While the Irish Open was to be played without spectators over the weekend, this didn’t stop one farmer and his cattle from catching a glimpse of the action.

Suckler farmer Billy O’Kane from Crebilly, Ballymena, Co Antrim, stole the show when cameras spotted him sharing the view of Galgorm Castle golf course with his Stabiliser heifers. O’Kane told The Dealer: “I decided to check the heifers on Saturday afternoon and said I’d bring a deck chair and flask of tea with me.

“My mother joined me a short while after, everyone thought she was my wife. At 84, she definitely doesn’t look her age. I was complimented for giving her my seat – she did give birth to me after all.

It was a lovely afternoon with the sun shining

“We were sitting watching the golf for about 20 minutes when my phone started buzzing with texts from my children informing me that I was going ‘viral’ on Twitter.

“It was a lovely afternoon with the sun shining and the heifers all looking well. We keep 220 pedigree Stabiliser cows and calve all at two years old. The heifers are bulled at 14 months and weigh roughly 560kg at calving.”

Stabiliser sucklers

The Stabiliser is a four-way hybrid, composed of Angus, Hereford, American Simmental, and Gelbvieh genetics.

O’Kane started his herd with imported embryos from New Zealand 23 years ago.

Stabiliser cattle are basically a chicken that goes moo

“They make the perfect suckler cow. Some of their best attributes include outdoor calving, only 2% assisted births, and superior feed conversion efficiency (FCE) which drives profitability,” said the former poultry processor.

“Stabiliser cattle are basically a chicken that goes moo. I compare them to poultry as their FCE has been dramatically increased through science and selective breeding. There is 40% less carbon per kilo produced compared to other breeds.”

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