THE Limousin Club has chosen the winners in its Herd of the Year competition for 2020.
Pedigree Limousin Large Herd of The Year 2020 was awarded to the Trueman Herd.
The Trueman Herd was established in 1997 with the purchase of two heifers. Since then it has expanded and now consists of more than 20 pedigree breeding cows.
Most of the breeding cows are progeny of the famous show champion Trueman Euphonium, who is sired by Wilodge Vantastic, and the younger cows are Trueman Euphonium by Trueman Jagger daughters.
These are tremendous females which are now being crossed with Trueman’s new stock bull Telfers Munster, who is a son of Lodge Hamlet. Offspring by Munster have already been sold in summer 2020 in an online show with females fetching a staggering 17,100gns and bulls to 9,800gns.
The main emphasis within the herd is producing cattle with exceptional shape, length, docility as well as ease of calving and milking ability. The best quality cows among the herd are elected on to an embryo transfer programme where they have their eggs harvested twice or three times a year and then returned into calf.
Embryo transfer allows the herd to produce the highest quality cattle within the Limousin breed. One of the most crucial elements in the herd is health status of the recipients who receive the embryos from the donor cows. These maiden heifers are sourced from herds that have animals on high health schemes, Johnes level 1 being the most important criteria when purchasing replacements.
The main aim for the Trueman Herd is to produce quality not quantity and this will be something that will continue long into the future. In sales throughout Ireland and mainland UK the highest quality animals continue to become more and more valuable. It is now more important than ever to deliver premium cattle for a premium market.
The Trueman herd from Henry Savage and Sons received multiple awards in the NILCC Pedigree Herds of 2020, being named as Best Large Herd, Best Cow Family with Trueman Euphonium, Best Crop of Calves by a stock bull with Telfers Munster, Best Bull Calf born 2020 with Trueman Rod, second in the Best Group of Calves 2020 born, and finally second in the Best Stock Bull with Telfers Munster.
Pedigree Limousin Medium Herd of The Year 2020 was awarded to the Archies Herd.
Archie’s Limousin herd, run by the McKenna family, is based on a small family farm just outside the rural village of Bellaghy. The year 2004 saw the beginning of the pedigree Limousin herd, with the purchase of two cows with calves at foot.
The herd currently comprises of 18 pedigree breeding cows, with an additional five commercial cows used as embryo recipients. The breeding philosophy focuses on producing quality feminine heifers along with fleshy and mobile bulls, all from proven bloodlines, to meet commercial and pedigree market expectations.
The current herd sire Claragh Obama (Wilodge Vantastic x Haltcliffe Avon) is being used extensively across both cows and heifers with some very promising progeny in his first crop of calves. He has proven to be easy calving with progeny exhibiting shape and style.
The herd also utilises AI sires, which include Plumtee Fantastic, Ampertaine Foreman, Gunnerfleet Landmark and Whinfellpark Lumo,
with impressive results. Cows and heifers are managed on a commercial basis and calf in two batches. One batch in early summer, the second in autumn, to ensure strong bulls for sale all year round, both privately and at society sales. Cow breeding lines include Rocky, Ronick Hawk and Ampertaine Foreman. Some embryo transfer work has been undertaken in recent years to increase female numbers from the leading breeding cows within the herd.
Herd health is a top priority, with the herd registered as members of the AFBI cattle health scheme. Annual testing is carried out for Johne’s, BVD, IBR, Lepto and Neospora. Routine vaccinations are also maintained for BVD, IBR and Lepto.
The Archies Herd received mul-tiple awards in the NILCC Pedigree Herds of 2020, being named as Best Medium Herd, second best group of calves by stock bull, third best stock bull with Claragh Obama and third best group of calves.
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