The AGM of the Munster Aberdeen-Angus Club took place during the week and it was heartening to note a much larger than normal crowd of people in attendance on the night than in previous years. The Club was delighted to welcome Clodagh Ryan from ICBF who gave a very detailed and thorough presentation to the meeting about Euro-Stars, the role of replacement and terminal indices for the pedigree breeder and an overview of the new Dairy Beef Index (DBI), which will be of huge importance to Aberdeen-Angus breeders over the coming years.
Looking ahead for the coming year, the Munster Aberdeen-Angus Club is pleased to announce another busy year’s worth of activities for 2019, starting with the annual high health status sale of pedigree Aberdeen-Angus bulls at Bandon Mart, Bandon, Co. Cork on Wednesday, April 3rd. In a change to previous sales, all bulls need only be vaccinated against IBR, BVD and Lepto with no further testing required outside of normal animal movement regulations. It is hoped that this change will encourage more breeders to exhibit bulls at the sale, as numbers have been less than satisfactory recently. Last year’s sale saw a top price of €3400 and all club members should consider adding the event to their Spring schedules. For entry forms and more details, please contact Cork Marts on 023 8841564 or email info@corkmarts.com.
The Munster Aberdeen-Angus Club will run its annual Munster Aberdeen-Angus Calf Championships again in 2019. The points system has been tweaked for this year’s competition and only the top three points won from the first four available qualifying shows will carry in the final with double points being awarded at the final. This is to keep the final more competitive and also to strike the balance between encouraging breeders to exhibit cattle at multiple shows whilst also safeguarding against a particular calf building up an unsurpassable accumulation of points, which can have a detrimental effect on the competitive nature of the competition. The finalised list of qualifying shows for the 2019 summer season are Midleton, Cork, Barryroe, Dungarvan with the final taking place in Nenagh (please note this is a change from Dualla in 2018). The competition is open to all pedigree Aberdeen-Angus calves, registered with the Irish Aberdeen-Angus Association and exhibited by a breeder living in the Munster province with prizes (kindly sponsored by Angus Beef Ireland) for the best, reserve and 3rd placed bulls and heifers.
In keeping with summer show news, the 2019 Munster Provincial Trophy will be awarded to the best Aberdeen-Angus exhibited at Cork Show in June and members are encouraged to exhibit cattle at this show if possible.
The Munster Aberdeen-Angus Club is also seeking host farms for the Youth Development Day and the Open Day. The YDP finals take place in Ireland this September so it is imperative that a workshop is held to ensure Irish youngsters have adequate opportunity to qualify. Any potential candidates (for either the YDP or the Open Day) should make themselves known to club chairperson, Billy Fitzgerald on 087 7946348 as soon as possible.
Finally, a club tour is in the works for 2019 and more details will be revealed on that later in the year. The next meeting of the Munster Aberdeen-Angus Club will take place in the early part of the summer and as always, new members are especially welcome to attend. For more information on any of the club’s activities or upcoming events, please contact club secretary Edward Dudley on 0863559210 or email kilsunnyherd@gmail.com and please make sure to check both the Society website and club Facebook page (www.facebook.com/munsterangus) regularly for all the latest news and updates from the club.
