Limousin has been revealed as the most popular breed for suckler herds so far this year.

The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has released the figures for the sires with the most serves recorded during the first six months of 2024.

The results are based on the analysis of insemination data collected from AI technicians linked to the ICBF database.

There were a total of 74,050 beef serves recorded until the end of June this year, which is an increase of over 4,200 on the same period last year.

At 39% of all beef serves, Limousin is the number one most-used beef breed at 29,100 recorded.

This is followed by Charolais with 18,020 serves in second and Angus in third with 10,838.

Top 10 sires

Ten – Ardlea Rolex (Limousin)

LM8625 Ardlea Rolex had 1,496 handheld serves this year into June. He is a four-star terminal sire with an index of €115.

Nine – Cloonradoon Ricky (Charolais)

CH7503 Cloonradoon Ricky is a five-star terminal sire with an index of €131 and had 1,761 handheld serves for the period.

Eight – Castleview Gazelle (Limousin)

ZAG Castleview Gazelle is a four-star replacement and terminal bull, with a terminal index of €111. He had 1,843 serves for the first six months of the year.

Seven – Intelagri Matteo ET (Angus)

AA4089 Intelagri Matteo ET is the only Angus bull on the list and had 1,885 serves until June this year. He is a four-star terminal bull, with an index of €118, and a five-star replacement bull, with a €221 index, the highest on this list.

Six – Elderberry Galahad (Limousin)

EBY Elderberry Galahad is a four-star terminal and replacement sire, with a terminal index of €109. He had 2,076 handheld serves for the period.

Five – Shannon Stan (Limousin)

LM9379 Shannon Stan had 2,411 serves over the six-month span. The five-star terminal bull has an index of €174, the highest of any on this list.

Four – Orbi (Charolais)

CH6490 Orbi is a five-star terminal bull with an index of €126 and had 2,585 serves for the period.

Three – Moondharrig Knell (Limousin)

LM4217 Moondharrig Knell took the bronze medal with 2,642 handheld serves for the first six months of the year. He is a three-star terminal bull with an index of €101, but also a five-star replacement bull with an index of €168.

Two – Powerful Proper (Limousin)

LM7416 Powerful Proper was the runner-up for the period with 3,803 serves. His is a five-star replacement and terminal sire, with a terminal index of €149 and a replacement index of €129.

One – Lapon (Charolais)

CH4321 Lapon topped the charts with 5,181 handheld serves until June this year. He is a five-star terminal bull with an index of €154.