Grady was known across Ireland as being a tremendous advocate for the breed, promoting Limousin whenever he got a chance. The whole competition was set up and run in honour of Mr O’Grady.

The final carcase display was open to the public, with a number of keynote speakers addressing the audience. These included IFA president Joe Healy and his colleagues Angus Woods (national livestock committee chair) and Kevin Kinsella (director of livestock).

Picking up the prize for the overall best carcase in the competition were Tim and Doreen Corridan, Fedamore, Co Limerick. Their pedigree Limousin cow class winner was a five-year-old Wilodge Vantastic daughter which weighed 571kg and graded U+2+.

Shane Murphy