Located on the Atlantic coast near Enniscrone, Co. Sligo, Scurmore Pedigree is synonymous with pedigree Charolais and Limousin cattle, including the renowned Bostonia Charolais herd.
Scurmore Pedigree is a 250-acre pedigree and commercial cattle enterprise owned by Brendan and Greg Feeney, two brothers originally from nearby Castleconnor but based in Boston for many years where they run Feeney Brothers Utility Services. They liaise on a regular basis with the Scurmore Pedigree team, which includes farm manager Niall Hynes and their brother Blair, to achieve the best farming practice and produce world class pedigree stock along with the commercial herd.
Pedigree stock and the Feeney family go back many years. In the 1930s, Edward Feeney was one of a few farmers from the West of Ireland to purchase an Aberdeen Angus bull at the RDS Spring Show in Dublin. This tradition continues with the Feeney’s Charolais herd which have been exhibited at all major shows and sales in Ireland and Scotland. Progeny from the herd can be found on many farms across Ireland and the UK.
Working on the farm since 2013 and farm manager since 2018, Niall Hynes is dedicated to the wellbeing of the stock, specialising in animal science and carrying out research on the needs of the livestock, customers and pedigree sector. He is also the senior stock handler at events, while Blair Feeney brings his retail management skills to the farm and works closely with his brothers who spend their time between Boston and the farm, which is made up of both owned and rented land.
At Scurmore Pedigree, they employ both permanent and seasonal personnel to help with managing the farm and looking after the herd. The team is dedicated and hard-working, ensuring the highest standards of quality are maintained while also helping the farm deliver an exceptional service to its customers.
The enterprise consists of 70 commercial suckler cows, 30 pedigree suckler cows and 15 embryo-recipient cows calving down each year. While most of the cows are spring-calving, the embryo-recipient cows start calving in August.
“The calving is split between spring and autumn,” Niall explains.
“We’ve been pedigree Charolais breeders since 2013 and pedigree Limousin since 2019. For embryo-recipient cows, we deal with all the main genetic and AI companies. This ensures that if we want semen from a certain bull, we get it.”
Each year, some of the spring-born weanlings are out-wintered on forage crops such as Redstart or kale, with the commercial cattle finished as beef the following season. In the commercial herd, the replacement heifers are identified and kept, while the remaining breeding heifers are sold at the local mart. All other progeny from the commercial suckler herd is finished as beef. Two home-bred stock bulls run with the commercial herd.
Scurmore Pedigree’s first pedigree Charolais cows were sourced from embryos and purchased from the Maerdy herd in the UK. From here, the herd was developed by keeping replacements and buying females. In 2019, two pedigree Limousin cows, purchased from the Millburn Limousin herd, were added to the herd and the first batch of Limousin calves arrived the following year.
The farm was no stranger to show success before stepping back from them a bit since the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the most famous Charolais cows in the herd include Bostonia Joy and Drumshane Mademoiselle whose progeny / daughters will feature at an upcoming sale on Friday, August 16.
“We are expecting plenty of interest in our sale of 30-35 pedigree females comprising cows, calves, in-calf heifers and young maiden heifers. The evening sale will be both on-farm and online. In our last female sale in 2022, we sold 28 lots out of 29 for an average of €4,700. The top price paid was €8,400,” Niall says.
“We sold a Charolais pedigree bull called Terry at the Premier Show and Sale in Elphin Mart last March for €10,600. That was the most we ever fetched for a bull, surpassing the €9,250 that we got at the Charolais Society Christmas Cracker a few years ago. Terry was the Reserve Champion at Enniscrone last year. We sell between 10 and 15 Charolais and Limousine pedigree bulls every year.
“In addition, the first pedigree Limousin bull born on the farm, Bostonia Rocky ET, was crowned Senior Male Champion at the Irish Limousin Cattle Society sale two years ago.”
Scurmore Pedigree is well-equipped in terms of both infrastructure and equipment. The farm boasts 15 calving pens along with ample dry-bedded and slatted winter housing. It also has an array of machinery and equipment for feeding, cutting silage, reseeding, ploughing and other tasks around the farm. The machinery includes two John Deere tractors (6155R and 6620), Pottinger silage wagon, an assortment of mowers and rakes, Red Rock slurry equipment, JCB 3205 loading shovel and Triolet diet feeder.
“In the summer months, with regard to feeding, we run a paddock system. We try to utilise as much grass as possible. It’s what we have at hand here, it’s what we can grow the best and grow freely,” the affable farm manager continues.
“We do all our own work as regards silage, reseeding, whether that be bales or pit. We do everything in house, there is very little work for contractors, as the Feeney brothers own all their own machinery.
“In the winter time, obviously, feeding is our number one priority, animal nutrition and health, along with cleaning and upkeep. There is plenty to keep us busy all year round.”
At Scurmore Pedigree, they are committed to delivering on their responsibilities for protecting and enhancing the natural environment. Therefore, they constantly seek to develop and improve their sustainable farming practices. Niall and his team comply with all environmental protection regulations and follow environmental best practices in the agricultural industry.
As Scurmore Pedigree continues to make waves in the world of pedigree cattle breeding, the farm would like to take this opportunity to thank its customers and suppliers for their unwavering support as well as its top-class team for their hard work and expertise.
Scurmore Pedigree
Enniscrone,
Co. Sligo,
F26 F5N2.
Telephone: 096 37243 / 086 058 6749
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 12 No 3, September/October 2024
