Sir Charles and Lady Caroline Colthurst hosted an open day on behalf of the Cork Limousin Club on their impressive farm on Saturday 12 July.

Nestled around the iconic Blarney Castle, the meticulously maintained 350-acre farm is a mix of limestone and sandstone land laid out in paddocks dedicated to grassland grazing.

Farm manager James Kent gave attendees an overview of the enterprise, which operates a closed herd of 170 spring-calving suckler cows, primarily Limousin.

The Colthursts have been breeding Limousins for over 30 years. “We find the cows have plenty of milk, are excellent mothers and the calves thrive exceptionally well,” Sir Charles noted.

Most bulls are finished before reaching 16 months of age and are sold to Kepak in Watergrasshill with exceptional results.

Female replacements are bred from within the herd. Last spring, the average calving interval was 381 days, 16 days below the national average, while heifers are typically calved between 22 and 26 months of age.

Clear passion

The Colthursts have a clear passion for their cattle, with Lady Caroline taking the lead in selecting breeding bulls, which are sourced either through Society sales or identified using the ICBF Stock Bull Finder. At present, there are six bulls in use on the farm. Purchasing decisions are made based on a bull’s appearance, breeding and indexes.

Some of the top Limousin bloodlines found in the herd include Ampertaine Foreman, Wilodge Vantastic, Sympa, Plumtree Fantastic, Kaprico Eravelle, Ronick Hawk, Castleview Gringo and Wilodge Cerebrus to name but a few.

They have found the National Genotyping Programme to be an invaulable tool, as they believe it is important to know the sires of their stock, especially their females.

This August, the Colthursts plan to offer a selection of in-calf and maiden heifers for sale at Macroom Mart.