Spring 2023 IHFA Journal

Spring Journal 2023

“TBC at the moment is currently 3, cell count is at 90, so I can put that down to the new parlour.” – Thomas Sheary

“The Swift o Commander has all the information you’d ever need. It’s a very user friendly interface.” – Garrett Hartery

“As well as being more e cient, the AutoWasher frees up a lot of time, nearly an hour a day.” – Sean Deasy

EDITOR: Rachel White

CONTRIBUTORS:

Georgia Greenan

Dr. Patrick Kelly

Donal Carey

IRISH HOLSTEIN FRIESIAN ASSOCIATION. Tel.: 023 8833443 Fax: 023 8834740 Email: enquiries@ihfa.ie www.ihfa.ie. IHFA acknowledges ICBF for providing data. Latest data as supplied at date of compilation.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Thank you to the Maria Kelly, Georgia Greenan, Jane Steel and all the breeders who have provided images or permission to use their photographs.

DISCLAIMER: The Holstein Friesian Journal is the official publication of the Irish Holstein Friesian Association (IHFA). Content is copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the Editor. Opinions and views expressed or implied are not necessarily those of the Irish Holstein Friesian Association. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the material published no responsibility will be assumed for the validity or accuracy of any statement, errors or omissions or the content of any advertisement.

Printed by Tralee Printing Works, Monavalley Industrial Estate, Tralee, Co. Kerry, www.traleeprinting.com

CE FOREWORD

Breeding 2023: The future is Black, White & Green

IHFA members are in a stronger position then ever before, but new challenges are being presented. The gains made in terms of fertility and milk solids in member herds have been excellent and this leaves us in a fantastic position to push ahead for the future. The success of IHFA members can be seen in the number of Irish bred bulls in the AI catalogues.

Having more fertile cows means we are getting more and more cows to mature production. This means higher production herds as we have more cows at mature output. It also means we have cows leaving herds for other reasons, mainly lameness and mastitis. Breeding for health, udders and feet are becoming more important.

The climate challenges, in carbon terms, are strongly linked to efficiency of production per cow on a grass based diet and her longevity. We have the tools to deal with this. Carbon and Nitrates are putting pressure on animal numbers so it is important to have the most efficient and profitable cows possible and minimize the number of unproductive animals on the farm.

There are a few key points in this. First is to minimize replacement rate by maximizing longevity. The second is to have saleable nondairy cattle. In this issue we look at what some farms are doing to prepare for the future as well as looking at the beef calf market and how we can maximise genetic gain for our dairy cows.

Despite the challenges we face it is a great time to have pedigree Holstein-Friesian cows and I know our breeders will prosper long into the future.

Sincerely

Laurence Feeney Chief Executive

Cover Image:

Slieverue Olivia Eimear 6 –Sired by Glenn-Ann Palermo.

Bred and owned by Sean Begley & Family in Dingle, Co Kerry.

She was scored EX94 at the end of 2022 by John Kirby, she is their first 94 point cow and was their first 93 point cow before this classification.

The image was taken by Donncha O’Siochru.

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IRISH sIRES MAKING A SPLASH

The home bred bulls produced in Ireland continue to improve year on year. It’s a testament to the great breeding strategies employed on farms and an impressive achievement for any breeder to get a bull to stud. Here we outline a few of the most exciting and popular Irish-bred bulls available currently from a wide array of companies.

HANRAHAN MAGNIFICO FR6966

Magnifico is a high EBI sire bred by Edmond Hanrahan in Mitchelstown. His dam was presented at the IHFA stand at the ploughing and was admired by many as a very correct, fresh cow with a nice udder after 5 lactations. She is classified EX90 with EX91 Udder. She also bred the AI bull Hanrahan Olympus, which is an exceptional achievement for an Irish cow. Her lifetime average is 3.7% protein with a 359 day calving interval. Magnificos proof shows exceptional solids, giving a production index of €114, combined with good fertility. He is easy calving. His conformation profile shows moderate size, shallow udders and good foot angle. His sire is the widely used Pivotal.

Pivotal x Interstice EX90 x Cremin EX90

Supplier: Eurogene

(IG)GLENREA ZAK FR7986

Zak stands out among the highest EBI bulls as he also carries a very strong overall Type score. His EBI over €360 and +0.13% protein are very respectable in that company but it is his +1.5 for udders and +1.2 for feet & legs that catch the eye. When you look at his pedigree we can see where it comes from. His sire is Olympus, a high EBI sire from an EX dam with a solid proof. His dam line is VG85 LWR, EX90 Hubbard and EX93 Frank. The Great granddam is worthy of mention, she was scored EX 8 times, produced for 11 lactations and gave just shy of 7000 kgs fat & protein. Zak carries a very good health index with mastitis and TB resistance figures very strong.

Olympus x LWR x Hubbard

Supplier: Munster / Progressive Genetics

OLCASTLETOWN PHOENIX 1849 FR6268

This Sebastian son is over +1.5 Udders and +1.2 feet & legs. His has a respectable EBI of €273 and a very solid overall package. His pedigree is a little different to many popular bulls so he is sure to fit many breeding programs. His dam is EX90 McCormick with 3.91% protein lifetime and yields to 731 kgs solids in 7 lactations to date. His Grandam is VG86 Keet with 3.98% Protein lifetime in 8 lactations. Olcastletown

Phoenix is bred by Robert & Evelyn Drake, Co. Cork Sebastian x McCormick x Keet

Supplier: Eurogene

(IG)AMBER SANSHO FR8253

Shansho is one of the best high EBI sires on overall type score. He carries a very respectable overall feet and legs score and correct udders combined with +0.20% Protein. This Mo Salah son delivers a strong total package and is backed by a Grade-up cow family. His short teats need to be protected. His dam is a 4th lactation Vincent averaging over 600 kgs solids. The dam line has LHZ, and Crocket Acres Eight.

Mo Salah x Vincent x LHZ

Supplier: Munster/Progressive Genetics

SHANDANGAN

Rex is a Pivotal son with over €100 Production and excellent Health Index. He is a feet & legs improver with shallow udders. His high percentages will make him attractive to many. He achieves a very high Health index thanks to low Mastitis and Lameness figures. His dam is VG88 by the Dutch bull, Mobile. She has 3.82% protein lifetime and yields to 698 kgs solids in her 5 lactations to date. Her dam is an EX90 KOZ with 9 lactations.

Pivotal x Mobile x KOZ Haze

Supplier: Eurogene

(IG)TOBERMARTIN FRANCIS FR7923

Francis is an Irish bred bull with an international pedigree. He was bred in the herd of James Egan in Kerry. The dam is a VG88 Perseus with over 10,000 kgs milk and 4% protein on her second calf. Next dam is VG88 Lisduff Masterpiece from EX92 Hairy Breiz. He carries the Polled gene from his sire, 50% of progeny will be polled. His profile shows moderate size with wide rumps and super udders. Feet & Legs are only average. High production, +0.13% protein and good daughter fertility are his strong points.

Jeronimo x Perseus x Masterpiece

Supplier: Munster/Progressive Genetics

BARRACKHILL

Ruben is an Albert son with really high EBI, driven by fertility, and solid type profile. He is a moderate milk bull with high percentages and good indexes for Carbon, Beef and Management.

His dam is a VG85 KOZ from a British Friesian cow line, she has milked for 9 lactations and averaged 3.7% protein and 4.2% fat. Her Currihevern Rudolph daughter is VG86 with 3.97% protein lifetime and up to 731 kgs solds.

Albert x KOZ Haze x TAE Martell

Supplier: Dovea Genetics

REUBEN FR7791

REX FR6987

mOST REGISTERED SIRES 2022

As well as looking at the top Irish bulls available currently we have compiled a list of the bulls with the highest number of daughters pedigree registered in Ireland in 2022. This list gives some useful insights into the genetics that are dominant in the national pedigree registered herd.

Sire

Picture: Top left - Peak Chilton, top right - Dam of Kilfeacle Pivotal, bottom right - dam of Glenaboy Ronald, bottom left - dam of VH Praser

Feature sires 2023

Finally, here are a few more sires that might prove interesting when selecting bulls for the year ahead. Your AI reps will be able to help guide you if you want to address any specific conformation traits or production elements in your herd - a number of them have taken ad’s in this journal so check them out for contact details and other bulls they have available.

Always remember to use PEDIGREE REGISTERED BULLS (not SRM or FRX) to maintain pedigree status of your herd

FR8733 BOGHILL GLAMOUR HAILSTONE ET

High production with good percentages. High TPI and PLI. Bred in Northern Ireland from Crimson family. A good all-rounder with moderate stature

Supplier: Munster/Progressive Genetics

FR8613 S-S-I URA GRASSFIRE-ET

Moderate size and excellent udders. Very high percentages for a US sire so gets a good EBI. Feet & legs need some protection.

Supplier: Worldwide Sires

FR8562 OCD LEGACY MASSEY-ET

Moderate size, functionally very correct. Breeding high volume with strong percentages. Good daughter fertility

Supplier: Worldwide Sires

FR7910 (IG)BALLYELLY CHILLI

A high conformation Irish bred sire. Bred by Trevor Lockhart in Donegal from the Raven cow family. A very solid overall proof but a small minus on fat %

Supplier: Munster/Progressive Genetics

FR8920 HUL-STEIN MOZART PP RC

Red carrier and homozygous polled. High rank in Germany. Good total package with positive percentages.

Suppler: Dunamasc Genetics

FR8896 BARROWVALE GOOGLE 8

High index Pure Friesian sire bred by Oliver Dempsey in Laois. Son of Google from EX92 5E VML. Combines many of the very best Friesian bulls in his pedigree.

Supplier: Dovea Genetics

Show Calendar 2023

*These dates are subject to change and are simply estimated dates based off of previous years shows.

ID: BBP000770753339

HO (100%)

ID: HOLFRAM007261004257

of Birth: 25-JUN-2019

Promising Arrow daughter calved at 1 yr 9 months

AI Code: FR8211

International ID: HOLDEUM000770753339

Date of Birth: 27-AUG-2018

MGD EBA LIZA VG-88-FR

Maximising Your Herd’s Genetic Performance

BALLINTOSSIG MISTER MAN FR7749

» Proven Protein (+0.22%)

» Medium Sized

» 4% Protein Dam

» Available Sexed Ultra Plus

GLENABOY SPECIAL ONE FR7767

GLENABOY SPECIAL ONE FR7767

» 4.4 % Protein Dam was Holstein Cow of the Year 2021

» +0.21% Protein & +0.35% Fat

» Great Pedigree & Conformation

» Available Sexed Ultra Plus

VDR SLASH FR6376

» Elite Protein Improver

» Consistent Udders Matched with Strength & Style

» EX92 Sandra Dam has 4% Protein & 5.5% Fat

» Suitable For Heifers

» Sexed Semen Available Make

Dovea Genetics Ltd., Dovea, Thurles, Co.

P: 0504 - 21755 | W: www.doveagenetics.ie |info@doveagenetics.ie

At IHFA we are dedicated to assisting our members in developing their herd, improving their genetics and maximising their farm profits.

We can help with advertising of sales, promotion of herds and much more - please reach out to the office for more information

Check out the IHFA website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for a range of the posts and information we can share

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We hope everyone had a very successful Spring calving season and best of luck for the 2023 breeding season ahead enquiries@ihfa.ie

023 8833443

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Tipperary

THE FUTURE IS IN THE EAR

I’m now using sexed semen with confidence. Last year I achieved an 88% conception to first service with sexed semen on heifers. The timing of insemination is a major part, and CowManager provides you with the heat alert and the ideal insemination window.

I find the fertility reports brilliant, and have cut down on scanning. I know what cows are cycling and what cows aren’t and need attention, all from looking at the CowManager app on my phone or on the pc. It’s a huge saving on labour and is better than an extra set of eyes around the farm, as it’s monitoring my animals 24/7.

Mike Quirke, Milltown, Co.Kerry, Milking 160 Cows.

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Eag Tag monitoring every 15 minutes...

