Four leading Aberdeen Angus herds have announced details of a timed auction which will feature specially selected females from many of the breed’s proven bloodlines.

The September Select Sale from Friday, September 16 to Monday, September 19 will give pedigree breeders a unique opportunity to acquire heifers from the Baronagh, Clogher Valley, Drummeer and Lana herds. 

This inaugural online sale facilitated by Clogher Valley Livestock Producers through the Martbids online portal will feature 18 heifers, two bulls, and two Grade-A embryos. 

Speaking on behalf of the vendors, Alan Morrison from the Drummeer herd said:”This is a sale not to be missed. We are excited about the forthcoming timed auction, and hope that the September Select will become an annual fixture in the Aberdeen Angus calendar.

“The catalogue boasts an entry of hand-picked heifers, many of which would normally be retained within the herds. All four herds are well-established, and managed on a commercial basis.

“The animals offered for sale have been reared on grass-based diets, and are bred from traditional and modern bloodlines within the Aberdeen Angus herdbook.”

The Baronagh Herd is owned by Victor Wallace, and son, Stephen, from Garvagh, and has been a regular prizewinner in the club’s herd competition. 

Alan and Naomi Morrison’s 15-cow Drummeer Herd was founded in 2005. Based in Maguiresbridge, the herd boasts moderate framed cows which are easy to manage on a low-input system. Derived from traditional and modern bloodlines, the herd has recently introduced Australian genetics.

The Drummeer prefix has enjoyed numerous show successes. Making its Balmoral Show debut in 2007, the herd secured the junior and reserve breed championship awards with a nine-month-old heifer. This home-bred heifer was the foundation for the Pollyanna family.

The Blackbird line is one of the most successful and prolific cow families at Drummeer. Heifers from this family have been shown successfully at Balmoral, and two descendants of the Blackbird family are included in the forthcoming draft sale. These are the first females to be offered for sale from the herd’s Blackbird family.

Alan and Lana Cheney from Trillick, founded the Lana Herd in 1997, as they wanted an easily managed native breed that would thrive off grass.

Foundation females came from the Strule Herd, and over the years additional females were purchased from top herds in Ireland and the UK.

The Lana Herd comprises 50 breeding females. Cows must best easily fleshed and have the ability to thrive on poor quality land with no concentrate feeding.

Stock bulls have been purchased from leading herds in Scotland and England, and are selected on breed character, carcase length, easy fleshing ability and easy calving traits.

The Lana prefix has produced a number of breed champions at local shows, mainly Clogher Valley and Omagh, with the most recent awards collected at Enniskillen in 2019.

The herd has also bred NI Calf Show champions, and society show and sale champions at Dungannon. 

Ian and Gillian Browne’s Clogher Valley Herd founded near Fivemiletown in 2009 had their first pedigree female, Drumboy Corina, purchased at the dispersal of Adrian McElroy’s Lough Erne Herd.

Additional females were purchased at Carrick-on-Shannon, and privately from the late David Adams.

The herd expanded significantly in 2019 with the purchase of the noted Strule Herd, owned by the late Jim Jack and wife, May. 

The Browne family made their showring debut at a society sale in Dungannon, with Clogher Valley Emperor L071 winning the championship.

They have also notched up awards at various local shows, and won the NI Aberdeen Angus Club’s best small herd award in 2019.

The Clogher Valley Herd comprises 120 breeding females, which are commercially managed in a low-input system. There is strong emphasis on the use of top genetics to produce hard-working, medium-sized and milky females, with breed character and longevity.

Young bulls and breeding females are sold privately to new and repeat customers. Animals deemed not suitable for pedigree breeding are sold to a local butcher, who has established a niche market for grass-fed, dry-aged Aberdeen Angus beef.

The Baronagh Herd is offering five heifers at the time auction; while the Drummeer entry includes five heifers and two Grade-A embryos.

The Lana Herd’s offering includes one in-calf, three maiden heifers, and a March 2021 bull. The Clogher Valley consignment also includes four heifers, and a red bull born in March 2021.