The long-established Sheplands herd of suckler cows owned by the O Flaherty family and managed by well-known farm manager Heinz Eggert will be sold in Kilcullen Mart next Wednesday 16 January at 1pm.

The farm was a participant in the Teagasc/Irish Farmers Journal BETTER farm beef programme from 2009 to 2014 and farm manager Heinz Eggert always placed a huge emphasis on breeding and genetics and the current herd stats are a testament to that.

The sale includes 89 spring-calving cows, 11 in-calf heifers and four pedigree stock bulls. Having been established in 1990, breeding has been dominated with the use of bulls with high milk and fertility traits while keeping a focus on good conformation and good functionality.

Weight gains in calves and stock performance have been maintained at very high levels over the years. Docility was also a major focus for the herd. The herd is vaccinating for BVD, lepto and salmonella and has been TB-free for the last 12 years.

Herd replacement index

The herd boasts a very high replacement index at €128 with cows as high as €220 included in the sale. The average replacement index of first-calving heifers comes in at €160. Average calving interval for the herd is 359 days.

Cows are due to calve in February, March and April with the first cows due in early February. For enquires, contact farm manager Heinz Eggert on 086-267 8602.