ALL IRELAND AWARD WINNERS 2022

Heifer born after 1st January 2022

CHAMPION

Heifer born between 1st July & 31st Dec ‘21

CHAMPION

RESERVE

RESERVE

HONOURABLE MENTION

HONOURABLE MENTION

Rahela Cookies N Cream - Johnny & Ann O’Hanlon

Cedarmore Handsome Pocahontas - Padraic Greenan

Ellys Darlingo Rhapsody - Steve & Maria McLoughlin

Knowlesmere Diamons Are Forever Ted, Rory & Ella Jones & Knowlesmere Holsteins

Grangecon Batman Jenn - Anthony Kealy

Kingsway LB Lambda Jasmine - Ballywalter Farms

ALL IRELAND AWARD WINNERS 2022

Heifer born between 1st Jan & 30th June ‘21

CHAMPION

Heifer in milk born between 1st Jan & 31st Dec ‘20

CHAMPION

RESERVE

RESERVE

HONOURABLE MENTION

HONOURABLE MENTION

Sprucegrove Denver Della - Keypoint Holsteins

Jones Haniko J Lo  - Jones Holsteins

Cherryblossom Unix Sue - Liam & Sandra Murphy

Hallow Octain Twizzle ET  - Philip Jones

Knowlesmere Jones Unix Victoir  - Jones Holsteins

Tubbertoby Unix Minutemaid ET - Paul Flanagan

ALL IRELAND AWARD WINNERS 2022

3yr old cow in milk born between 1st Jan & 31st Dec 19

RESERVE

HONOURABLE MENTION

HONOURABLE MENTION

Bawnmore Pepper Almeric - Bryan & John O’Connor

Peak Kingdoc Lustre - L&S Murphy and S&M McLoughlin

Eedy Doorman Fame - Robert, Sylvia & Jason Helen

Lisnalty Perciouser Melody - Paul Hannan

ALL IRELAND AWARD WINNERS 2022

4yr old cow in milk born between 1st Jan & 31st Dec 18

CHAMPION

5yr old cow in milk born between 1st Jan & 31st Dec 17

CHAMPION

RESERVE

RESERVE

HONOURABLE MENTION

HONOURABLE MENTION

Hallow Sol Twizzle - Philip Jones

Hallow Solomon Twizzle 3 ET - Philip Jones

Bawnmore Unix Jeanette 2 - Bryan & John O’Connor

Cramar Swallow A Cutes ET- Bryan & John O’Connor

Laurelelm Slick Brilliant - Rickey Barrett

Lissaniskey McDougal T Unity - Diarmuid Murphy

ALL IRELAND AWARD WINNERS 2022

Mature cow in milk born on or before 31st Dec 16

CHAMPION

Irish Pure Friesian - Heifer in Milk

CHAMPION

RESERVE

HONOURABLE MENTION

HONOURABLE MENTION

Hallow Atwood Twizzle 1181 - Philip Jones

Greenlea MG Rhapsody - Brendan & Padraic Greenan

Ballyboy Sid Carmen 1039 - James Sinnott

Barrowvale Sabrina 79 GP 82 - Oliver Dempsey

Kilsunny Ruby 170 - Trevor Dudley

ALL IRELAND AWARD WINNERS 2022

Irish Pure Friesian - Cow in Milk

CHAMPION

RESERVE

HONOURABLE MENTION

Barrowvale Dobee 48 Ex 92 - Oliver Dempsey

Grenan Amber 3051 EX90 - Quealy Family

Grenan Avril 2202 - Quealy Family

beef sires for the dairy herd

Every calf born on a dairy farm has a purpose, be that as a replacement female or in the beef market. We spoke to Stephen Connolly, ABP, about how dairy farmers can make the best decisions when it comes to beef sire selection for their herds.

“Sexed semen has given farmers the opportunity to ensure they have enough high genetic-merit replacements off of their best cows, and as a result they can use beef semen or stock bulls much earlier in the breeding season to produce quality calves for the beef market”.

By selectively using beef semen farmers can ensure the calves produced meet carcass requirements to ensure profitable calves, which in turn makes beef farmers more likely to return next year to purchase calves again.

It’s important when selecting bulls to consider where the calves will end up; are they going to be raised on farm? If selling calves what breed of calves does your customers want? Will they be sold farm-to-farm for fattening or will they be sold through a local mart? Are they destined for the export market? Understand-

ing what kind of animals are desired in those different situations is vital and farmers must ensure the calves they produce are marketable and in strong demand. Angus and Hereford calves always do well, as do less widely used Limousin and Belgian blues.

Regardless of breed, it’s important is to select the best beef bulls within a breed that are balanced for calving and gestation, combined with good carcass traits. Stephen suggests selecting different bulls for maiden heifers, compared to second calvers and mature cows (3rd lactation plus).

“As a dairy farmer, you are well used to selecting a team of dairy bulls for your herd that best suit your breeding goals. For example when selecting dairy bulls for your heifers, this bull will be easier calving that the bulls used on the mature herd. You select beef bulls in the exact same way to produce the best quality calf possible.”

Overall you select the beef bull that best suits the cows lactation, size, previous calving difficult and month of calving (longer or shorter gestation to fit calving window), combined with the acceptable level of calving diffi-

culty and the highest beef and carcass weight subindex within the DBI (Dairy Beef index).”

Stephen has outlined what to consider for beef bull selection for the dairy herd:

1. Decide on your breed or breeds - similarly to breeding dairy replacements or stock bulls, breed what your customer wants

2. Pick a team of bulls for reliability (not one bull across the herd)

3. Use bulls of different calving ease for heifers, second calvers and mature cows

4. Stage of the breeding season – use shorter gestation bulls towards the end

5. Use the DBI to help with selection – pay attention to the beef and carcass weight subindex (higher the better)

6. Choose bulls backed by good records – this goes for stock bulls as well as AI, need to be confident in the results you will get from each bull. More records = more confidence

7. “Dip your toe” – try a bull on a few animals and see what the progeny are like. If results are what you want then expand on this in 2024!

When using the DBI it’s important to drill down into the subindices. Two bulls with the same overall DBI figure could have very different figures for calving ease and carcass weight or conformation. Choose bulls with favourable sub-indices that compliment your herds breeding goals.

What are the benefits of a good dairy-beef calf crop?

1. More marketable/better performing calf

2. Repeat customers

3. Move calves off the farm quickly

4. Less stress, hassle and labour at a busy time of year

5. Add value to beef calves and milk sales

Let’s take the last point as an example of how beef bulls can add value during the breeding season: A farmer has a mating start date

of the 1st of May, but a cow displays heat on the 24th April. If the farmer uses a friesian bull they will have to wait until the next cycle (15th of May) to inseminate which would lead to a calf due the 15th of February 2024. However they can inseminate at this heat with a limousin straw with a longer gestational length of 286 days,

Rewarding better genetics

and the cow will then be due to calf on the 4th of February the following year. The cow inseminated with a limousin straw can gain 11 days milking in the 2024 season which could be worth up to €130 and will produce a calf of higher value for the beef industry. (Illustrated below)

Our programme has been developed to improve the quality and sustainability of beef cattle through the use of better genetics.

• Open to dairy and suckler bred animals

• Includes a sustainability bonus

• Advice and support

• Proven track record

• Add value to your beef calves

• Build relationships with Advantage beef farmers rearing beef calves

Please

Know with FarmPro

Cedarmore

Bawnmore Mogul Redrose EX 94 3E 1000kgs solids on 5th lactaction!

7 gens EX Redrose family through the top 3 cows; Riverdane Rose EX, Lavander Ruby Redrose EX96 & Stookey Elmpark Blackrose EX96 Due her 6th calf this spring average 360 days calving interval

Bawnmore Mogul Redrose

EX94 3E (Photographed in 2nd lact)

12,522kgs 4.5 % Fat 3.7 % Protein 5th lact

Lifetime av. 9,200 kg 5.0% F & 3.5% P

Willsbro Secure Rose

Her Dam:

EX92 2E

4th lact 11,484kgs 4.0% Fat 3.4% Protein

some of tHe next generation

Lambda’s Pepper’s

Hawksmoor Lambda May Alta VG 89 3yr

2nd lact giving 50 litres daily - 9 Generations EX

Daughters by Handsome and Renegade

Our oldest lambda just completed her 3rd lactWillsbro Lamdba Pammy 247 ET EX 90

10,689 kgs 4.1 % Fat & 3.6 % Protein

Daughters by Doorman & Tropic, due to King Doc Her King Doc daughter at Willsbro is VG88 2yr and is a real rising star!

Bawnmore Pepper Jane VG 88 3yr

1st lact 8061 kgs at 4.9% Fat & 3.5% Protein

Dam Grassvale Shottle Jane EX95 5E

Bawnmore Pepper Broke VG87 2yr

1st lact 7458kgs at 5.0 % Fat & 3.9 % Protein

Dam Clongowes Goldwyn Broke EX91

Males & Females from the World’s HOTTEST cow families by CUTTING EDGE sires regularly available

O’Connor Family, Bawnmore House, Kanturk, Co. Cork

European holstein & red holstein conference

Preparations are well underway for the 2023 European Holstein & Red Holstein conference

This years conference is themed “Farming with Nature - Future Proof the Cow” and will take place from the 26th to 29th of April 2023 in the Castleknock Hotel, Dublin.

As the premier Holstein herdbook event in Europe the conference will include the EHRC AGM and conference sessions focused on holstein genetics for all systems, new trends & traits, digitalisation on farm and cows of the future. The conference activities include farm visits to the Monamore Herd of Tom Kelly and the UCD Lyons research herd, a gala ball, the Emerald Expo show and much more. This is a gathering not to be missed!

Some of our distinguished guests and speakers include

Lars Nielsenm Chief Breeding and Production Officer at Viking Genetics, Assoc. Prof. Finbar

Mulligan UCD, Prof. Donagh

Berry Teagasc and Dr. Siobhan

Ring ICBF. We will also be joined by Jean-Yves Dreau of Prim Holsteins, Katarzyna Rzewuska of the Polish Federation of Cattle Breeders and Dairy Farmers and Dr Josef Kucera of the Czech Moravian Breeders Corporation amongst others.

There is guaranteed to be very interesting and stimulating discussion between dairy experts from

all over the EU. We are delighted to have Minister Charlie McConalogue open the conference for us on Thursday.

With over 100 attendees registered already spaces are filling up fast! Register online as soon as possible to avoid missing out: www.ihfa.ie/ehrc2023

Please note accommodation is to be booked separately, a range of options are detailed on the website along with the conference schedule

IHFA CE Laurence Feeney highlighted what a unique opportunity this gathering is:

“The EHRC conference is a fantastic promotion for the Irish

Holstein Friesian industry and gives us a great opportunity to show the best of what Ireland has to offer. The speakers bring a high level of expertise from all over Europe and our social program gives Irish and European delegates a chance to socialise and discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead.

The Emerald Expo show will be a great way of capping off an informative and entertaining few days by admiring the best show cattle Ireland has to offer and remind Europe of the quality that exists on this island.

I look forward to seeing you all there”

Picture: EHRC Conference launch. L-R: Laurence Feeney, IHFA CE, Paul Hannan, IHFA Chairman, Rachel White, Georgia Greenan, IHFA, Richard Whelan IHFA President, Paul Cuddy, FBD (Sponsor).

What’s in the AI Tank?

Peter Ging BALLYCLIDER Herd Port Laois, Co. Laois

What Bulls are in the Tank at the moment?

Westcoast Yamaska, Westcoast Rocknroll, Siemers

Astd Pyler, Siemers Have it All, GGA Gordon, Siemers Rengd Parfect, S-S-I PR Renegade, Cookiecutter Logistics

Do you use sexed semen?

Yes all maiden heifers are served with sexed semen. I use it on a few milkers but not too many.

What is important for you when selecting bulls?

Production, kilos of solids and type.

Describe your ideal cow:

I like cows that look well and produce a lot of milk. I look for good conformation, nothing too tall but not too small either. Feet and legs would be something I like to keep as best as I possibly can, if a cow can’t walk she can’t do much, I feel it is the most important trait, along with a good udder.

Francis Fitzgerald

GORTFADDA Herd Adare, Co.Limerick

What Bulls are you currently using?

I generally buy in stock bulls with the Churchclara herd in County Kilkenny and we take semen off them from there. Some names of the bulls I have been using and have been performing well are: Castledale Explorer, Castledale Ruben, Castledale Olympia, Nerewater Launcher, Nerewater Jackpot Alex and Mountain Martell.

What Traits do you look for when selecting Bulls?

I always look for bulls with a dam of VG88 points or higher. I feel a strong, correct cow family with protein around 3.4% and above suits my grass based system best.

Describe your ideal cow:

An ideal cow to me would be one that stands on an admirable set of feet and legs, has exceptional body capacity, medium in size and has copious amounts of milk. Volume of milk is so important when we are paid per kgs of milk sold.

Seamus Knox BALLYGOWN Herd Pilltown,

Co.Kilkenny

What Bulls are in the Tank at the moment?

Pine-Tree Lawson Larry both sexed & conventionial, Glenrea Zak (FR7986), Tobermartin Francis (FR7923)

Sexed, Hanrahan Magnifico Conventional, Coileain

Hotshot Sexed

Is sexed semen something you use if so what %?

We have never used sexed semen before. This is our first time using it. We have a group of heifers syncronising at the moment so we are going to give sexed a try. We got on well with syncronising last year so we are hoping the sexed semen will go well for us.

What are the principal traits you look for in bull selection?

I like to follow good EBI, at least +100kg of milk, 30-40kg of solids and that they are from a reliable, pedigree family

Describe your ideal cow:

A medium sized cow, capable of producing at least 600kg solids and 1750-2000 gallons milk with at least 3.7% Protein and 4.2% Fat.

Timmy Hegarty BALLYDOOGAN Herd Moate, Co.Westmeath

What Bulls are in the Tank at the moment?

Westcoast Yamaska, Westcoast Perseus, Tobermartin Francis, Progenesis Wimbledon, Prehen Ringrose, RiVal-Re Rager-Red-ET, S-S-I Pr Renegade-ET, Siemers Rengd Parfect-ET, Sandy Valley R Conway ET, PlainKnoll Renegad Trooper, Welcome Silver Griff, Siemers Lambda Haniko ET, Farnear Delta Lambda ET, EDG Delta B52ET, Pine-Tree Lawson Larry, Koepon Oh Ryder Red

Do you use sexed semen?

Yes, we used sexed semen across the board this autum and will continue to do so until spring, we will then go back to conventional

What Traits do you look for when selecting Bulls?

I would always look for medium stature, plus in rump and chest width, a good plus for milk and solids, balance, fertility, production and confirmation.

Describe your ideal cow: Trouble free cows, with decent kgs of milk solids, a cow that looks after itself well and holds good body condition. I also like a cow to look good on the eye.

