Ger Dineen, a farmer based in Kilnamartyra near Macroom, is an award-winning suckler producer with more than 30 years of farming experience. He is in the top 10% for high performing suckler herds in Ireland. Ger operates a spring calving system with 38 commercial suckler cows and uses 100% AI in his breeding programme.

Running a closed herd and breeding all of his own replacement females, Ger places significant emphasis on performance figures when selecting sires. Over the last few years, he has incorporated Beef Shorthorn genetics into the herd, with his bull of choice being Finlough Finn (SH5431). Bred by Ben Lang, the red Beef Shorthorn bull boasts an impressive Replacement Index of €217. Finn was selected for the Gene Ireland Programme in 2019/2020 and was later available via Munster Bovine and Progressive Genetics.

 

 

 

 

 

“I chose Finn because of his carcass weight, carcass conformation and milk figures. I also really like red animals in the herd and wanted to try something different,” said Ger. When selecting sires, Ger’s breeding goals include a minimum carcass weight of 10kg, milk + 5kgs, and good docility. Calving difficulty must not be higher than 8% for mature cows, and must be under 5% for heifers.

Ger also highlighted the physical characteristics that attracted him to the sire. “I wanted to bring more shape into the calves, along with a bit of power and an open frame in my females. That, together with docility, docility is huge for me.”

A number of Finn sired females have been retained within the herd as future breeding replacements, and Ger is looking forward to monitoring their progress in the years ahead.

 

In addition to his suckler enterprise, Ger finishes bulls at approximately 16 months of age. Recently, he slaughtered a number of SHX young bulls through ABP Food Group in Bandon and was impressed with their performance. These bulls were also sired by Finlough Finn (SH5431).

Below are a number of Finlough Finn (SH5431) sired offspring currently in Ger’s herd.

 

Unfortunately, Finlough Finn is now sold out, however, his sire Ballyart Lucky (YKK) is available from BOVA ai. The latest Gene Ireland Beef Shorthorn sire is Driney Nice Guy (SH2555), he is available through Gene Ireland and also directly from Dovea Genetics.

We express our sincere gratitude to Ger Dineen for his contribution to this report and we look forward to following up with him in the near future.

By Mary Hallahan & Áine O’Donovan Nicholson