Charolais heifer is star prize in Fermanagh Pedigree Livestock Breeders Group charity draw

​The star prize heifer is of “supreme quality” and was originally intended to be shown at this year’s Balmoral Show before being purchased for the draw by the group.

Proceeds are in aid of Air Ambulance NI, a charity close to the hearts of people province-wide and the FPLB group.

Operating 365 days of the year, for 12 hours every day, AANI attends some of the most traumatic medical incidents across the province and delivers the very best possible pre-hospital critical care.

Tickets for the draw are available from members of the group locally, and across the summer show circuit. Tickets are priced at £20 for a book of three.

The first prize in the draw is the outstanding Charolais heifer, valued at £3,000.

Second prize is an embryo from Slieve Jen, the famous pedigree Limousin cow from the McGeehan’s prizewinning herd at Fivemiletown. This embryo will be a full sibling to some of the herd’s high priced five-figure cattle sold through Harrison and Hetherington’s Carlisle sales centre. The embryo is valued at £500.

Third prize is a pedigree Simmental embryo from the Derrycallaghan herd at Lisnaskea, of Alan Burleigh and Harold Stubbs. Bred from the highly prolific brood cow Corskie Vesna by Popes Laird, the sire being either Auchorachan Hercules or Islavale Frontier, the resulting offspring with be from the same line as herd’s 9,000gns Junior Champion from the Stirling Bull Sales. £300 is the alternative cash prize for third.

Fourth prize in the big summer draw is £100 in cash.

The Fermanagh Pedigree Livestock Breeders Group Ltd, with a membership of 50 local pedigree breeders, was formed in the early 2000s with charitable status.

It was an idea by the now honorary member, Edwin Morrison, and others to help local breeders extend their knowledge of pedigree breeding by availing of study tours and herd visits throughout Ireland and mainland UK.

Some 20 years later, the group can proudly claim to be one of the longest running farming groups in Northern Ireland, thanks to the hard work of the committees and, especially, the sourced sponsorship for many educational tours and trips courtesy of the Vaughan Trust.

A group spokesperson explained: “This sponsorship from the Vaughan Trust has been invaluable over the years, helping to partly fund Beef Weight Recording Programmes and Health Scheme membership, creating some of the top recognised pedigree beef herds within the UK and Ireland, here in County Fermanagh, through a wealth of knowledge gained by its members. The group would like to express our sincere thanks to the Vaughan Trust for all their financial help over the years which has been invaluable.

“Your support in the purchase of tickets for the group’s draw is greatly appreciated and we look forward to presenting a healthy cheque to Air Ambulance NI at our second annual calf show in November at the Ulster Farmers’ Mart,” they added.