A ROYAL FLUSH AT THE WINTER FAIR

Pictured: Clockwise from above - Holstein Champion Sterndale Colt Rae ET, owned by Liam & Sandra Murphy, handler Steve McLoughlin. Res. Champion Baldonnel Solomon Ebony, John Dowling. Hon. Mention Knowlesmere Jones Unix Victoir, Jones & Knowlesmere Holsteins

The showing year culminated with the Royal Ulster Winter Fair on the 8th of December at the Eikon Exhibition Centre, Balmoral Park, Lisburn.

With 90 holstein entries on the day it was sure to be an excellent display of stock and showmanship. The day got off to a fantastic start for the Jones family, Wexford, with Kate (Picture 1 on opposite page) and Will (2) winning their respective handling classes. Hollie Keenan (3), Monaghan followed with a win in the senior class while Alexander Tinney (4), Donegal won the mature showmanship class. Well done to all involved for a really stong display of showmanship skills!

The livestock classes got underway with a strong showing from IHFA members. Gary and Izzy Jones won the summer heifer class with Jones Haniko J Lo, who was later

crowned junior holstein champion and junior interbreed champion (5). Hallow Solomon Arengatang won the spring heifer class for Hallow Holsteins, Philip and Linda Jones (6). The junior heifer in milk class was won by Knowlesmere Jones Unix Victoir belonging to Jones and Knowlesmere Holsteins, she then went on to win the heifer championship. This was followed by another win for Hallow Holsteins in the Intermediate heifer class with Hallow Octain Twizzle (7), who was tapped out reserve champion in the heifer championship.

This success continued into the cow classes with Hallow Impression Nicol (8) taking the win in the 2nd calver class for Hallow Holsteins. John Dowling, Dublin won the 3rd calver class with Baldonnel Solomon Ebony, and a second place rosette for Hallow Sol Twizzle of Hallow Holsteins.

The final milking holstein class of the day was for cows that exceeded 50,000kgs milk production in her lifetime and was won by Liam & Sandra Murphy with Sterndale Colt Rae ET. The day’s results set up a thrilling championship, judge Mr Pierre Boulet, Canada tapped out Sterndale Colt Rae ET, Liam & Sandra Murphy, as his champion to rapturous applause. This was followed by a reserve champion placing for Baldonnel Solomon Ebony owned by John Dowling. The top three was completed by Knowlesmere Jones Unix Victoir.

Congratulations to all exhibitors on what was a very competitive show, spectators were treated to a real showcase of quality holstein animals.

This is certainly a show not to miss in 2023!

Kilsunny Friesians Kilsunny Friesians

Classified EX93 December 2022 in 8th lactation!

9605 litres at 4.20% fat, 3.79% protein & 768 kgs milk solids in 305 days

Her FR6613 bull SELLS now – total outcross bloodline, ideal for pedigree use

KILSUNNY RUBY 170 VG85 (1st calf)

Reserve All-Ireland Heifer of the Year 2022

Classified VG85, Summer 2022 in her 1st lactation

Calved her 1st calf at 23 months, calved her 2nd calf 330 days later

KILSUNNY MENSIE 18

Sold to a pedigree Holstein herd, December 2022 – typical of the bulls we sell

Plus for milk on EBI - high reliability

EX90 dam milked 73,000 litres & 5200 kgs solids over 7 lactations to date

We have a wide selection of British Friesian bulls of all ages to suit all types of systems for sale all year round!

Visitors & Enquiries always welcome

TREVOR DUDLEY & FAMILY, Kilsunny Hse, Dovea, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. 0504 23461 / 086 3916922 / kilsunnyherd@gmail.com

KILSUNNY RUBY 104 EX93 3E

IHFA FOCUS FARMS FOR 2023

Throughout 2023 IHFA want to highlight and share the diverse and quality farms that make up our membership. Across all our members we identified a number of farms with impressive milk production, fertility, calving intervals, milk hygiene, classification and longevity. In this issue of the Journal we will introduce you to our farms that stretch from Sligo to Clonakilty and everywhere in between. During the year we will follow these focus farms and catch up with them at regular intervals to see what’s happening on farm and how the year is going. Look out for updates on IHFA social media channels (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) as well as in future Journal issues. We hope that this will benefit you as a reader by giving an insight into the many different farm systems that operate in Ireland and what our members are doing to get the most out of their farms and cows.

Paudie Brennan, Suttonsrath Herd, Jenkinstown, Co. Kilkenny

Paudie runs a herd of 110 spring calving cows in Co.Kilkenny supplying Tirlan co-op. His son Sean splits his time between the farm and his job with Tirlan and sons Donal and Stephen are great support to the farm, as is his wife Dymphna. Averaging 6,380 litres per cow with solids tipping 530kg this is a balanced herd that is consistently delivering in terms of components, classifications and strong EBI value (herd average €222). Paudie would use all high EBI bulls on his farm, but he believes good conformation scores and classifications of dams is very important in producing a good calf and future milking cow for the herd. This focus on EBI plus classification has resulted in an impressively uniform herd of medium size cows with udders that will last the test of time. Fertility is very high on the farm with a 90% six week calving rate and only 10 weeks of AI every spring. And cows repeating outside this will be picked up by the stock bull. There is no sexed semen used on the Brennan farm at present and Paudie is happy to keep it this way as conventional semen is providing him with more than enough high quality female replacements to maintain the herd. Smart investments have been made on the farm in recent years to increase cubicles and install a new 16 unit swing over parlour which they started milking in during the spring of 2021. The changes have made a great difference to both the cows and Paudie and his family in running the farm. We got to visit the Brennan farm on a lovely February day and saw the cows out grazing (Pictured above), they have been out by day since the 1st of February, Paudie is limited in his grazing platform so supplements the cows with zero-grazed grass from on outside block when needed and available.

Picture: The Suttonsrath Herd grazing in Co. Kilkenny this February

Robert Shannon, Ballydehob Herd, Ballinascarthy, Co. Cork

Robert and his wife Shirley run a split calving herd of 92 cows in Co. Cork with their son Stephen and daughter Sarah. In 2022 the Ballydehob herd sold 7,972 litres milk per cow with 643kg solids to Lisavaird Co-op. Robert has long focused on maintaining good milk hygiene with an average SCC of 71 for 2022 and maintains a tight calving interval at 365 days with the herd split calving 50:50 spring and autumn/winter. Robert has been a proponent of EBI for many years and the herd average currently stands at €215. This focus has worked well for them in terms of producing bulls for AI over the years, Ballydehob Adam was one of Munster AI’s top bulls of recent years with a €180 EBI and 92% reliability currently. The herd were able to get out to grass on the 27th of January, after closing the paddock back on the 29th of November. The grazing platform is 26 hectares and the cows averaged 1.8t of concentrates last year. Robert also fed wholecrop wheat over the winter which was balanced with a higher 21% protein feed during this period to balance the lower protein wholecrop wheat, the feed drops to 14% protein for the grazing season Robert uses nearly all sexed dairy semen and as a result has a great crop of heifers to choose from for replacements. There is some beef semen on some of the cows which they don’t plan to keep replacements off of. The heifers are contract reared at a nearby farm and return to the home farm before calving down. It’s a system that has worked very well for Robert over the last few years and takes pressure off the home farm in terms of labour, housing and grazing ground availability.

John Galvin, Doonmanagh Herd, Lispole, Co. Kerry

Picture: Above; Ballydehob OJ Trixie EX 94

Pictured in her 13th lactation. She has produced 9 daughters with an average calving interval 357 days. Below; young

John owns the Doonmanagh herd of 83 spring calving pedigree cows in Co. Kerry. With his herd producing 6,990 litres on average per year with over 546kg solids over 305-day milk recording records, these are cows that are built to last. The average parity in the herd currently stands at 3.7 with 19 animals currently in their 6th or greater lactation. John is supported on the farm by his wife Mary and his three sons. John has found EBI a very useful tool in improving the herd over the years and in achieving his breeding goals. The average EBI of the herd in 2023 is €235 for the cows, €257 for the yearling heifers and €282 for this year’s female calves, showing an improvement in the overall EBI with each generation. This strong EBI performance combined with well classified animals has led to great success for the Doonmanagh herd in the Kerry Holstein Friesian Club’s herd competition over the years. “We’ve taken part in the herds competition since 2002 and its something that I have found hugely rewarding and beneficial. Participation in the competition and learning from judges and other herds over the years has helped build the herd to where it is today” says John. John has also had eight bulls sold into AI over the last number of years which is a source of great pride, and a sign to him that EBI is really benefitting the herd and the animals he produces. Last year John was profiled in a fantastic video by the Kerry Holstein Friesian Club which can be seen on their facebook page if you scan the QR code on this page. Some added excitement on the farm this year came in the form of triplet calves off of Doonmanagh ZPB Cherry, an EX 90 8th lactation cow. Multiple births have become the norm for this cow - she has produced 14 calves over the last 8 lactations and maintained a 369 day calving interval throughout!

5E,

calves in group pens

Kevin Flynn, Reary Herd, Clonaslee, Co Laois

The Reary herd will be familiar to many as a longstanding IHFA pedigree registered herd that have had great success commercially and at national herds competitions. With around 200 cows split calving the last few years quality has not slipped as cow numbers increased. In the 2022 milk recording the herd averaged 9,642 kg milk with strong solids at 716kgs per cow for 305d lactation. Kevin knows the importance of treating his cows well and managing them to reach their full potential across the grazing and indoor feeding periods. Knowing the cows is important to Kevin and being able to feed them accordingly in the parlour. This year the parlour is being upgraded from 15 to 26 units with ACR’s and a dump line. Kevin hope this will make milking faster and easier on both those milking and the cows. The great care taken of the cows contributes to them having a

very long productive life in the Reary herd - the herd averages 4.0 lactations. Kevin is pictured here receiving first prize in the elite herd category at the 2021 Laois/Offaly Club herds competition. In terms of breeding Kevin is aiming for a robust cow, with good mobility, of relatively large but manageable frame, that is able to thrive in a slightly larger herd setting. Maintaining chest and rump width has been important in breeding such a cow with good capacity to produce milk. When making breeding decisions Kevin would focus on linear traits primarily, EBI is something that is a factor in breeding decisions but isn’t paramount. Its mostly in terms of selling on stock, the customer is king and they will usually require an EBI of €100 minimum Kevin has found. 95% of the breeding on farm will be to AI with a Holstein Friesian bull used to mop up for the last two weeks of breeding. Sexed semen has worked well for Kevin on his heifers, achieving 67% conception rates in his best year. “Sexed semen results in an easier calving for the heifers which they seems to bound back better from, and you are ensuring heifer calves as replacements off your best genetic animals”.

Patrick Pentony, Gallrua Herd, Drogheda, Co Louth

Patrick operates a split calving herd of 80 cows, but that doesn’t mean the spring time is quiet. Between spreading slurry, preparing for Bord Bia audits and managing animals indoors and outdoors as grazing starts there is seldom a quiet moment on the farm. Patrick’s wife Aisling and son Ronan help on the farm, Ronan is also currently studying agriculture at Ballyhaise. Patrick’s careful breeding and management have produced a herd averaging 6,300 litres with 500 kgs solids to match. Overall Patrick looks for a balanced cow that is easy to manage and productive. AI bull selection helps with this, Patrick would aim for bulls around +200kg milk, positive for fat and protein and with good fertility. The grazing platform around the farm is small and so the cows aren’t let out too early in the spring, to ensure there is enough grass to last into the end of the grazing season. 2022 was a very good year for grass growth on the farm, by topping paddocks after grazing and lengthening the grazing rotation, the farm achieved excellent growth rates while reduced Nitrogen application by about 1/3.

Mary

Picture: Right; Gearoid Maher milking in Co.Limerick.

Far right - John P

Galvin, son John

Michael and wife

with triplet calves born this spring

Gearoid Maher, Killuragh Herd, Cappamore, Co Limerick

Gearoid runs a herd of 107 spring calving Pure Friesians in Cappamore with his wife Sarah and young daughters Sally-Kate and Lily. The Maher’s won the overall Dairygold Milk Quality Award for 2021 out of 2,700 dairy farms and were finalists in the NDC milk quality awards for 2022. Gearoid will host the 2023 Pure Friesian Open Day on the 29th of June and has a strong interest in maintaining biodiversity on the farm, in tandem with a productive herd. The herd averaged 6,600 litres and 504kg solids in the 2022 Coop report, with a calving interval of 367 days and are long-standing Dairygold Suppliers. Gearoid is a Farming for Nature Ambassador and is also involved in an EIP project focused on water quality. He has also implemented various sustainability measures on farm such as nitrogen reduction on the grazing platform and the use of selective dry cow therapy - while maintaining a very impressive SCC of 93 for 2022.

Farrell Scully, Choshull Herd, Ballymote, Co Sligo

Farrell’s spring calving herd of 60 pedigree cows produce milk for Aurvio. Farrell is supported on the farm by his wife Anita and brother Michael who cares for the young-stock. Components are very important in Farrell’s system and at 6,100 litres production the herd achieves an average 489kg solids (305d Milk recording records 2022), coupled with a low SCC of 100 and an average calving interval of 366 days the herd is consistently performing well. There is also roughly 9,500 litres of milk fed to calves throughout the year. It has been a good spring so far weather wise and the herd have been out grazing since the 16th of February. In terms of breeding Farrell uses all conventional AI and has 29 friesian heifers out of this years calf crop, the heifers are reared on farm and bull calves are sold on. A bit of Angus and Hereford AI is used on cows that repeat or those that replacements aren’t needed from and these always attract a strong trade. When selecting bulls Farrell would always select high EBI bulls, but most importantly he selects bulls with good calving ease to avoid any unnecessary stress on heifers especially. Farrell has a number of 2023 pedigree eligible bull calves available for sale currently as well as 8 maiden pedigree registered heifers available, call the office for contact details or check the IHFA Website Buy and Sell page for more information (QR scan code will take you to the page).

