Gene Ireland Maternal Bull Breeder participant Tony O’Leary with ‘Seaview Belle’. She is sired by ‘Seaview Tommy’ (SEV), who was bred by Tony, was progeny tested through ICBF’s Gene Ireland progeny test program and went on to be a successful AI Sire in Dovea AI Centre.
Backround of the herd: The ‘Seaview’ Simmental herd was established in 1988 with the purchase of ‘Cush Rita’ (Siegfried daughter) from Billy Gubbins.
Maternal Breeding: The herd has an overall maternal rating of €115 (34% reliable). The ’Seaview’ herd has bred 2 well known AI Sires: ‘Seaview Jordan’ (SVJ) who stood in Munster AI was sired by ‘Brington Brilliant’, has a Maternal index of €114 and is 5 stars for ‘Daughter Calving Interval’. ‘More recently, Seaview Tommy’ (SEV) was purchased by Dovea AI, was sired by ‘Kilbride Farm Newry’, has a Maternal index of €206 and is also 5 stars for daughter calving interval. The herd also had a bull nominated as a Test Sire for the 2013 Maternal Bull panel.
Top Maternal Cows: One of the top cows in the herd is ‘Seaview Romance’. Sired by ‘Seaview Jordan’ and out of a ‘Dirnanean Nugget’ cow ‘Seaview Kenzie’ (who is also the dam of ‘SEV’), she has a ‘Replacement Index’ value of €183 (4 stars),and her last two calving intervals were 363 and 345 days.
Key traits of interest: Key traits of interest for the herd are docility and ensuring that medium sized cattle are produces that are easily fleshed.
Recent Sires used: Carnkern Titan, Seabank Flint, Magheracrigan Special, Hillcrest Butcher, Gretnahouse Supersonic, Hercules, Herrscher & Hockenhull Maverick.
Breeder’s comment: “Breeding pedigree cattle that have good docility, are medium sized and easily fleshed is very important to us. We enjoy showing cattle also. For us, showing cattle is an essential shop window for the promotion of our pedigree herd as well as good promotion for the breed”.
