- Goulding Extra ET
Gene Ireland Maternal Bull Breeder Participant, Eustace Burke with ‘Clontead Lady Honey’. Sired by ‘Donlouise Montana’ – she has enjoyed success on the show circuit, bred a reserve champion bull at Bandon Bull sale and her half brother was sold as an AI Sire to an AI Stud in Spain.
Backround of the herd: The ‘Clontead’ pedigree Angus herd was established in 2003.
Maternal Breeding: The herd has an average Replacement Index rating of €139 (32%). The heifers in the herd this year have a Replacement Index rating of €194 (19% reliable) placing them in the top 10% of Angus females for this trait.
Top Maternal Cows: One of the top cows in the herd is ‘Clontead Buttons’. Sired by ‘Fordel Eisenhower’ and out of a ‘Laheens Larry’ cow, she has a ‘Replacement Index’ value of €205 (5 stars). Three of her sons are in pedigree Angus herds and her 4th son is in a suckler herd which finishes its cattle at 13months of age. She has bred the champion Bull in Kilkenny and typically has calving intervals of 332 days.
Key traits of interest: Ensuring that the Calving ease and easy fleshing ability of the angus breed is maintained, is very important in the ‘Clontead’ herd. Females having good milkability is also important.
Recent Sires used: Ankonian Elixir, Netherton Fleur’s Legacy,Goulding Jumbo King K436, Netherallen Peter Pershore, Edmundo of Ballinulty, and Goulding Extra ET (Ankonian Elixir Stockbull).
Breeder’s comment: “Getting outcross bloodlines into your herd while at the same time ticking the €uro-Stars box can be a challenge. However by doing careful research and keeping a close eye on how various bloodlines are performing both here and abroad, it can be done. It is always interesting to keep up to speed with how a bull is breeding in the UK for example, with a view to using him in your herd here. I would be confident that as calves are then born in Ireland and the data starts to flow, that his Irish indexes will reflect what is happening on the ground. As reliability % figures rise – the ICBF indexes nearly always call it as it is for a bull. I would have great confidence in them’.