Penny’s performing at ballytigue

An outstanding milestone was met back in January for Aidan and Sally-Ann Frawley and family when Ballytigue Mogul Penny scored EX95 following in the footsteps of her mother Ballytigue Goldchip Penny EX95. The iconic Mother and Daughter received this remarkable accolade of Excellent 95 just 7 months apart which is quite the statement for this Family at Ballytigue Holsteins. Mogul Penny’s Daughter, Ballytigue Crown Penny RC sold for 7,100 guineas and was the top price of the IHFA Open Day Sale held at Ballytigue in July 2022. She was bred from fifteen generations of VG/EX Dams. Out of 10 Milking Penny’s in Aidan’s herd, 5 of those are Classified Excellent and the other 5 Very Good. Congratulations to the Frawley Family on this remarkable achievement.

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The role of sexed semen and evaluation of fertility in Irish dairy herds.

Motivation for sexed semen usage :

Sex-biased semen is a revolutionary technology that provides many potential advantages for the Irish dairy industry:

1. Replacement heifer requirements could be met using sexed semen in the first three weeks of the breeding season. Use of sexed semen instead of conventional semen would reduce the number of male dairy calves, which have poor beef traits and low economic value

2. Genetic gain for EBI could be accelerated by selecting the best dams to breed replacements

3. All dams that are not selected for breeding replacements should be inseminated with beef semen. This will help to increased the value of beef output from the dairy herd. The superior quality attributes of beef-cross calves relative to male dairy calves is vital for a sustainable beef industry

4. Dairy heifer rearing will be more streamlined, as all the female replacement animals will be born together within a short window of time at the start of the calving period;

5. Biosecurity can be improved by maintaining a closed herd.

Background

Research trials were carried out to evaluate the performance of sexed semen in lactating dairy cows in 2018 and 2019. During these trials, there was no sorting lab in Ireland, the trials were undertaken in collaboration with Irish AI companies, Cogent in the UK, and ST Genetics in the Netherlands.

2018 dairy cow field trial 1: Semen from both resident bulls (i.e. located at or near the sorting lab) and shipped ejaculates (i.e. bulls collected in Ireland, and ejaculates shipped to sorting lab within 6 to 7 h) were included in the study. Ejaculates were split and processed as either conventional semen (15m sperm per straw) or sexed (4m sperm per straw). Cows were inseminated after detected heats, and neither the farmer nor the AI technician was aware which straws were conventional semen and which straws were sexed semen.

In total, 7,236 inseminations events were analysed. The main findings were as follows:

• Overall, conception rate was greater for cows inseminated with conventional semen than for those inseminated with sexed semen (59.9% vs. 45.5%; 76.0% relative to conventional semen).

• The difference between conception rate achieved by conventional semen and sexed semen was less for resident bulls (60.3% vs. 50.2%; 84% relative to conventional semen) than for shipped ejaculates (58.6% vs. 40.7%; 70% relative to conventional semen).

• In 33% of the herds, the conception rate achieved with sexed semen was ≥ 90% of the conception rate achieved with conventional semen.

The findings highlight large herd variation in conception rates achieved, and also the relative difference between conventional semen and sexed semen. This may indicate that decision rules regarding timing of AI is better suited to sexed semen on some farms compared with others.

2019 dairy cow field trial 2:

A trial to evaluate the effect of timing of AI was conducted using semen from 3 bulls resident at Cogent. Ejaculates were split and processed as either conventional semen (15m sperm per straw) or sexed semen (4m sperm per straw). Enrolled cows were synchronised using a 10-day P4-Ovsynch protocol. 24 herds participated in the study, and each provided cows that were ≤4 parity and ≥50 days in milk on the day of AI. Cows within each herd were grouped based on parity and days in milk, and randomly assigned to one of 3 treatments:

1. Conventional semen at 16 h after the final injection of GnRH (CONT)

2. Sexed semen at 16 h after the final injection of GnRH (SEXED-16)

3. Sexed semen at 22 h after the final injection of GnRH (SEXED-22)

Every herd was allocated an equal ratio of conventional and sexed semen from each of the three bulls. The main findings were as follows:

• Conception rates were less in both sexed semen treatments compared with conventional semen (49.0, 51.3 and 61.1% for SEXED-16, SEXED-22 and

Dr. Stephen Butler and Dr. Stephen Moore Teagasc, Moorepark Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Fermoy, Co. Cork.

CONT, respectively). The relative conception rate (RCR) was 80.3% and 84.0% for SEXED-16 and SEXED-22, respectively. The two sexed semen treatments did not differ statistically, suggesting that inseminations between 16 to 22h after GnRH is optimum for AI with sexed semen.

• The best third of herds had an average relative conception rate of 100% (range: 91% to 121%), meaning that, on average, the conception rates achieved with sexed semen were equal to those achieved with conventional semen. Conversely, the poorest third of the herds had a mean relative conception rate of 67% (range: 48% to 77%), meaning that, on average, the conception rates achieved with sexed semen were two-thirds as good as those achieved with conventional semen.

• Of note, the herds with the poorest relative conception rates achieved excellent conception rates with conventional semen (see Figure 1 poorest third of herds). This shows that the cows were highly fertile, and synchronisation was performed correctly to facilitate a high fertility ovulation event

2021/2022 heifer trial

A six-d progesterone CO-Synch protocol was used for ovulation synchronization of dairy heifers, with timed AI (TAI) at the same times as (TAI-0) or 8 h (TAI-8) after the second injection of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which was either 48 h or 56 h after removal of the PRID device.

Conception rate was greater for TAI-8 heifers (59%) compared with TAI-0 heifers (51%), with variable performance between herds.

Conclusions :

While it is clear that good reproductive performance is possible with sexed semen, attention to detail is critical. The most fertile dams (heifers, younger cows that are calved >50 days and in good BCS) and large team of high EBI bulls should be used. Also excellent straw handling on the day of AI is needed. Some guidelines on straw handing are as follows:

• Organise sexed straws into one goblet

• Thaw MAX 2 sexed semen straws at a time

• Thaw straws at 35 to 37 °C for 45 seconds

• Load straws into pre-warmed AI guns, keep warm.

• Deposit semen in uterine body within 5 mins

Acknowledgements:

Financial support from the Dairy Levy Trust, MII, Munster Bovine, Glanbia and CEVA is gratefully acknowledged. We are also grateful to the herdowners that participated, and to ICBF, Munster Bovine, Progressive Genetics, Dovea Genetics, Sexing Technologies and Cogent for facilitating the trials.

The bars above the three groups indicates the mean and range for RCR in each third of cows

yma Annual General Meeting

On Friday 27th January we held the YMA AGM in the Maldron Hotel in Port Laois. We had a fantastic turnout and a very productive meeting. The future is looking bright for our Young Members with lots of new ideas being put forward and plenty of positive changes suggested for our current calendar of events. Both our National Co-Ordinator, Kane Boal and National Chairperson, Doireann Mulhall gave a run down of the previous year of events and it was very much in agreement that YMA had a hugely successful 2022 from Events at home to Overseas. We had 3 different Teams of our Young Members sent to compete in the HYB Rally in England, European Young Breeders School in Belgium and the Open Junior Show in Italy where each and every one of our members excelled in their individual areas and most certainly done Ireland proud.

We had a very informative talk from Laura Cornthwaite, WWS Ireland, Marketing Manager. She left our members with lots of inspiration to take away. She gave an insight into the Marketing World and some great pointers on how you can promote your own herd.

the last number of years in my term as both Co-Ordinator & Chairperson. Thank you to Donal, Georgia & all of IHFA for giving me the opportunity to be in this role & the continued support. I have taken a lot form the position that will help me in many aspects of my career. I wish the incoming officer the best of luck for the year ahead. No doubt another fantastic year in store.

Co-Ordinator Kane commented “I would like to thank our YMA chairperson Doireann Mulhall. Doireann’s dedication and commitment to YMA over the past number of years has been admirable. Her ideas and attention to detail must be commended and striving to do the best she could for the benefit of the young members. She is the perfect role model for any young person in YMA and I have no doubt, she will continue to support YMA in the future. Thank you Doireann for all your help and guidance during my first year as National Co-ordinator. Finally, I would like to thank you all again for making 2022 a successful year for YMA and hopefully 2023 will be just as enjoyable for everyone. Thanks very much”

It was also time to bid farewell to our YMA Chairperson, Doireann Mulhall who has devoted a great amount of her time to YMA in her role over the past few years. Doireann said “A quick mention must go to my fellow officers and to Georgia for their help and support over the past year. It was great to be back planning events and to see our very keen young members back in the show ring. Everything we do is to encourage and support the young members in all our clubs. Seeing them come back after a number of years away even more keen than ever really makes the work and planning of events worthwhile. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has helped and supported me in any way over

Following on from the AGM we had our Election of Officers at our first Committee Meeting of 2023, on Friday 24th February. We bid Doireann farewell as Chairperson and Sinead O’Sullivan from the Cork Club was elected as our incoming Chairperson. Kane Boal was re-elected as Co-Ordinator for the coming year, we are glad to have Kane on board and we are sure his experience within the National Committee will help our newcomers. Lastly, both Hannah Healy and Rachel McNamara stood down as National PRO’s. Jane Hannan from the Limerick/Clare club was elected as the new PRO. We are looking forward to the year ahead with lots of events to be planned for 2023.

Emerald expo is back

Emerald Expo, Ireland’s spring all breeds, dairy cattle show is returning to The Virginia Show Centre in County Cavan on Saturday 29th April and this year it is being held in conjunction with the European Holstein and Red Holstein Conference. The programme of events includes six championships, classes for YMA handlers, other dairy breeds, youngstock classes and in milk classes. The total prize fund on offer exceeds €28,000. We are so looking forward to getting back to Virginia and into the thick of the showing season for 2023.

Meet the Judge

A word from Show Director: Richard Whelan

It is a fabulous honour for IHFA members to have been chosen as hosts of the prestigious European Holstein & Red Holstein Confederation (EHRC) conference 2023. The Emerald Expo organising committee is delighted that the show forms part of the EHRC event itinerary, closing a varied programme of events overall to help promote our breed to a European audience. Following on from the renowned Spring Show which was a tremendous shop window for the breed in previous decades, the Emerald Expo continues that important link providing exhibitors with the opportunity to showcase top quality stock. I express thanks and give recognition to all those involved in the Spring Fair which was the previous iteration prior to Emerald Expo which was first held in 2011. FBD Insurance are title sponsors of Emerald Expo this year and the organising committee is deeply grateful to the FBD team for the tremendous sponsorship support year after year. Thanks to all our sponsors for their commitment to the show. The Virginia show centre is a tremendous venue. I congratulate the Virginia organising committee for the foresight and ambition in building such a fine premises which is made available to the local community and the wider catchment. Thanks to Patrick & Mary Gaynor and family for their hard work and support. I also thank the committee members of the Breffni Oriel club for the help and support. A warm Emerald Expo welcome to our Judge Hefyn Wilson who is travelling from his home in Wales to judge the show. Hefyn is renowned Internationally for his Judging capability, he has a most impressive judging CV and we look forward to his stellar command of the ring and the microphone in adding to the spectacle of the show. Best of luck to all exhibitors taking part including the Young Members (YMA). I hope you all have an enjoyable and positive day. Finally I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible on the day and I extend a céad míle fáilte to the European delegates in attendance.

Where is our 2022 Champion?

Hefyn Wilson farms the Tregibby herd of 75 holsteins and 15 jerseys in Wales and is a previous Holstein UK Premier Pedigree Herd Competition winner. Hefyn’s judging highlights include the All Britain All Breeds Calf Show, Great Yorkshire Show and the Premier Pedigree Herd Competition in the UK. Hefyn is no stranger to Irish soil as he has also judged our National Holstein Show in Tullamore and our national herds competition. We look forward to welcoming Hefyn back across the water and we will be sure to put on an impressive display of animals for him.

We had a chat with John Dowling, exhibitor of 2022 Champion Clonpaddin G Fame ET. He said that Fame is back in calf and is due in September. She is coming with her 9th calf now and is having a well deserved break from the show ring but he hopes to get her back out to RUAS Winter Fair in December all going well. John intends to bring two third calvers to Emerald Expo in April, one being Baldonnel Sol Ebony who he had great success with up at the RUAS Winter Fair in 2022, another being Baldonnel Solomon Lustre going back to 2015 National Dairy Show Champion Baldonnel Goldie Larissa EX94 who John owned with Tadgh Bourke. Emerald Expo has brought much success for John in his showing career and with winning Supreme in 2019 with Baldonnel FM Sunshine and again in 2022 with Clonpaddin G Fame after a break during Covid, he said he is going for the Hat-Trick this year!

2022 Champion Clonpaddin G Fame ET, exhibited by John & Cyril Dowling

DIAMOND AWARDS 2022

For cows having yielded 3,000kgs of protein in her lifetime (20 22) and classified Excellent

GOLD AWARDS 2022

For cows having yielded 3,000kgs of protein in her lifetime (2022)

Please ensure your dry off dates are submitted on time so that the award is reflected within the year achieved

IHFA All Star Award recipient 2022

Sterndale Colt Rae ET EX93 3E

Liam & Sandra Murphy, Evergreen herd, Fenagh, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow

The Pedigree Cattle Breeders Council of Ireland (PCBCOI) is a forum for affiliated cattle herdbooks to progress issues of a common interest and to help advance pedigree breeding goals through representation. The All Star awards is a PCBCOI initiative, first held in 2020, to build upon the renowned RDS Champion of Champions accolade. The 2022 awards function took place on Friday February 3rd last in the Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise.

