Animals

The first animals were brought into Skibbereen from the U.K. as embryos (1 heifer - 2 bulls) in 1992. Straws were taken from the best bull and used on dairy and suckler cows, mostly in the West Cork region. The next shipment of in-calf and maiden heifers arrived from France in County Kildare in the autumn of 1996. With a few very interested breeders getting together, the Irish Aubrac Cattle Breed Society Limited was formed in January 1998. In 2007, it now counts over 70 members, and over 750 registered females of breeding age. The Irish Aubrac Cattle Breed Society Limited received official approval from the Department of Agriculture in August 2005. The majority of the members are part-time farmers who have chosen this breed for its ease of management. All registered calves born in Ireland since 2000 are inspected and linear scored. The Irish Aubrac Society has decided to join the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation and all registrations are now done through Animals Events. The scoring of animals is done through ICBF. This will enable us to prove with official figures the capabilities of our breed and give us ground on which to carry on improving it. The selection/breed improvement programme aims at maintaining reproduction, rearing and hardiness qualities and at identifying those heifers which will provide the ideal cow. Females must retain their milking and calving ability and their fertility with minimal interference and maintenance cost. The excellent food conversion and conformation must allow cost efficient finishing of the animals. The selection has been based on efficiency rather than show potential only. In Ireland the emphasis has been put on importing quality animals to start a very good genetic pool and retain the qualities that made us choose this breed in the first place. We believe Aubracs have a place in Ireland as an easy kept mother breed with continental conformation and good temperament. Bulls are used widely to produce excellent replacement heifers for the Irish suckler herd. Weanling bulls have shape and quality and are much sought after by Italian finishers. The Aubrac can be out performed on any given trait by another breed but as a complete package is hard to beat.

Performance Testing

A large number of bull calves have been successfully tested in Tully. Here are some examples: Bull Breeder Date of birth Average daily weight gain Feed conv. Eye muscle area Feed effic. Carcass merit Overall beef merit Maulbrac Oisin T. Walsh 05/02/98 1.66 5.79 112 115 133 124 Butlersgift Paudie J. Deane 27/07/99 1.77 5.45 112 119 106 117 Westfield Rocky S. Phelan 11/04/00 1.55 6.26 114 109 123 121 Westfield Satchmo S. Phelan 13/03/01 1.48 6.11 112 112 129 121 Calverstown Sultan K McCall 12/02/01 1.67 5.54 109 122 123 115 Calvers.Thunder Clap K McCall 25/02/02 1.93 5.02 110 120 115 118 Rockhill Urbano (AI) E Walsh 12/12/04 2.00 6.26 119 110 116 109 Thornhill Alex S.O Driscoll 03/01/05 2.28

Membership/Registrations
	Over the years the membership of the Irish Aubrac Society has risen steadily as has the number of registrations

Calf registrations are done through ICBF. An ancestry report is sent to the breeder when the calf is registered and the full Pedigree cert is delivered when the calf has been scored and inspected by an ICBF scorer at weaning and all fees paid. Some of the fees are as follows: - Annual Membership : €65 - Calf registration : €50 for heifers ; €30 for bulls - Transfer of male or female for pedigree use : €15 All sires of calves must be DNA tested for the registration to be accepted. Animals must be named following a year letter. For animals born in 2008 it is the letter D. A list of breeders with animals for sale can be found in the "animals for sale" page and a full list of breeders can be obtained from the Society’s office (086 3451373). The Council is made up of 15 members who meet every 2 months. The chairman is Mr Ernest Mackey, Ballinclea House, Donard, Co. Wicklow (045 404973) The Assistant chairman is Mr William P Walsh, Ballintra Co. Donegal ( 0879525800) The treasurer is Mr Sean O’Driscoll, Thornhill, Skibbereen Co. Cork. (028 22889) The Secretary is Mrs Mireille McCall Calverstown Kilcullen Co. Kildare (086 3451373)