Long-distance farming: Living an hour and a half from the yard doesn't stop Tipperary farmer Robbie
Robbie Et Razor Kelly Dhearg With Bearna The In Rolo Background Pictures: O Et Halloran In Dhearg And D John Yard Farmer His Tipperary Photography Bearna
Willie O’Halloran, his wife, Mary and son, Robbie, farm their multi-prize-winning Simmental herd in partnership under the Bearna-Dhearg prefix in Chamberlainstown, Cahir, Co Tipperary.
Willie, a plumber by trade, serves as the current president of the Irish Simmental Cattle Society, having first become involved with the Southern Simmental Club in 2011.
Their farm was once home to a 50-cow dairy herd before they transitioned to suckler farming, a predominantly pedigree herd, in 2009.
It has proven to be a worthwhile venture for the family, who have grown cow numbers, sold bulls to AI stations, exported stock overseas and picked up an array of prestigious titles at agricultural shows for their home-bred cattle.
The predominantly autumn-calving herd, which they breed to an array of AI bulls and stock sires, now comprises 16 pedigree cows and in-calf heifers, nine Simmental-cross recipients and followers.
As his son, Robbie, who works full-time off-farm as a secondary school teacher in Fermoy, Co Cork, explained to the : “For us, Simmental ticks every box. We chose Simmental for their functionality, ease of calving, superior breeding qualities, calving ease, fertility, milkability, docility, and carcass weights.
“Simmental cows are renowned worldwide for their mothering abilities. An adequate milk supply enables progeny to reach their maximum potential regarding growth rates, conformation and weight-gain.
“Weight-gain at a young age is becoming more important now than ever from a sustainability perspective and demand to reduce the average age of slaughter nationally. Simmental delivers a super average daily gain (ADG). We birth verify all pedigree calves born on our farm with the Irish Simmental Cattle Society.
“The society sums up the breed’s abilities in a nutshell as follows: The Simmental cow; three in one — calve it, feed it, rear it. We call it 'the profit-maker'. So, they really can do it all.”
The family has implemented a strict culling policy to improve the quality of their herd, for which they sourced the main foundation families for John Kenny’s Ballyduff herd in Co Waterford.
They have gradually built up their herd by retaining their own females as replacements but also recently purchased three cows at Keith and Caroline Vickery’s Carbery Herds’ dispersal sale.
At the same sale, they acquired a cow for flushing along with two maiden heifers from Noel and Keith Jagoe of the Dermody herd.
“Euro-star evaluation changes are a constant source of worry and stress for us, as pedigree breeders and the goalposts are constantly changing.
“We do not breed for stars; we breed for quality and balance, and if stars come with them, that is a plus. But for us, it is, first and foremost, based on physical appearance and performance on the ground.”
In the O’Hallorans' view, an ideal breeding female is “good-sized and well-made with a nice head, good feet and udder with a weight range typically of 800-850kg”.
“From the outset, we have focused on cow type, retaining females that can rear a good calf themselves. Our objective has been to focus on quality over quantity with a small herd of cows that perform but do not require special treatment.
“We are undertaking ET [embryo transfer] work to keep their bloodlines within the herd, using some of our best cows that have delivered for us.
“We breed cattle with the ethos of getting the best out of the best. We buy dairy-bred Simmental crosses to use as recipients for ET work off the same farmer every year. When selecting these, we select mainly based on pelvic conformation.
“We have 13 calves to date and no C-sections, including recipients. Six weeks pre-calving, we put them in a bare paddock nearest our yard with a camera, feed them hay, minerals and put iodine in water.
“It also suits family life. My wife, Fiona, is a primary school teacher, and we have two children, Barry (2) and Beth (1). We live 1.5 hours away from the farm in Glin, Limerick.
“I have a half day in school on a Wednesday, so I farm the rest of the day and stay on-farm that night. On Fridays, I come back to the farm after school, and Fiona comes up from Limerick after her day in school and collects the two little ones from crèche.
“It is a great lifestyle, farming with small children. As young as they are, they love animals, and we have currently put in for planning to build on the farm,” the fourth-generation farmer added.
Having summers off as a teacher also enables Robbie to exhibit their Simmental cattle at agricultural shows. This year has been the O’Hallorans most successful showing due to unrivalled success with the much-admired Bearna-Dhearg Rolo ET, their August 2023-born bull out of home-bred dam, Bearna-Dhearg Henrietta.
He was the supreme beef champion in Clonmel, making it two years out of three that they won this prestigious accolade.
Rolo also claimed the overall Simmental champion title at the Southern Club Calf finals and also won the interbreed calf champion on the same day at Barryroe Show.
On his third and final day showing, he won the national yearling bull champion before being tapped out as national junior bull champion and supreme national male champion. He was crowned as reserve supreme Simmental champion at the 2024 Tullamore National Livestock Show, having just turned 12 months.
He will be offered for sale at the Irish Simmental Cattle Society’s forthcoming premier show and sale on Saturday, October 26, at Roscommon Mart.
They deem ‘Ballyduff Best’ as their most successful purchase from John Kenny as she went on to breed multiple Tullamore champions: Bearna-Dhearg Honda 50 ET in 2017, Bearna-Dhearg Kawasaki ET in 2019, Bearna-Dhearg Princess ET in 2023.
When the covid-19 pandemic brought the show circuit to a standstill, she bred Bearna-Dhearg Leonardo ET, who won the yearling male virtual competition staged by the Irish Simmental Society.
She also bred Bearna-Dhearg Ninja 650, who was crowned supreme champion at Clonmel Show at just over eight months old.
Another notable cow acquired from John was Ballyduff Grace. She bred Bearna-Dhearg New Way P ET, which they sold to the Natural Spol AI station in the Czech Republic for five figures in 2022.
Along with New Way, five pedigree heifers, ranging from six to 18 months, were also sold to breeders from the Czech Republic, and they returned last year to purchase a further three cattle: two heifers and one bull.
Two home-bred bulls stand in Irish AI with the NCBC (National Cattle Breeding Centre): Bearna-Dhearg Honda 50 (SI4595) is by Anatrim Bodybuilder and Ballyduff Best, while Bearna-Dhearg Hatchet (SI4593) is sired by Glebefarm Tyson (GFY) and out of a home-bred dam, Bearna-Dhearg Elanor.
Going forward, they plan to keep “pushing the herd forward all the time competing at shows and sales, but the challenge is to keep challenging”.
“We are passionate about breeding Simmental cattle, and I hope this will continue as a tradition within our family for generations to come,” Robbie added.