Exemplifying tremendous breed qualities, the IHFA All Star Award recipient 2022 is Sterndale Colt Rae ET owned by Liam and Sandra Murphy. Born in March 2014 this mature cow commenced her sixth lactation last November. Just over one month into her sixth lactation she travelled to the Royal Ulster Agricultural Show (RUAS) Winter Fair where she won 1st Production cow and also won best udder of the class. She went on to be crowned RUAS Winter Fair Champion Holstein and Supreme Interbreed Reserve Champion. It is noteworthy for a mature cow, freshly calved in her sixth lactation, approaching her 9th birthday, to be recognised in the show ring and judged to be breed Champion.

Sterndale Colt Rae has admirable production qualities having recorded yields of over 10,000 kgs milk per lactation in her previous three lactations. Her average lactation length in these consecutive lactations is 342 days. Her lifetime milk production average per lactation over five completed lactations to date is 9,400 kgs. This production performance reflects very positively on fertility, longevity, health, and management traits as an overall balanced performance profile.

Classified Excellent EX 93 on Conformation overall, Sterndale Colt Rae completes eleven maternal generations of VG/EX breeding. She has attained the top conformation grade of Excellent on three prior occasions. Her tremendous functionality includes composite scores of Excellent (EX) 95 for Mammary and Excellent (EX) 92 Feet & Legs.

Summarising her qualities, Liam Murphy describes his recently crowned All Star cow as “A cow who keeps improving in every lactation”.

Picture: Minister Martin Heydon TD presenting the All Star Award to Sandra, Manus, Niamh and Liam Murphy. Also pictured is Laurence Feeney, IHFA CE.

Cow and bull selection

Dr. Patrick Kelly

With calving coming to a slow down now it is time to start thinking about other on farm decisions.

From the early milk recording you can start making decisions on cows that should be getting dairy straws, beef straws or culled. Cows with high SCC or mastitis cases in the previous year need to be checked to see if they have cured or need to be culled. If they still have high SCC or mastitis in the same quarter then the need to be removed from the herd to protect the rest of the herd and the young heifers coming in. Cows that are after picking up mastitis need to be treated so they don’t become a problem. You can use your milk recording SCC figures to identify the cows to use the California milk testing paddle on, this will help to identify the quarter you are dealing with. If you have a lot of the same quarter being infected, flushing of the cluster between the cows when milking will slow down the transfer.

Moving on to the topic of breeding there are a few things to think about. With nitrates in place you need to know how much stock your farm can carry and how many milkers are going to be there going forward. This will allow you to identify how many replacements you need, either for your own herd or selling. When you know the amount you need, then you can pick the cows to get the replacement straws and the ones to get beef straws. Using beef straws early in your breeding season means you don’t have replacements coming from cows not performing in your herd.

You need to look at how the cows are performing across a number of traits:

• Fertility performance - Calving interval, going in calf early

• Production performance value – top 20 % of cows plus top cows from average group if needed

• Health – SCC, Lameness and Feet & Legs

Remember - Not all your young stock are your best genetics; a poor heifer out of a poor cow does not lead to a good replacement

The first step is do identify the cows in the bottom 20% using your milk recording. These are cows that you should not have replacements from. They are in your herd getting the exact same treatment as the top 20%, but there is a major difference in their performance value. Take the two herds to the right (Figure 1); one in the very high costs scheme (>9000kg)

and the 2nd herd in a high cost scheme (7000 - 9000kg). There is €2.10 and €1.50 difference in the milk recorded margin per day respectively between their top and bottom 20%. This might not seem a lot per day but when worked out over a year it equates to over €700 and €500 per cow per year.

Table 1 above shows you the large difference between animals in the same parity for the bottom and top 20%. The top 20% are where you want your replacements from if they are fertile.

When you move into the 3rd and greater calvers they will not be in the top group without having good fertility. I cannot stress the importance of putting in the correct dry off dates to improve accuracy with all of these figures

Table 1: Milk margin comparison across lactations

Bull selection- What bull do you need?

This all depend on your herd status for fertility, production, health and functional conformation. Balanced bulls will get the best results. If you want to maintain the production level and percentages you currently have you need to select the bulls that are at the same level or slightly better. If you want to improve one of the production traits you need to select bulls with higher than your herd in that trait but on par with your herd in the other traits. The below are examples of herds PTA figures for production and fertility, these figure help when trying to match bulls with cows and improve the next generation.

From a functional conformation you need to be looking at the classification of the dams to ensure there is good linear behind the bull. The next step is to look at the conformation of the cow that suits your system, gives no trouble walking or milking. Then look at the other cows that you have selected as replacement dams compared to her, this will allow you to select the bull conformation that will best achieve the conformation of cow you want in the future. When selecting bulls look to make sure the bull is pedigree so this will

Provides sustained enhancement of the cow’s metabolism in the liver and rumen, and additional energy.

Energy and rehydration support ~ can also be given to calves around weaning.

Stimulates metabolism through fast, available energy.

Booster Tablet

Booster Powder StartLac Paste

PURE FRIESIAN CLUB NEWS

News since Winter Journal:

Last October the club arranged a tour to several farms and herds in Donegal and Northern Ireland. Starting with John & Sylvia Allen, the club enjoyed hospitality and a walk through their fine herd of cows. We also visited David Allen, their son, in Limavaddy, County Derry. The tour then moved on to the Glenmore Estate in Donegal for an interesting overview of their work. In Northern Ireland, the club visited the Stockdales and the Inch herd in Down, with Jim Morrisson joining the club for dinner and chat that evening in the hotel. The club will run an autumn tour this year too, so stay tuned to our website for details as they are announced.

Upcoming Events:

This year’s National Pure Friesian Open Day will be hosted by Gearoid Maher & family on Thursday June 29th. Meetups: We have started a new initiative to have on-farm meetups at intervals during the year, check the website’s events section for details of upcoming locations. All are welcome as these informal local events are opportunities for anyone with an interest to come along and are not restricted to club members.

New Club Officers Notification:

At the recent Irish Pure Friesian Club AGM, there were some changes in the officer ranks as follows:

Chairman Paddy Quealy

Vice Chairman Martin Crowe

Secretary Francis Fitzgerald

Treasurer Gearoid Maher

PROs Sinead Quealy, Claire Cleary and Bill O Keeffe

Paddy Quealy replaces Martin Crowe as club chair, but Martin's contribution will continue to be felt as he takes on the new role of Vice Chair. Paddy thanked Martin for his incredible service during his 19 years as chairman of the club from its inception. The other big change on the night was the election of Gearoid Maher as Treasurer, stepping in to the position held so well and reliably for years by Conor O'Leary. Thank you to Conor for wise management of the cheque book over the years. Several initiatives were discussed on the night and since, one of which was a commitment by the club to host more on farm meetings, events and tours in 2023 and beyond. This initiative is in motion already, so keep a close eye on our events section to keep notified of upcoming gettogethers.

RUAS Winter Fair

Congratulations goes to our members who competed at the RUAS Winter Fair. Also to our young YMA members for there success.

50th Dinner Dance

This year was the golden year for Breffni Oriel. 50 years of a Club is an outstanding achievement. To mark the occasion a night was held in The Kilmore Hotel County Cavan on the 2nd December. A book was for the night by Mary Rafferty and Deirdre Toal consisting of alot of memories from over the year. We want to Thank them both for their exceptional hard work and time they took into doing the book. We would like to thank our guest speaker on the night Dr Patrick Walls Professor of Public Health UCD for is excellent speech. Presentation on the night was made to Mary Rafferty for her Secretary role of 30 years. As everyone knows no job was to big or small for this lady so once again thank you Mary. Stockjudging presentations were made on the night congratulations to all our prize winners also a word of thanks to Mark O Rourke Univet for his continuous sponsorship.

Upcoming Events

All upcoming events to be confirmed. All members will be notified of dates of herds competition, field evenings and club trips in due course.

New Club Officers Nomination

Our AGM was held on the 13th February at Tullyvin. There was an excellent turn out from members. We want to take this opportunity to thank our out going committee for all there hard work and dedication to the club and with our new committee the best of luck for the upcoming year.

Chairperson: Trevor Williamson

President: Padraic Greenan

Secretary: Edwin Gaynor

Vice President: General Finnegan

Organising Secretary: Brendan Reilly PRO: Andrea Rafferty

YMA Co-ordintors: Andrea Rafferty & Rachel Corley

Vice Chairperson: Clayton Coulter

Treasurer: Mary Rafferty

Best of luck to everyone for everyone for 2023 and new members are always welcome

CORK AGM

On the 27th of November we held of Club AGM in the International Airport Hotel, Cork. A very large crowd attached on the night with special guests on the night Mr Iain McLean of the Priestland Herd, Northern Ireland speaking on the night. All reports were given out on the night with the election of our new club president Mrs Ursula Forest elected on the night. Taking over from Mr Pat Hayes who has done a fantastic job over the last three years over some very difficult times during covid. We wish Ursula all the best going forward. Also new deglates were elected on the night covering the areas of West ,North and East Cork and we wish them all the best going forward. Some awards were given out on the night from the National Dairy Show as follows:

Best Tidy line: Best Young Person Award: Stock Judging Cup Winners:

Jason Helen

Conor Lehane

Stephen Shannon

Christopher McCarthy

J&D Murphy

Richard Kingston

1st Christopher McCarthy

2nd Kate Lehane

3rd Conor Ahern

Over 26 James Crowely

18 to 26 Stephen Shannon

Under 18 Lousie Coleman

Club person of the year: Ivor Bryan

Our speaker on the night, Mr Iain McLean with this wife Julie and family run the Priestland Farm in Northern Ireland. They are situated on the North Coast, 3 miles from the world famous Giant’s Causeway and 2 miles from Old Bushmills’ Whiskey Distillery. They farm about 130 pedigree holstein milkers and 200 youngstock with a sprinkle of colour. The herd runs on about 118 hectares. The milking herd are housed on waterbed cubicles (this includes the show cows). The herd was only upgraded to pedigree status in the 1990s. In 2008 they invested heavily in Canadian and American cow families through the purchase of embryos. These have produced stylish off-spring which we have in turn flushed. Herd Classification: 32 Excellent, 67 VG & 34 GP. Current herd rolling average (2x daily): 9982 litres, 4.18% butterfat, 3.31% protein, 4.83% lactose, 92 SCC & 9 Bactocount. Priestland have had much success in the NI Holstein Herds Competitions including: 2009 - 1st Medium Herd in the Junior Section, 2010 & 2011 - 1st Medium Herd in the Senior Section and 2012 - 1st Small Herd Premier Section.

AI Night

We had a massive crowd at our annual AI night held in the Airport International Hotel on the 23rd of January. The six major AI companies active in the market Munster Bovine, Eurogene AI, World Wide Sires Ireland, Dovea, Bull Wise and Dunmasc Genetics gave a brief presentation of the semen that they will have available for this breeding season, and took a few questions afterwards from the floor. Each of the AI Companies also gave straws for the free raffle for the attendees on the night. Many thanks to each of the AI companies for supporting this well attended informative event.

Club Officers

As a New year starts again our 2023 committee met to elect the clubs officers. The election of officers was presided over by our New President Ursula Forrest, the following officers were elected:

Chairperson Martin Kennedy

Assistant Chair James Crowley

Secretary Richard Geary

Assistant Secretary James Bourke Treasurer Willie Sheenan PRO Christopher McCarthy

Upcoming Events

Club Heifer Sale: The CHFC are planning on holding an in-milk sale again this year on Friday 24th of March at Corrin Mart, Fermoy. The Sale is back again this year after a very successful event last year. The sale is for pedigree in-milk animals, Heifers and young cows calved since the 1st of January this year. For more information, entry forms / catalogues contact Corrin Mart or any Club Committee member.

Club Bull Sale:

The club bull sale will take place on the 5th of April in bandon mart.A show will take place before the sale.The entry criteria for this years sale will be granddam and dam classifed GP82 or better with yeild of fat and protein of 500 kgs plus with a minimum of 3.50% protein in one complete lactation

More upcoming Events - Dates and venue for all these events will be confirmed closer to the time

•Field evening held over the summer

•End of summer BBQ/Herd competition results

•Farm walks

•Farm tours

All Ireland Awards

Well done to all winners at the recent All Ireland award particularly the Cork Club winners, namely :

Class 5 Champion Bawnmore Pepper Almeric , Bryan & John O’Connor

Class 5 Honourable Mention Eedy Doorman Fame, Robert, Sylvia & Jason Helen

Class 6 Honourable Mention Bawnmore Unix Jeanette 2, Bryan & John O’Connor

Class 7 Champion Cramar Swallow A Cutes, Bryan & John O’Connor

Class 7 Reserve Champion Laurelelm Slick Brilliant, Rickey Barrett

Class 7

Honourable Mention Lissaniskey McDougal T Unity, Diarmuid Murphy.

Club Video

A massive Thank you Michael Coleman and family who allowed us to go and video on his family farm. An exceptional herd of cows film a glorious summer evening make sure to go over to our club YouTube channel. Or scan the QR code here!

