A Roscommon Tradition of Breeding Pedigree Limousins: Forging a Path to Champions

Bertie Mannion runs a 30-cow pedigree Limousin herd at his family farm in Curraghboy, Athlone, Co. Roscommon. The farm is a true family enterprise, with Bertie receiving ample support from his wife, Kathleen, and their sons, Alan and David.

The journey into pedigree Limousin cattle began in 1987 when Bertie and his brother Ollie purchased their first Limousin cow, Castle Venetia, at a Society Sale in Naas for £3,600 (Irish pounds at the time). Bred by Nicholas and Barbara Grubb, Venetia proved to be an excellent foundation female for their herd. “The combination of easy calving and the quality of the continental breed appealed to us,” Bertie recalls. “Venetia was the matriarch and all our cows descended from her. My ideal cow has good wide plates (which help at calving), not too much muscle (muscle is great on a bull, but not on a cow), and enough milk to raise a healthy calf. Venetia ticked all the boxes.”

Venetia calved just three weeks after they purchased her, delivering a bull calf who when sold made £3,000. Over the years, Venetia had five bulls and five heifers calves, becoming a cornerstone of their herd’s success.

For anyone starting out in breeding, Bertie offers this advice: “Sourcing a good foundation cow is key. If there’s anything about an animal you dislike, don’t keep her. It’s better to start with the right stock.”

 

Bertie’s agricultural career also took an interesting turn early on. After spending a year studying Agriculture at University College Dublin (UCD), he found his passion for farming calling him home. “The highlight of my week was traveling home on Friday evenings,” he says. Bertie left his studies when he was offered a job procuring sheep with Kepak, Athleague who he continued to work with until he retired eight years ago.

In 1997, tragedy struck when Bertie’s brother Ollie died suddenly at the age of 33 due to cardiomyopathy. “Ollie and I were very close,” Bertie shares. “We ran the herd together; Ollie was at home farming full-time while I worked with Kepak. A piece of advice I received (which is a quote from Winston Churchill) has stayed with me through difficult times: ‘If you’re going through hell, keep going.’

Over the years, Bertie has received invaluable advice from various mentors, including Nicholas Grubb and Paul Sykes, who have helped guide the development of the herd.

The Mannion family calves their cows in February and March, with first-time heifers calving between 30 and 33 months of age. Although Bertie keeps an eye on breeding indexes, he’s not led by them. “We’ve been fortunate with the genetics we’ve used,” he says. “But the focus is always on improving year on year.”

In recent years, the Ballyline herd has been a dominant force at Society sales. At this year’s May Premier Sale in Roscrea, they achieved the ultimate success with the Sale Champion Ballyline Van, a stylish 15-month-old Plumtree Fantastic (S1278) son, who sold for €6,700. Last year, the herd also bred the Junior Champion at the March Premier Sale at Roscrea—Ballyline U-10839, a son of Mereside Godolphin (S1630) out of a Castleview Gazelle (ZAG) cow, who sold for €6,800.

At the Roscommon Society Sale this year, the Mannion family’s success continued, with Ballyline Vin selling for €10,400 as Champion, and Ballyline Vladimir, a Plumtree Fantastic son, selling for €7,000 as Reserve Champion. This marked the third consecutive year that Bertie had bred Champions and Reserve Champions at Roscommon. “A huge amount of credit for our success at the sales must go to my ‘A-team’—PJ and Tracey Smith, Richard O’Beirne, and John Lynch,” Bertie says. “They do all the hard work and deserve much of the credit for our results.”

In terms of breeding strategy, Bertie focuses on continually improving the herd. “Most of our cows are by Plumtree Fantastic, Mereside Godolphin, and Castleview Gazelle. We are happy with our cow type, so the challenge is finding bulls that cross well with them. We’ve had success with Mereside Godolphin and Plumtree Fantastic, and we have some cows in calf to what we hope will be the next crop of bulls to cross well with our cows — Slieve Pablo (LM7266), Ewdenvale Ivor (LM2104), and Knock Msport (LM9478).”

Herd health is a priority for Bertie, especially in a closed herd like his. “Being a closed herd helps maintain biosecurity. We joined the LimoHerd Health Program when it was introduced. We vaccinate all the calves with a Clostridium 10 vaccine and for Blackleg. We dose for worms with Ivomec in early June and ensure the animals receive necessary minerals.”

Outside of cattle farming, Bertie enjoys rough shooting with his German pointers and going to the races. “We have two thoroughbred broodmares, and we love attending races. While not every day is a win, we’ve had some success, which makes the losses feel a bit easier to take. I forgot to mention we also have 400 ewes”

Bertie is a proud supporter of the Roscommon football team and his local St Brigids GAA club, which won the All-Ireland Club Championship in 2013. I am hopeful we will see both of them win an All-Ireland soon!”

A snapshot of some recent Ballyline bulls at Irish Limousin Society show and sales: