Young Hereford breeders raise over €24,000 for local charities 

Money was raised through the sale of 11 calves that were reared by young farmers on their home farms.

Sinead Conry of Rathnollag Herefords, Co Roscommon. Sinead reared calf Frank, who sold for an impressive €2,000 at Elphin Co-Operative Livestock Mart, with an additional €100 donation going to Elphin Day Centre.

Young Hereford breeders have donated over €24,000 to local charities as a calf rearing programme comes to an end.

The Irish Hereford Breed Society and Irish Hereford Prime celebrated the conclusion of the ‘Next Gen Herefords and Irish Hereford Prime – Irish Hereford Charity Calf Rearing Programme’, which saw money raised through the sale of 11 calves that were reared by young farmers on their home farms.

Padraig and Adam McKenna of Lisgoagh Herefords, Co Monaghan, with show judge David Wilson. Padraig and Adam, along with Charlie McKenna, sold their two Hereford steers, named Ant and Dec, at Ballybay Livestock Sales, raising a remarkable €3,680 for LA519, a charity supporting teens and young adults with mental health issues.

Originally developed in 2022, the initiative was established to encourage the next generation of Hereford farmers to gain hands-on experience in the practice and discipline of rearing Hereford calves on their family farms, while raising funds for several charities in the process.

Conor and Aidan Jones of Clonroe Herefords, Co Wexford. Aidan sold calf Rocco for €1,600 at Carnew Mart in the summer of 2023, with proceeds going to North Wexford Hospice.

To facilitate this project, Irish Hereford Prime donated over €5,500 to five branches of the Irish Hereford Breed Society in the spring of 2022. 

These funds were used to purchase the 11 HEX bull calves for young Hereford breeders, who were appointed by the local branches of the Irish Hereford Breed Society. 

Each breeder was given €500 to help cover the cost of purchasing and feeding the calf for the first six months of its life.

Conor O’Rourke of Ardlahan Herefords, Co Limerick. Conor, along with fellow Munster-based breeder John Cregan, sold calves Buddy and Dan at Newport Livestock Mart's annual commercial Hereford sale, raising €1,470 each for the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation and Kildimo National School.

The details of the money raised are as follows:

• Aidan Jones from Clonroe Herefords sold calf Rocco for €1,600 at Carnew Mart in the summer of 2023, with proceeds going to North Wexford Hospice;
• Ciaran Kinahan sold calf Harry, a Hereford cross bullock, at GVM Tullamore, raising €1,400 for Hooves4Hospice;
• Padraic, Adam, and Charlie McKenna from Lisgoagh Herefords sold their two Hereford steers, named Ant and Dec, at Ballybay Livestock Sales, raising €3,680 for LA519, a charity supporting teens and young adults with mental health issues;
• Sinead Conry from Rathnollag Herefords reared calf Frank, who sold for €2,000 at Elphin Co-Operative Livestock Mart, with an additional €100 donation going to Elphin Day Centre on the day;
• John Cregan and Conor O’Rourke from Munster sold calves Buddy and Dan at Newport Livestock Mart's annual commercial Hereford sale, raising €1,470 each for their two charities, Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation and Kildimo National School;
• Elisa and Tara Drumm of Crowenstown Herefords sold calf Logan, their HEX bullock weighing 715kg, for €3,700 at Delvin Livestock Mart. The full proceeds were donated to the Delvin branch of North Westmeath Hospice;
• Anna and Glenn Jacob of Dunsinane Herefords sold calf Pat, a Hereford-cross bullock, for €2,520 at Enniscorthy Mart, with all proceeds benefiting CMRF Crumlin;
• Kian and Paul Bohan sold their Hereford-cross bullock named Dozer in Aurivo Livestock Mart, Mohill for €3,220, after weighing in at 760kg. The money will be going to the Leitrim branch of the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland;
• The O’Reilly family of the Bridge House Herd in Mohill sold calf Rodney in Carrigallen Mart for €2,300 after weighing 700kg, with full proceeds going to the North West STOP suicide prevention organisation.