To keep updated with all latest news form the club check out our club Facebook and YouTube channels

We are looking forward to see everyone though out the year

Christopher McCarthy PRO

KERRY Farm Video

The club recently compiled a farm video profile on the Doonmanagh Herd, owned by John Gavin, Lispole, Dingle, Co Kerry. It can be viewed on our social media platform and was kindly sponsored by Kellihers Feed & Agri Supplies, Ballymullen, Tralee.

AI Night

Our AI night was held on the 30th January 2023 in the Rose Hotel, Tralee which was a great success. Tommy the Vet was our guest speaker and gave a very interesting presentation on getting the basics right for the calving season. It clearly geared everyone up for the upcoming calving season. The following AI companies attended on the night each giving a presentation on their selection of bulls: Munster Bovine, Eurogene, WWS, Bullwise, Dovea & Dumasc Genetics The club would like to thank each of them for kindly donating prizes that were raffled on the night.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Leagh Holsteins, Ballyduff, Co Kerry and all involved with the recent classification of Lynbrook Predestine A Dream who classified EX95.

Congratulations to Ann & John O’Hanlon, Ballyduff, Co Kerry on receiving an award for Rahela Cookies n Cream who was crowned champion All Ireland Heifer born after the 1st January 2022.

Congratulations to Daniel & Emer Curtin, Listowel, Co Kerry whose huge effort paid off in the Dairy Show with Class 5 winner Euro Sidekick Laurie who was also crowned Reserve Junior Champion. Class 10 was won by Euro Doorman Roxy and in the Jersey Cow in milk Euro Joel Prance was second and crowned Reserve Jersey Champion on the day. Well done to all!

Congratulations to Jerome Leen on his recent retirement from the role of Farm Relationship Manager with Munster Bovine in the Kerry area. Jerome is well known near and far for his excellent knowledge and advice to our members over the years. We wish him the very best for the future.

Silage Competition

Our results night of the Silage competition took place on the later date of the 20th December 2022 due to the spell of bad weather and road conditions on the Kerry roads. Yet again, Nicholas Leen of AgriKing did a fantastic job of presenting the results. He gave an in-dept presentation on the importance of silage quality and the role it has to play in future farm sustainability requirements. The club wish to thank Nicholas for sponsoring the competition and for all his work involved in collecting the samples.

Results as follows: New Entrants:

1. Alan Lynch 2. Sean Kissane 3 Pat Buckley Bale Silage

1. JP O’Carroll 2. John Dillon 3 Sean Begley Pit Silage

1 Martin Lynch 2 Patrick Relihan 3 Owen O’Sullivan Most Improved Mossie Harty

AGM

Our AGM took place on the 7th December 2022 in the Rose Hotel, Tralee. Our guest speaker was IHFA CEO Laurence Feeney. Laurence spoke on the success of the Holstein & Friesian Breed and the benefits the breed and IHFA members have in the future sustainability of Irish Dairy. Congratulations to Laurence on his recent appointment to CEO of the IHFA. The club looks forward to working with him closely into the future. New officers were elected on the night and we would like to thank the outgoing officers for their work and commitment to the roles they held.

Upcoming Events

• Our Heifer Sale will be held on March 15th in Gortatlea Mart.

• Our Bull Sale will be held in early April.

• Stock Judging & Field Evening will be held in June on the farm of Sean Begley, Dingle (Slieverue Herd)

• The Kerry Club will also be holding the Judging conference for the IHFA on May 27th in Barrons Agri, Causeway. The club are delighted to be able to hold the Conference and looking forward to showcasing the quality of the cows from various Kerry Breeders.

• Herd Competition will commence in July.

Bull Sale

Martin Griffin, Gortatlea Mart (left) presenting the reserve champion trophy to Jack Goulding holding Kealod Kabana and Kealod Paul best in Class 2 held by Shauna Canny with Chairperson, Leo O’Connor (second left) and President Michael Maunsell (right) at the Kerry Holstein Friesian Breeders 46th Annual Show & Sale at Gortatlea Mart on Thursday. Photograph: John Reidy

Herds Competition 2022 Results

NEW ENTRANT

Individual Awards

BEST HEIFER

1 Alan Lynch Heifer 1115

2 Patrick Gentleman Heifer 7293

3 Willie Joe Leen Heifer 912

4 Seamus O'Connell Heifer 328

5 Sean Kissane Heifer 2265

6 Noel O'Connor Heifer 3086

JUNIOR COW

1 Patrick Gentleman Cow 7009

2 Michael Sullivan Cow 1600

3 Willie Joe Leen Cow 856

4 Alan Lynch Cow 1034

5 Seamus O’Connell Cow 324

6 Noel O’Connor Cow 2761

SENIOR COW

1 Patrick Gentleman Cow 488

2 Willie Joe Leen Cow 643

3 Seamus O’Connell Cow 387

4 Alan Lynch Cow 849

5 Michael Sullivan Cow 1122

6 Noel O’Connor Cow 2490

COW FAMILY

1 Patrick Gentleman Sweet

2 Noel O’Connor Sherry

FRIESIAN HERD

Individual Awards

HEIFER

John Goulding (1967)

JUNIOR COW

John Goulding (1906)

SENIOR COW

Michael Kissane(1031)

COW FAMILY

Tim Mulvihil (Seabreeze)

Ballylongane Yamaska winner of Class 1 and Supreme Champion. Chairperson Leo O’Connor presenting the cup with Lee Strand Chairman David Pierse presenting to Maurice Harty with Martin Griffin, Gortatlea Mart and President Michael Maunsell at the Kerry Holstein Friesian Breeders 46th Annual Show & Sale at Gortatlea Mart on Thursday. Photograph: John Reidy

NOVICE Individual Awards

HEIFER

1 Michael Quirke Heifer 2796

2 Paudie Relihan Heifer 1099

3 Timothy Sheehy Heifer 1062

4 Sean Shine Heifer 1621

5 Stiofan Aherne Heifer 840

6 Paudie Sheehy Heifer 1064

JUNIOR COW

1 Sean Shine Cow 2050

2 Michael Quirke Cow 1753

3 Stiofan Aherne Cow 796

4 Paudie Relihan Cow 1033

5 Timothy Sheehy Cow 1004

6 Michael Creed Cow FB 13

SENIOR COW

1 Paudie Relihan Cow 694

2 Sean Shine Cow 1277

3 Timothy Sheehy Cow 912

4 Michael Quirke Cow 1420

5 Paudie Sheehy Cow 925

6 Stiofan Aherne Cow 660

COW FAMILY

1 Paudie Relihan Millie

2 Stiofan Aherne Kay

3 Michael Quirke Jenny

SPRING JUNIOR

Spring Heifer

1 Anthony O’Connor

Heifer 1124

Leanamore Grace Red

2 Michal & Mark Corridon

Heifer 2101

Maunsell Applecrisp Augustine

3 Michael O’Sullivan

Heifer 1011

Lisodigue Ellie

4 Timothy & Donal Leahy

Heifer 1069

Kingdom Franchise Daffodil

5John Foley

Heifer 1099

Coolkeragh Oldcastletown Queen

6 Colm Diggins

Junior Cow

1 Timothy & Donal Leahy

Cow 1000 Kingdom Armour Rae

2 Patrick & Robert Costello

Cow 1057 Robinhill Charlie Monica

3 Anthony O’Connor

Cow 1077 Leanamore IKAR Breiz

4 John Foley

Cow 1022 Coolkeragh Cathy

5 David Lovett

Cow 1399 Granshalower Katie

6 Michael Griffin

Cow 1496 Seabreeze Lwr Beatrix

Senior Cow

1 Michael O’Sullivan

Cow 926 Lisodigue Mesdoor Ellie

2 Timothy & Donal Leahy

Cow 960 Kingdom McDougal Promis

3 Anthony O’Connor

Cow 7 Clahaneleish Hagley Sunrene

4 Colm Diggins

Cow 1128

5 Patrick Buckley

Cow 1111 Meenenare Dancer

6 Patrick & Robert Costello

Cow 872 Robinhill Roxer Mildred

Cow Families

1 Michael O Sullivan

Ellie Family 685 / 802 / 1011

2 David Lovett

Molly Family 1399/1141 / 1311

3 Colm Diggins

Jam Family 1128 / 1425 / 1603

AUTUMN SECTION

Autumn Junior Heifer

1 Tommy Maunsell Heifer 2949

Coolstar Titan Mona

2 Leo O’Connor Heifer 6450

Ranaleen Army Avril

3 Niall & John Mason Heifer 1894

Gortbrach Martha

4 John Brendan Meehan Heifer 1419

Penure PIM Rachel

5 Florence McCarthy Heifer 1549

McCarthy Aine

Autumn Junior Cow

1 Tommy Maunsell Cow 1757

Clahaneleish Bertha

2 Niall & John Mason Cow 1821

Gortbrach Mags

3 Leo O’Connor Cow 6146

Ranaleen Billy Flora

4 John Brendan Meehan Cow 1404

Penure Jude

5 Florence McCarthy

Cow 1383 McCarthy Hazel

6 John & Tom Paul Keane

Cow 2030 Obrennanherd Bertha

Autumn Senior Cow

1 Niall & John Mason

Cow 1519 Gortbrach Liz

2 Leo O’Connor

Cow 4040 Ranaleen Electron Kim

3 John Brendan Meehan

Cow 1339 Penure Edith

4 Florence McCarthy

Cow 1078 McCarthy Flower

5 John & Tom Paul Keane

Cow 1750

Cow Families

1 John Brendan Meehan

Edith Family 923 / 1517 / 1339

2 Niall & John Mason

Liz Family 1519 / 1627 / 1819

3 John & Tom Paul Keane Massey

Dolly Family 2081 / 1799 / 1502

4 Leo O’Connor

Flora Family 4159 / 5163 / 6146

5 Florence McCarthy Carol Family 907 / 1392 / 1486

Champion Junior Cow: Tommy Maunsell

Clahaneleish Atti Tracy

Spring Senior & Intermediate Section

Spring Heifer Section:

1 Ronán Ó Siochrú

Maunsell Rager Chanel

2 Darragh Curtin

Greenlawn Montross Fuchia 1433

3 Sean Begley

Slieverue Grainne Mary Bloom

4 James Egan Kingdom Pepper Promis

5 Liam Quilter

Gortinare Eimear 2677

6 John Joe Dillon

Tobermartin Reginald-Et Lady

Spring Junior Cow

1 Sean Begley

Slieverue Orla Mt Ross

2 Darragh Curtin

Mohoncross Dawn 84

3 James Egan

Tobermartin S3249 Peggy

4 Eddie Walsh

Moohane FR2314 Holly

5 Ross O’Neill

Lissa Snowdrop 2555

6 Paul Dowd

Ballytigue Fantastic Fini 2176

Spring Senior Cow

1 James Egan

Tobermartin Armour Bunty 1348

2 Darragh Curtin

Clahaneleish Jamming Wildrose

3 Ronán Ó Siochrú

Aghaleemore Maggie 2120

4 Sean Begley

Slieverue Orla Pat Punch

5 Danny O’Connell

Killahan Centurion Lena

6 Liam Quilter

Gortinare Rose Elaine 2093

Spring Cow Family

1 James Egan - Bunty

2 Eddie Walsh - Holly

3 Liam Houlihan - Ruby

Autumn Senior and Intermediate Sections

Autumn Heifer

1 Daniel Curtin

Euro Crayon Blackrose

2 Tim Kirby

Smearlaview Pepper Shower

3 John Dillon

Piperhill Pharo Lynn

4 Jerome Leen

Ballincullig Raphael Anna

5 Maurice & Geraldine Harty

Monamore Casper Raven

6 John Walsh

Bayvilla Nina 177

Autumn Junior Cow

1 Daniel Curtin

Euro Beemer Shower

2 John Dillon

Piperhill Bandares Lynn

3 John Walsh

Counguilla Apples Phlox 3

4 Maurice & Geraldine Harty

Lynbrook Denim Elsie 1465

5 Tim Kirby

Smearlaview Magnus Frolic

6 Peter Kennelly

Akeragh Seaver Ebony

Senior Cow

1 Tim Kirby

Smearlaview D Man Vixan

2 Peter Kennelly

Foherish Doorman Rhonda

3 Kieran Savage

Shanaknock Fraiko Daffodil 763

4 Patrick Hanrahan

Laneway Skw Majella

5John Walsh

Lemrac Kanu Noel Red P

6 Kieran Harty

Maunsell Judge Ashley

Autumn Cow Family

1 Maurice & Geraldine Harty -

Princess

2 John Walsh - Phlox

3 Kieran Harty - Apple

Overall Champion Cow: John Dillon: Piperhill Uno Penny

Novice

1 Michael Quirke

2 Stiofan Aherne

3 Timothy Sheehy / Michael Creed

New Entrants

1 Sean Kissane

2 Noel O’Connor

3 Alan Lynch

Non Recorded

1 Paddy Gentleman

2 Sean Shine

3 Willie Joe Leen

Pure Friesian

1 Michael Kissane

2 Tim Mulvihil

3 John Goulding

Autumn Junior

1 John & Tom Paul Keane

2 Tommy Maunsell

3 Florence McCarthy

Spring Junior

1 Anthony O Connor

2 John Foley

3 Timothy & Donal Leahy

Spring Junior A

1 Michael O Sullivan

2 Karl Kissane

3 David Lovett

Autumn Senior

1 Maurice & Geraldine Harty

2 Timmie Kirby

3 John Dillon

Autumn Intermediate

1 Daniel Curtin

2 Peter & Eileen Kennelly

3 Jerome Leen

Spring Senior

1 James Egan

2 Sean Begley

3 Ronan Siochru

Spring Intermediate

1 Liam Quilter

2 Darragh Curtin

3 Liam Houlihan / Paul Dowd

Overall Awards

Highest Production Herd Autumn

J.P. O’Carroll

Highest Production Herd Spring

James Egan

Highest Conformation Herd Autumn

Maurice & Geraldine Harty

Highest Conformation Spring

Sean Begley

Overall Highest Cow % Protein

J.P. O’Carroll

Overall Lifetime Production Cow

Maurice & Geraldine Harty

Overall Highest E.B.I. Herds

1 John Galvin

2 Michael Murphy

3 John Foley

Overall Lowest S.C.C. Herds

1 Padraig Healy

2 Darragh Curtin

3 Sean Begley

Overall Highest % Protein Herds

1 JP O’Carroll

2 John Galvin

3 Michael & Mark Corridon

The club wish to sympatise with any of its members/sponsors who have lost loved ones in the last year. Finally the club would like to thank all their sponsors for their contributions on an on-going basis.

