Certified Irish Angus has announced the appointment of a new agricultural programmes coordinator to join the producer group's team of staff.

The new appointment is Mark McCoy from outside Smithborough in Co. Monaghan.

He holds a bachelor honours degree in sustainable agriculture from Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) and has previously worked with the largest egg processor in Ireland where he gained an insight into the Irish poultry sector.

McCoy grew up on a dairy and sheep farm and his family's farm is home to a herd of 85 Pedigree Holstein Friesian cows.

Prior to joining Certified Irish Angus, Mark also gained extensive international experience working on a 5,000-cow dairy farm in Dorset, UK and on tillage and livestock farms in New Zealand and Australia.

Mark is passionate about genetics and breeding, and is heavily involved with his local breeders' club and with the Irish Holstein Friesian Association (IHFA) being successful in stock judging nationally.

Along with his family, Mark also won the Pioneering in Dairy award as part of the National Dairy Council (NDC) Milk Quality Awards in 2018.

The family farm has been involved in research projects with University College Dublin (UCD) and has a keen interest in adopting new technologies and farming practices.

Commenting on his appointment, he said: “I am excited to commence my new role with Certified Irish Angus and look forward to dealing with our network of farmers and industry partners.

Charles Smith, general manager of Certified Irish Angus said: “We are delighted to welcome Mark to our team and look forward to working together.

"Mark will work directly with our farming members, processing partners and wider farming community to ensure that Certified Irish Angus is produced in the most sustainable way while also safeguarding its superior genetics."

Certified Irish Angus is set to host its rescheduled dairy-beef calf information event at The Munster Arms Hotel in Bandon, Co. Cork, on Thursday, January 30, at 7:30p.m.

The event was initially planned for Thursday, January 23, but was rescheduled due to Storm Éowyn.

According to the organisers, the aim of the event is “to highlight the advantages of this new programme for both dairy and beef farmers and how collaboration between both sectors delivers positive outcomes”.

The three partners involved in the initiative are Certified Irish Angus, ABP Food Group, and Bandon Co-op.

The objective of the joint project is to produce superior Angus-cross calves with higher-than-average commercial beef values (CBV) that have the potential to deliver additional value to both dairy and beef farms.

To do this, the three project partners came together to initiate a breeding initiative in spring 2024. The aim was to improve the genetic beef merit of the Angus calves being born from dairy cows in the Bandon region.

A total of 20 dairy farmers from Bandon Co-op were selected and the dairy cows on these farms were offered a select team of three high beef merit Angus bulls:

Drumcrow Tribesman (AA8172);
HW Lord Horatio (AA6682);
Coolrain Patriarch (AA5280).

The sire Drumcrow Tribesman is part of the Certified Irish Angus Elite Breed Improvement Programme and is owned in partnership with Dovea Genetics.

HW Lord Horatio and Coolrain Patriarch are both Angus sires owned by Munster Bovine.

Dairy cows had to be offered these Angus straws before May 31, 2024 and deliver calves by mid-March 2025. All calves were required to be genotyped so accurate CBV values could be obtained.

It is now planned that these calves will be traded to beef farmers participating in ABP's Advantage Beef Programme and are supplying their cattle to the ABP Bandon facility.

The event will give an overview of the Advantage Beef Programme and focus on not only producing a better calf, but also on the care and attention required on both dairy and beef farms to ensure these animals are given every opportunity to achieve their full genetic potential.

Speakers on the night will cover the following topics:

The role of the Elite Breed Improvement Programme;
How to improve genetics and produce a more marketable calf;
Animal health and vaccinations, calf transition from dairy to beef farms;
Selecting the right milk replacer, achieving target weights and nutrition;
Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP) programme.

Speaking ahead of the event, Charles Smith from Certified Irish Angus said: “Certified Irish Angus is committed to producing better beef, in a better way, for a better world."