Breeding cattle is an integral part of the farming community especially for those who focus on livestock and for some it was a way of life.
There are many farmers around the country that concentrate solely on breeding pedigree cattle and for this month’s edition of Irish Tractor & Agri, we profile one such farmer.
Garrett Behan has been breeding pedigree cattle since 1989 and the his dedication and work ethic alongside his wife Lyndsey has resulted in them producing some of the best bred cattle in the country.
Garrett revealed to us that the cattle produced have won many prestigious awards down through the years.
“It was back in 1989 when I went to the Royal Dublin Show and purchased Clough Sandra, which was a prize winner there,” said Garrett.
“From there, we added more heifers that were bought at different society and dispersal sales and in 2003 we established the show herd.
“We had been dairy farmers up to 2001 and had sucklers before that, but we had to make a decision on what to focus on and we choose the breeding.”
The Clonagh herd, which is located on their 270 acre farm in Ballyfin, Co Laois is now one of the largest pedigree Simmental herds in the Republic of Ireland and offers a large range of cows, bulls and heifers for sale both on farm and at auction every year.
“After our first crop of AI calves We established our show herd and we had great success with our top two calves, Napper and Neva who won numerous individual breed titles.”
Garrett and Lyndsey decided to focus on the Simmental breed in the early days. These cattle were first imported to Ireland in 1971 due to their high beefing qualities.
Over the years, Irish Simmental Breeders have increased their numbers and focused on the beefing traits of the breed as well as concentrating on the milk supply.
There are now on average 2,500 pedigree registrations for Simmentals per year in Ireland. The strong trade for commercial replacements has resulted in only the very top end of pedigree females being registered and retained for pedigree breeding.
“Simmentals have a very good shape and they retain their maternal instincts which sees them as one of the most sought after dams.”
Irish Simmental has been exported to the UK, Canada and the USA in the past. Recently there has been a strong interest from the countries of origin (Austria & Switzerland) as well as Denmark for semen from Irish bred bulls. It is the beefing qualities that are attracting this interest with many countries now seeing Ireland as an ideal source for Beef Simmental.
Garrett and Lyndsey also breed Charolais, Limousin and Angus cattle on their farm and Garrett attends up to ten or eleven shows per year. The backbone of the herd continues to be the 70 Simmental suckler cows that continue to produce a record setting trail of winners for the show circuit.
Although diversifying, both Garrett and Lyndsey are committed to the Simmental breed having met at a breed show where she was exhibiting stock from the family ‘Milton’ Simmental herd in Co Cork.
The Clonagh Herd has won every award going at all the major shows including Tullamore and Balmoral where they have had a wealth of success over the years.
“I have my own truck to transport the cattle from show to show. We would start getting them ready for the shows a few weeks before they are on. The feed is very important and we would use a diet feeder system.”
Just a small section of the awards won by the herd include the South Eastern Club Show Herd of the Year 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. National Intermediate Heifer Champion and Reserve Overall Simmental of the year 2007 with Milton Senhorita; All Ireland Interbreed Suckler Type Heifer Champion 2007 with Milton Senhorita; National Male of the Year 2008 and Supreme Champion Simmental Beef Expo 2008 with Banwy T-Rex.
National Junior Bull Champion 2012 with Clonagh Cupids Temptress. National Yearling Bull Champion 2012 with Jennalyn Charlie Rose. National Junior Progeny Pairs Champions 2012 with Jennalyn Charlie Rose and Clonagh Classy Truly. Reserve Overall Female of the Year 2012 with Clonagh Absolutely Fabulous. National January Heifer Calf Champion 2012 with Clonagh Darling Eyes.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Garrett is looking at further ways to improve the breeding particularly through the Angus breed.
“With the Angus I am trying to do something that I’m told I will not be able to do, but, from what I see on the ground I think that I will. I am trying to produce an Angus that will be as good as the continentals for the suckler farmer. That is the road that I am going down,” he explained.
Garrett’s aim is to extend the herd by 30 or 40 cattle in the coming months and add to the success that he already has had.
The first bull imported from the UK into Ireland by Garrett was ‘Banwy T-Rex’ which he purchased in Sterling for €12,500 at 19 months weighing 1,100kg.
Described as a “gentle giant”, he became the only bull ever to win at the National Livestock Show at Tullamore for three years running and is now 1,800kgs with a 3.6pc mortality delivering the easiest calving in his class and very milky daughters.
The 10 year old former RDS Champion of Champions, the number one sire for maternal traits and number two for terminal, is now being phased into retirement to be replaced by ‘Dragoon’ from the Kilbride Herd in Northern Ireland.
Garrett runs the farm himself with the help of youngster Cian Martin who comes around when needed, while he is ably supported by his wife Lyndsey, his two sons Jason and Jack as well as his parents Tom and Mary.
Clonagh Herd
Ballyfin,
Portlaoise,
Co. Laois.
Tel: 00353 86 8167309
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 8, October 2016