James Egan, PRO

Herds Competition

Kildare Holstein Friesian club ran a very successful Herds Competition during the summer with results taking place at the summer field evening in Derek Tierney’s, Cooligmartin Herd Timahoe. There was a large turnout at the field evening and the weather was very obliging. The Kildare club would like to thank our herds competition sponsors, FBD, Specialist Nutrition, ALFCO, Alltech, Trouw Nutrition, Progressive Genetics, World Wide Sires & Quinns for their generous sponsorship. Special thank you to the judges of herds competition Gary Jones, Stevie McLoughlin & Trevor Hanley and Thanks to our judges of field evenings Stevie McLoughlin & PJ Kelly for the wonderful judging on both evenings. We would also like to thank the Tierney Family for kindly hosting the field evening.

The results of the herds competition are as follows:

Junior Section

Production

1st Bolton Abbey

2nd Stephen Byrne

3rd Sean & Gerry Dunleavy

Inspection

1st Bolton Abbey

2nd Pat & Mark OShea

3rd Stephen Byrne

Heifer In Milk

1st Aslone AXN 2032

Pat and Mark O’Shea

Junior Cow

1st Chonlous Mostique 1014

Stephen Byrne

Mature Cow

1st Aslone Sara 1646

Pat & Mark O’Shea

Cow Family

1st Norman Stanley- Rebca

Bull Progeny

1st Pat & Mark O’Shea -

Yamaska

Exhibitor Bred

1st Norman Stanley

Cooridehill YGB Emma 992

Overall Winner

Bolton Abbey

Intermediate Section

Production

1st Gray Dairy Partnership

2nd Larry Hannon

3rd Lyons Estate Inspection

1st Mel Martin

2nd Gray Dairy Partnership

3rd Lyons Estate

Heifer in Milk

1st George Beattie

Dalevalley Solo Lulu 2173

Junior Cow

1st Mel and Helen Martin 2588

Senior Cow

1st Mel and Helen Martin 1209

Exhibitor Bred

1st Brian Gray 855

Bull Progeny

1st George Beattie “Perseus”

Cow Family

1st Brian Gray “Queenie”

Overall Winner

Mel Martin

Senior Section

Production

1st Anthony Kealy

2nd Derek Tierney

3rd John Murphy

Inspection

1st Anthony Kealy

2nd David Hanley

3rd John Murphy

Heifer in MIlk

1st Loughminane Trenton

Michelle 4317 (David Hanley)

Junior Cow

1st Grangecon Doorman Paradise

1526 (Anthony Kealy)

Senior Cow

1st Johnstown MPQ-S Aileen 1759 (Padraig Travers)

Exhibitor Bred

1st Doorman Paradise 1526 ( kealy)

Bull Progeny

1st Real Seal (David hanley)

Cow Family

1st Paradise (Anthony kealy)

Overall Winner:

Anthony Kealy

Premier Section

Production

1st Victor Jackson

2nd Dermot Jackosn

3rd John Coakley

Inspection

1st Victor Jackson

2nd Dermot Jackson

3rd Joe & Kevin Doran

Heifer in Milk

1st Raptor Subliminal (Victor Jackson)

Junior Cow

1st Doorman Paradise (Victor Jackson)

Mature Cow

1st Beemer Heline (Victor Jackson)

Cow Family

1 Aiko (J & K doran)

Bull Progeny

1 Doorman (Victor Jackson)

Exhibitor Bred

1 Dondale Apoll Aiko P 709 (J & K Doran)

Overall Winner

Victor Jackson

Calving Interval

1st Michael Kealy

2nd Bolton Abbey

3rd Larry Hannon

Somatic Cell Count

1st Lyons Estate

2nd Stephen Byrne

3rd Dairy Gray Partnership

EBI

1st Lyons Estate

2nd Dermot Doherty

3rd Damien Griffin

The Kildare club were delighted to return to some normality in 2022 with the usual events back up and running.

Field Evening

KHFC hosted a field evening on the farm of Mel and Helen Martin on a wet Tuesday in June, although the weather, that didn’t dampen anyone’s mood as everyone was delighted to get out and see each other again.

Club Calf Show

The Club held their Calf show in early July on a lovely Saturday in Punchestown surrounded by the truck show which took play that weekend also. We had a great turn out of stock and handlers with our first Brown Swiss on show.

Champion Handler: Nikki McLoughlin

Champion Calf: Dondale Rainstorm Snowball Red P- Doran Family

Silage Competition

The club held a Silage Competition with results taking place on 18th October in Teagasc Naas. A massive thank you to Myles Murphy from Trouw Nutrition who organised analysis of samples and to all our drivers who collected samples over the few days.

The results of silage competition:

1st Larry Hannon

2nd Michael Kealy

3rd Bolton Abbey

4th Karl Matushka

5th John Coakley

6th Joe & Kevin Doran

National Calf Show

The club then took part in the National YMA Calf show in July this year, Very well done to all who participated over the 2 days with special mention to Ailbhe & Byran Barrett, who both won their handling classes, The Doran’s with Dondale Millington Beverley and Richard Whelan with Dalevalley Jordy Hot Red P who’s heifers finished 2nd & 3rd in their respective classes. Thanks to Progressive Genetics for their continued sponsorship of Kildare YMA.

YMA Hall of Fame

A special Congratulations to Mervyn Eager on being award the YMA Hall Of Fame Award. On behalf of all members in the Kildare Club, Senior and YMA, we all know how truly deserving Mervyn is of this award. Thank you for everything you have contributed towards the club. You definitely are a deserving recipient.

John O’Dea

The Kildare club was founded in 1980, John O’Dea has a long association with the club. A founding member, and tireless worker in many roles on the committee which he executed with precision, planning and total commitment. John has been an integral part of the club, whether its organising field evenings, securing sponsorship or acquiring media exposure for the club, John is at the helm. For many years himself and the late Joan Lambert were the backbone of the club, progressing the club on further and keeping everyone on their toes. John is no stranger to success, as his days managing the farm at Clongowes Wood College demonstrates, where he founded what became one of the top herds in the country. John continued his love for working with Holsteins and joined the IHFA team as a Field Officer and then went on to become a Breeding Advisor with Eurogene AI Services. John is very active in the Clane Community, he sang in the Clane choir for many years and has a keen interest in Local History, in recent years he, contributed to a section in the Journal of Clane Local History about the history of Clongowes Wood Farm. He was involved in the Leader Programme. All that aside we sometimes forget, John is a Proud Limerick Man and has enjoyed their success over the last number of years. On behalf of the club, we would like to call on our president Pat Fanning to present John with a token of our appreciation.

CARLOW KILKENNY

I would like to congratulate all members in the club for a fantastic 2022, especially a big congratulations to club members Liam & Sandra Murphy, Evergreen Holsteins, on their cow Sterndale Colt Rae winning Holstein Champion at the Royal Ulster Winter Fair & also presented with the IHFA “Breed All Star” at the Pedigree Cattle awards dinner.

Cathal Mulhall, Pro

LAOIS OFFALY

Dinner Dance

Our annual Dinner Dance took place in The Killeshin Hotel, Port Laois on the 11th November 2022. A great night was had by all and a big thank you must go to our judge Bryan O Connor for doing a wonderful job and giving us 4 long days, many thanks to our sponsors Lakeland Dairies, Agri Lloyd, Agri Needs, Progressive Genetics, Dovea Genetics.

Herds Competition Results

Premier 1st Kevin Flynn 2nd John Moore 3rd Peter Ging

Senior 1st O,M,W Neville 2nd Trevor Bennett 3rd Andy Fleming

Intermediate 1st Gareth O Brien 2nd Michael Harte 3rd Bill & Hell Kelly

Junior 1st Paul Delaney 2nd W,S,E Seale 3rd Paul Ryan

New Entrant 1st Colin Boland 2nd Aisling Neville 3rd Tom Tynan

Best Herd on Inspection Kevin Flynn (Reary)

Best Kept Farmyard Richard Claxton

Judges Choice Aisling Neville & Colin Boland

Quality Milk Winners 1st Pat Fitzpatrick 2nd James Ward Joint 3rd O,M,W Neville & Gary Peake

Upcoming Events

The 2023 IHFA Open Day hosted by Laois/Offaly Club Member BALLYCLIDER (Peter Ging) on 11th July

New Club Officer Notification

Peter Ging Chairman Denis Donohoe Secretary David Bennett Treasure

New Club Officer Notification

Ted Boyce President Dennis Carroll Vice President T.B.C. Chairperson Michael McNamara Vice Chairperson

T.B.C. Secretary Treasurer John Curtin Rachel McNamara PRO

Herds Competition Awards Night

We held our Herds Competition Awards night in the Dunraven Arms Hotel. Congratulations to all our members who took part in the herds competition and special congratulations to all the prize winners . A big thank you to our Herds Competition Judge, Jason Helen for doing such a tremendous job.

Herds Competition Results

Intermediate Section

1st Patrick Foley

2nd John, Marian & Noreen Collins

3rd Richard Collins

Heifer

John, Marian & Noreen

Collins - 1582

Junior Cow

Patrick Foley

Clonoughter 4187 Kerry

Senior Cow

John Madden - 911

Elite Winter Section

1st John Moroney

2nd Donal Neville

3rd Desmond Frawley

Heifer

Desmond Frawley

Coolstar Ankara 2902

Junior Cow

Donal Neville

Emerald Beemer Twizzle 2082

Senior Cow

Donal Neville

Milliedale Dusk Rhapsody

Premier Spring Section

1st Billy Mulcahy

2nd John O Connor

3rd Michael & Derek Danaher

Heifer

Billy Mulcahy - 2321

Junior Cow

John O Connor - 5051

Senior Cow

John McNamara - 386

Premier Winter Section

1st Eoin & John Horgan

2nd Charles O Malley

3rd Dermot Ryan

Heifer

John Curtin

Rosstemple Beauty Queen 2095

Junior Cow

Dermot Ryan - 912

Senior Cow

Eoin & John Horgan

Coshma Destry Rosebud 752

Elite Spring Section

1st Edward Fitzgerald

2nd Mike & Liz McNamara

3rd Mike & Margaret Laffan

Heifer

Mike & Liz McNamara

Barna Perseus Angel 1860

Junior Cow

Mike & Liz McNamara

Barna Angle Mogul 1567

Senior Cow

Edward Fitzgerald

Toberfort Mogul Belle 1594

Overall Results Top EBI Cow Peter Thompson COW 469 EBI of 292

Top EBI Herd Peter Thompson

Top TBC Eamonn & Damian Burke 6 Rosaleen O Reilly

Top SCC Edward Fitzgerald

of 181

Champion Cow Donal Neville Milledale Dusk Rhpsody

Champion Junior Mike & Liz Mcnamara Barna Angle Mogul 1567

Champion Heifer John Curtin Rosstemple Beauty Queen2095

Cow Family

Desmond Frawley

Top Production John Moroney

Top Type Edward Fitzgerald

Judges Prize John O Connor

Daisy

National Dairy Show

Congratulations to all our YMA members who competed in both showmanship competitions held at the national dairy show in Milstreet.

Winter Workshop

Michael, Liz, Rachel and Emma McNamara held the winter stock judging workshop. It was a very a informative and enjoyable day. A big thank you to all club members who helped out in any way for this event.

Club Visit

Limerick and Clare YMA took a visit to Golden Vale Marts, Kilmallock in December. We were greeted by staff members of the mart who gave a very informative presentation on the services that they provide to farmers. It was a lovely evening and was enjoyed by all. A big thank you to the mart for having us.

We look forward to an exciting year ahead in the show ring.

NORTH EASTERN

Upcoming Events

We are delighted that - as part of the European Holstein & Red Holstein Conference; the IHFA have organised a Farm Visit to the North East to Tom, Rhona & James Kelly’s famous & renowned Monamore Herd; A92EP8F on Friday, 28th April.

AGM

New Club Officer Notification

Brendan Clarke – President

Rita Eivers – Chairperson

Sean Dooley – Secretary

Norris Beattie – Treasurer

Matthew Flanagan - YMA Representative

To contact the NEHFC ring 0870924445.

In its 47th year the NEHFC held its AGM in the Ardboyne Hotel, Navan on 31st January 2023. Our sincere gratitude to Joe Connell our past chair and Shane Corbally our past secretary. They have retired as officers due to other pressing engagements; after giving very generously of their time, enthusiasm & experience. The club sends sincere sympathies to Paddy Jordan, a past chair, on the death of his wife Finola; and also to the rest of the Jordan family who played a big part in the club for many years.

