The LIC Ireland team is always out and about on Irish farms inspecting cows and evaluating their progeny. Their job is to help you choose the bulls that make a positive difference on your farm. Here, the team cover off their favourites for the season and why.
David Power
Shortlist is a well-balanced Holstein Friesian bull, coming in at 557kg liveweight. His exceptional attributes include an outstanding 102kg solids, derived from high percentages of 5.1% fat and 4.1% protein, with moderate volume of 792kg.
Sired by Meander MG Arena – a bull renowned for high production and a strong udder overall – Shortlist showcases an extremely strong pedigree on both his maternal and paternal side. Tracing the lineage back to esteemed dams like Meander Beam Ash and Meander FMI April, stalwarts of the Meander herd in Otago, as well as Kegzy ME Pansy, who has two bulls purchased by LIC in the past, it’s evident there’s an emphasis of strong cow families in Shortlist’s pedigree.
On top of his strong production and pedigree, Shortlist is also outstanding on udders, with an udder overall of 0.54 and udder support of 0.58. Considering the sires in his family line you’d expect these genomic traits to hold through.
Honenui was initially brought into Ireland in 2021 as a high genomic BW bull. Two years later and his genomic proof has held through.
Bred from a J13 Braedene Manz Trumpet dam averaging 6.5% fat and 4.6% protein, it’s easy to see where Honenui gets his high 70kgs of solids averaging 6.3% fat and 4.6% protein from. On top of his excellent solids, his genomic TOP scores seemed to have held up. Currently with 28 daughters that have been TOP inspected, his udder overall BV’s are coming in at 0.91, close to his initial genomic BV of 1.0.
On top of his high solids and excellent udders, Honenui daughters are expected to be moderately- sized at around 540kg liveweight with excellent fertility of 5.2%.
Honenui’s full brother, Whakatupu, who is being proven this year, is showing tremendous promise at 371 gBW with similar solids and udder traits. It’s exciting to see these two exceptional bulls come through sire proving from this excellent dam.
Jeremiah Daly
Gallivant has been a revelation to the Jersey breed, both in New Zealand and here in Ireland.
The top producing cows in the herd from which Gallivant was bred are all related to his dam. He has over 300 milk-recorded daughters from nearly 100 herds in Ireland producing over 5% fat and 4% protein. Gallivant’s daughters exhibit outstanding fertility, huge capacity, and strong udder attachment and central ligament, all contributing to long-lasting, resilient cows. Available in sexed for the past three years in Ireland, he’s been the first bull to sell out continuously.
Born in 2014, Dexter boasts a substantial number of daughters, with more than 1,600 in Ireland alone.
Having observed his progeny, they tend to be of medium size, with huge capacity, excellent feet and legs, and impressive udders with a strong willingness to milk.
After viewing this bull in the stud last autumn, we were struck by how youthful he
still looks. His daughters are extremely placid in the parlour, as his TOP
traits suggests. He is also A2A2 and considered a pedigree Jersey in Ireland.
Aiden Cunningham
Equator has proven to be a popular bull in Ireland and I understand why. It’s difficult to overlook his exceptional pedigree and daughter proof.
His dam, Glen Koru Erica, boasts an exceptional 1100+ kgMS at 5.6% fat and 4% protein in her fourth and fifth lactations. With Equator’s BV for fat and protein totalling a whopping 90kg, it’s hard to leave him out of any team. Traditionally, even crossbred herds have utilised him, therefore he’s expected to be extensively used in the upcoming 2024 breeding season.
Galant is also among the top bull selections for the upcoming season. New to Ireland in 2024, this 19-code bull already has more than 500 daughters milking in NZ with a number of them entering their second lactation, increasing the reliability behind him.
His fat and protein BVs are something to behold at 5.6% fat and 4.3% protein, with a combined total of 80kgs of milksolids. This F16 bull would rival any KiwiCross® bull, not to mention his TOP scores with an exceptionally high 0.77 score for capacity. Once again, this would compete with any KiwiCross® bull and is certain to find favour among Irish farmers sticking to black and white genetics, as well as those who engage in crossbreeding.
Leonard Gavin
Kartell was bred in the Lynbrook Herd in Temuka, New Zealand. Breeder Steven Ireland is renowned for his ability to produce top-quality bulls, and Kartell has been in high demand since making his debut in the Irish market.
He currently has 680 daughters in their first lactation here, predicted to do 3.9% protein and 4.8% butter fat.
The heifers are a nice size, well put together with good feet and legs and a wide rump. Their temperament is excellent, and they are easy to train for the milking parlour. Among the heifers I currently milk in my own herd, they stand out as the nicest.
Kartell is greatly suited for use on crossbred herds when you are looking to achieve medium sized cows with excellent production, although he will fit well in any bull team looking to breed efficient cows.
My other choice is Priests Sierra, I’m milking 18 daughters in my own herd and what I like about them the most is their docility. I’ve never had a problem with any of them, they’re great to work with, and not one of them has so much as lifted a leg when I’ve put the clusters on.
They have really good udders and are strong cows with good rump width and carry a good condition score, making it easy to get cows back into calf. They’re good producers and excellent to use on both Jerseys and Friesians.
Eoin Kennedy
Backdrop has been hugely popular in Ireland now for a number of years. For me, he’s been the standout black and white (B&W) bull in the LIC catalogue since his debut.
He produces daughters that display everything the Irish market looks for in a B&W bull – huge components (BVs of 4.2% protein and 5% fat), exceptional fertility and longevity with good udder quality.
Backdrop breeds smaller Friesian cows with great depth and capacity. He can be used to manage the breed split in crossbred cows, or to reduce size and improve components in B&W cows.
In a grass-based system, he’ll breed efficient cows capable of producing high kgs of milk solids. Bulls slated for the upcoming year will fit this mould and Backdrop himself will be available, and undoubtedly remain in high demand.
Hardcopy was arguably the most in-demand KiwiCross® bull in 2023. This bull possesses every quality that’s needed for a crossbred bull.
The F10 J6 split produces smaller-framed daughters that offer huge capacity. Balanced for milk (BV of 4.2% protein and 5.4% fat) with excellent fertility traits, this bull was sought after by most farmers in 2023 with his sexed semen selling out very quickly.
With an EBI over €380 at present, there’s no doubt this bull will be in demand for the coming year once again. If you were to select a bull that epitomises the ideal grass-based bull, this would be the one. He has the potential to achieve the same level of popularity as KiwiCross® bulls Solaris and Sierra. My advice? Get your orders in early for 2024.
Contact your Ireland Breeding Advisor early to avoid missing out on these spectacular bulls. As always, we are happy to work with you to create a breeding plan customised to your needs.
