The Keltic heifers are returning for their third production sale this week, with online bidding taking place from Friday, July 11 to Sunday, July 14 on Thurles MartEye. Viewing on farm Saturday, July 12 from 12pm to 5pm Eircode A83 V673.

In total, 14 of the purebred Limousin herd, based in Co. Meath and ran by Teleri Thomas and Mac Murphy, will be available through the online auction.

Ten out of the 14 females on offer are either 4 or 5-star maternal within breed and several rank very highly within the breed for milk.

The sale will display 14 hand-picked pedigrees animals, four of which are due to calf down in autumn, as well as two served heifers, and eight maiden heifers.

Teleri said that each one of the heifers is a standout animal coming from some of the herd’s most successful bloodlines.

She said the sale will include the entire autumn-2023-born heifer crop.

Lot one features Keltic Utterlyregal, who has a milk figure in the top 1% of the breed and overall replacement and terminal indexes in the top 5%.

Keltic Umbell is the star of lot two, the daughter of the French maternal bull Edakkya out of a "really thick" Cerberus cow.

Teleri said Keltic Umbell has great width in the pelvis and "will make a lovely cow". She is in the top 5% of the breed for milk.

Lot three is where you will find Keltic Ubeauty, who has great length and width in the pelvis.

Keltic Ubeauty has a replacement index of E176 and a milk figure of +6.7kg, putting her in the top 1% of the breed for both.

Teleri said the sale will feature a number of lots from their best cow families, including lot four who is a daughter of their most successful cow Jacaranda, dam of Keltic Seimon and Keltic Pax, who topped the Elphin Premier in 2003 and the Athenry sale in 2001 respectively.

According to Teleri, lot four is the only Jacaranda daughter they have ever sold, and "represents a great opportunity for someone who wants to buy into some of the best bloodlines in the herd".

She stated that the heifers are all bred through a good cross-section of sires, including some proven maternal French bulls and old favourites like Loyal, Lexicon and Ampertaine Majestic.

The herd is run on a grass-based system where calves are not fed any concentrates while at grass and weaned heifers only receive the minimum required for the Beef Welfare Scheme.

The farm has been running a closed herd since 2008, but still carry out annual testing for Johne's with Premium Cattle Health Scheme since 2001 and "have never had a positive case", Thomas said.

She added that there is also no evidence of IBR or leptospirosis, with cows being vaccinated annually for both.

The whole herd was tested for TB on June 23, receiving a clear test - meaning all 14 heifers are eligible for export.

You can also call Murt Ryan for more information on tel:050421499