Our first committee meeting of ‘23 will be held in February. We are looking forward to an active year with many events including the Herds competition, Calf show and Field evenings.

We were very privileged to have Laurence Feeney, IHFA Chief Executive, attending our AGM. Laurence brings a wealth of breeding knowledge to the role of CEO with tremendous experience of cow families, indexes and linear type traits. He, with the IHFA staff, will give positive direction to the development and promotion of the breed and the role of black & whites or red & whites in Irish dairy breeding. Our club calf show at last year’s Flavours of Fingal County Show was a prime example of many non-farming people fascinated with the dedication to & care for animals.

Herds Competition 2022

The North Eastern Club held a social night and Herds Competition prize-giving in The Snailbox in November. It was a very enjoyable night and our thanks to The Snailbox for the excellent food and hospitality on the night. We were delighted to be joined by Dr. Owen Brennan from Devenish Nutrition, our sponsor, and his wife, Professor Alice Staunton. Both spoke to us about the work being done at Dowth Farm in relation to carbon sequestration and about the importance of both meat and dairy to feeding the World population in the future. We would also like to thank Patrick Kelly of IHFA for speaking to us on the formulation of the production points used in the Herds Competition and the work he has done on managing the upcoming banding and nitrates directive. Members found all speakers on the night to be very interesting and informative. Our thanks also go to our two judges who joined us for the night, Graham Kirby and Glynn Lucas from the UK. We really appreciated them giving their time as judges last June. Last but not least, thanks to Alison and Norris from Farm Wardrobe who provided the prizes and to the Herds Competition Committee for all their hard work. Congratulations to Fr. Sean Dooley who was awarded the Trevor Kellett trophy for Club Person of The Year. Finally, congratulations to the prize-winners and participants.

Premier Section

Overall

1st T. & J. Kelly

2nd Paul Walsh

3rd Norris Beattie

Senior Cow

1st John Dowling

2nd Paul Walsh

3rd T. & J. Kelly

Intermediate Cow

1st John Dowling

2nd T. & J. Kelly

3rd B. Mennis

Heifer

1st John Dowling

2nd T. & J. Kelly

3rd Paul Walsh

Cow Family

1st T. & J. Kelly

2nd Norris Beattie

3rd Paul Walsh

Progeny Group

1st T. & J. Kelly

2nd Norris Beattie

3rd Paul Walsh

Group of 3

1st Norris Beattie

2nd T. & J. Kelly

3rd Paul Walsh

Highest Solids Cow

1st Paul Walsh

2nd T. & J. Kelly

3rd Brendan Mennis

Senior Section Overall

1st Paul Flanagan

2nd Patrick Murray

3rd Leo Collins

Senior Cow

1st Paul Flanagan

2nd Patrick Murray

3rd Thomas Daly

Intermediate Cow

1st Paul Flanagan

2nd Leo Collins

3rd Frank Byrne

Heifer

1st Paul Flanagan

2nd Leo Collins

3rd Patrick Murray

Cow Family

1st Thomas Daly

2nd Frank Byrne

3rd Patrick Murray

Progeny Group

1st Paul Flanagan

2nd Leo Collins

3rd Thomas Daly

Group of 3

1st Paul Flanagan

2nd Leo Collins

3rd Thomas Daly

Highest Solids Cow

1st Leo Collins

2nd Paul Flanagan

3rd Thomas Daly

Intermediate Section

Overall

1st Tom Dempsey

2nd Patrick Tuite

3rd Kenneth Conroy

Senior Cow

1st Kenneth Conroy

2nd Patrick Tuite

3rd Dominic O’Halloran

Intermediate Cow

1st Tom Dempsey

2nd Patrick Tuite

3rd Dominic O’Halloran

Heifer

1st Patrick Tuite

2nd Tom Dempsey

3rd Kenneth Conroy

Cow Family

1st Tom Dempsey

2nd Patrick Tuite

3rd Dominic O’Halloran

Progeny Group

1st Tom Dempsey

2nd Dominic O’Halloran

3rd Patrick Tuite

Group of 3

1st Patrick Tuite

2nd Tom Dempsey

3rd Dominic O’Halloran

Highest Solids Cow

1st Patrick Pentony

2nd Brendan O’Donoghue

3rd Kenneth Conroy

Spring Section

Overall

1st Brendan Meade

2nd Joseph Healy

3rd Seamus McDonnell

Senior Cow

1st Padraig Floyd

2nd Seamus Conroy

3rd Brendan Meade

Intermediate Cow

1st Padraig Floyd

2nd Seamus Conroy

3rd Joseph Healy

Heifer

1st Seamus Conroy

2nd Joseph Healy

3rd Padraig Floyd

Cow Family

1st Joseph Healy

2nd Seamus McDonnell

3rd Brendan Meade

Progeny Group

1st Joseph Healy

2nd Brendan Meade

3rd Seamus McDonnell

Group of 3

1st Seamus Conroy

2nd Seamus McDonnell

3rd Padraig Floyd

Highest Solids Cow

1st John Kealy

2nd Brendan Meade

3rd Seamus Conroy

TIPPERARY/WATERFORD

AI/Charity Fundraising Night

The Tipperary/Waterford Club had a very successful AI/Charity Fundraising night in aid of Irish Community Air Ambulance on 2nd December in Talbot Hotel, Clonmel. Thanks to all the AI companies who gave informative talks and also donated AI Straws for the fundraiser. The generosity of everyone at the auction and also buying tickets for the raffle was unbelievable. It turned into a very exciting night with our auctioneer Joe Kirwan doing a fabulous job. Many thanks Joe. Also thanks to all the companies who donated vouchers and to people that brought prizes with them for the raffle. Our Chairman Gordon did a wonderful job organising everything for the night thanks Gordon and thanks too to all the club members that helped. Thanks also to the people that could not be there on the night for their donations in the post or online and to Talbot Hotel for faulicating the night. The Amount Of Money Raised For The Air Ambulance Was €14.000.

Upcoming Events

Tipperary/Waterford Club will hold 2 Stock Judging Evenings in June and also our Herds Competition.

Club Representative News

Philip Kinane finished his term as our representative on the IHFA Board thanks Philip for keeping the club up to date on IHFA matters. Gordon Nickson is our new Representative on the Board and we wish him well for his term.

National Dairy Show

Well done to all our members who exhibited at the National Dairy Show in Millstreet. Congratulations to the following; Zoe Greenan who placed 1st followed closely by Alex Windrum in 2nd in the Junior class. Following her sister, Hannah Greenan placed 1st in the Intermediate class with Rachel Corley taking 3rd in the Senior class.

Open Junior Show

We would like to congratulate Hollie Keenan who took part in the Open Junior Show in Montichiari, Italy. Hollie placed 2nd in her clipping and came 6th in her showmanship class and placed 4th overall in the junior section. This was a fantastic achievement for Hollie and the rest of the Irish team.

RUAS Winter Fair

In December at the Royal Ulster Winter Fair, Breffni Oriel YMA once again had great success with Zoe Greenan 3rd, Hollie Keenan 1st, Sarah Willamson 2nd and Alexander Tinney 1st in their respective showmanship classes. Well done to all our members who exhibited on the day!

Dinner Dance

The Breffni Oriel Dinner Dance was held in the Kilmore Hotel in Cavan on Friday 3rd December 2022. Our YMA club celebrated their 30th anniversary along with the Senior club who celebrated their 50th Anniversary on the night. We would like to congratulate our young members who won prizes for Stock judging on the night, the future is most certainly very bright!

Para Athlete Award

Massive congratulations to YMA member Catherine Grier on winning the Para Athlete award in the Donegal Sports Star awards for her heroics with the Irish Deaf Women’s Futsal team at the European Championships in Italy in 2022. We wish Catherine and her teammates the best of luck when they compete in the Deaf Futsal World Cup in Brazil later this year.

AGM

This year our AGM took place on 11th February over Zoom. It was great to see some new faces in attendance. The committee saw a lot of change with some members standing down and others changing roles. The new committee as follows:

Chairperson: Rachel Corley Secretary: Hannah Greenan Treasurer: Ryan Greenan

PROs: Hollie Keenan & Hannah Williamson

Emerald Expo

Our first event on the YMA calendar for 2023 is Emerald Expo which will take place on the 29th April at Virginia Show Grounds in County Cavan. We hope to see you all there, for our first show of the year.

Social Media

Keep an eye out on our Facebook page – Breffni Oriel YMA for all updates on events, workshops and meetings. Any new members are always welcome so feel free to contact the page or any committee member for further details!

CORK

AGM

The Cork YMA AGM was held on the 17th of February in the Munster Agricultural Society office. It was great to have such a nice crowd and to get planning for the busy year ahead. A big thank you to our outgoing committee of President: Gerard Kirby, Chairperson: Jason Helen, Secretary: Laura Cornthwaite, Treasurer: Claire Kirby, PRO: Dyane Shannon, Christy McCarthy & Seona Osborne for all their hard work over the last few years.

The new committee as follows:

President: Dyane Shannon

Chairperson: Stephen Shannon

Secretary: Sinéad O’Sullivan

Treasurer: Darragh Sheehy

Senior Club Representative: Clive Osborne

PRO: Kate Lehane & Sarah Shannon

Club person of the year went to Stephen Shannon. We would also like to thank Cork Holstein Friesian Club for their continued support.

YMA Success in Italy

Kevin Smith was part of the Irish YMA Team that travelled to Montichiari in Italy to compete in the Open Junior Show. Each participant took part in a stock judging/reason giving competition, showmanship competition and clipping competition. Kevin did Cork YMA proud placing 1st in the Senior Showmanship Competition. Well done Kevin.

Showmanship League Finals

The YMA Showmanship League finals took place at the National Dairy Show on the 21st of October in the Green Glens Arena. Congratulations to all YMA members that took part. Georgina Hynes placed 3rd in the junior hander class. Kate Lehane placed 2nd and Becky Hynes placed 3rd in the intermediate class and Claire Kirby was the winner of the senior handler class. Sarah Shannon was also tapped out as champion handler of the open showmanship. Well done girls on these fantastic results.

Upcoming Events

We have a few events planned for the upcoming year including a family fun day, workshop, field evening and calf show so keep an eye out on our Facebook and Instagram pages for more updates!

Welcome Back

We wish to welcome all our members back to what looks to be an exciting year for Kerry YMA. After a very successful year in 2022 we hope to pick up where we left off. We are very excited about the judges conference being held in Kerry this year and will provide Young Members with a great opportunity to learn from some of the best. Our own calf show will be held in early July with a date to be confirmed later. Our attention then turns to the National Yma Calf Show in Kilkenny on the 25th and 26th of July where we hope to bring another strong Kerry team to compete. Before all this comes the Kingdom County Fair which will be held on Sunday the 7th of May in its new showgrounds at Ballymacthomas Tralee. As always it provides an excellent opportunity to introduce your calf to the ring and get some handling practice.

AGM

Our club AGM took place on December 3rd in the Ballyheigue Family Resource Centre. We are delighted to welcome some new faces to the committee and wish to thank Aisling Harty for all her hard work on completion of her term as chairperson. The committee for the coming year is as follows:

Chairperson: Pádraig Broderick Vice Chair: Kate Maunsell

Coordinator: Pádraig Broderick

Assistant Coordinator: Aisling Harty Secretary: Chris Heffernan Show Secretary: Muiris Harty

Treasurer: Sarah O’ Connell PRO: Jack Walsh

Anyone wishing to find out more information about the club please get in contact with any of our committee members. We look forward to seeing you all very soon and wishing everyone the best of luck for the coming year.

LIMERICK CLARE

National Dairy Show

Congratulations to all our YMA members who competed in both showmanship competitions held at the national dairy show in Milstreet.

Winter Workshop

Michael, Liz, Rachel and Emma McNamara held the winter stock judging workshop. It was a very a informative and enjoyable day. A big thank you to all club members who helped out in any way for this event.

Club Visit

Limerick and Clare YMA took a visit to Golden Vale Marts, Kilmallock in December. We were greeted by staff members of the mart who gave a very informative presentation on the services that they provide to farmers. It was a lovely evening and was enjoyed by all. A big thank you to the mart for having us.

We look forward to an exciting year ahead in the show ring.

Kerry YMA Committee

FR7923 (IG) TOBERMARTIN FRANCIS PED

FR7910 (IG) BALLYELLY CHILLI PED

Tobermartin Perseus Lady

of Solids, % and High Health SI • Jeronimo Son from impressive cow family • 4% Protein Dam, averaging over 9,700 Milk Kg with 790 Milk Solids

Family of Chilli: MONAMORE DURHAM RAVEN EX93

• Very High Health SI & Excellent BCS • From the famous Raven Cow Family

S3572

ALMAMATER PED Final Class 10 • Strong Robust Daughters

MS Lookout PESC BKM BRIA fourth Dam

BCS • Percentages Improver, High in Fat

FR8733 BOGHILL GLAMOUR HAILSTONE ET

GDam of Hailstone Combines High EBI, fertility & type. • 47Kgs milk solids with over 350 Kgs milk.

High health sub index

FR8079 DENOVO 17118 PROVO-ET

Hendel Crimson Reply 5120 ET VG-85 Daughter of ABS Crimson Prince son from ABS.

with +

FR8700 PROGENESIS PROTOCOL PED

Great

S3572 WESTCOAST ALMAMATER PED

WESTCOAST

Dam -

Superb combination