This year’s national holds a number of firsts for Ms Sheehan, including the first time a Waterford female will be offered for sale at the national.
Ms Sheehan said females are usually retained in the Waterford herd or are used for feedback in carcase competitions, however Ms Sheehan said she has two outstanding females and is pleased to offer both for sale next month.
Ms Sheehan is offering three black, polled Limousins, including Waterford First Dance, a 17-month-old heifer who took out reserve junior champion at Canberra Royal in February.
Waterford First Dance comes with a champion pedigree. Her dam, Waterford First Class took out junior and senior female at the Royal Melbourne Show as well as Supreme exhibit at National Beef, Bendigo.
“I’m still waiting on the test results, but I think she’ll be homozygous black and polled,” Ms Sheehan said.
A May-10 born, black, polled heifer, Waterford Don’t Touch The Dodge, who placed in a large female class at Sydney Show last weekend, will also be on offer.
“These are two females I’m proud to have in our first offering of females,” Ms Sheehan said.
Waterford Coal Mines, a 15-month-old black, polled bull will also make the trip to Wodonga.
Sired by a bull owned by Ms Sheehan in partnership with Deer Valley Farms in the United States, Waterford Coal Mines is the first bull by US sire DVFC Blaque Cookie to be offered by Ms Sheehan.
“I think he’ll do a good job in the seed stock world,” Ms Sheehan said. “He’s a different type of Limousin. He has a lot of growth about him and would be more suited to someone wanting to put bigger females into their operation.”
Ms Sheehan’s breeding program is based in Tasmania. Cattle are then sent to Scott Myers, Myers Livestock, in the Southern Highlands of NSW for show preparation.
Ms Sheehan said she focuses on the “elite side of the stud game” as much of her time is taken up with her Tasmanian Horse Transport business.
After showing horses for many years and running a commercial cattle operation, Ms Sheehan decided a switch to the seedstock industry was on the cards.
“We had a commercial vealer operation using a terminal Limousin sire,” Ms Sheehan said.
“We went to a bull sale to buy a bull and also bought a heifer we liked. And we were lucky enough to pick up some good cows at dispersals.”
It was at a local show that Ms Sheehan was encouraged to show her Limousin cattle.
“The breeder who we bought our heifers from was at the show and he said; “how good are your cattle?” I said I thought they were pretty good and he told me to put my money where my mouth is, so I did.”
Since that day, Ms Sheehan has exhibited successfully at many local and royal shows across the country, including taking out the title of reserve junior champion bull at each national she has attended.
Ms Sheehan said the good thing about the Limousin breed is producers can buy quality cattle at value for money.
“You don’t have to spend lots of money to get the best of the breed, unlike some other breeds where you need a never-ending supply of coin. So there’s better return at the end,” she said.
Ms Sheehan continues to run her vealer operation, a mixture of apricot and black Limousin stud cattle and has stuck with breeding to the demand of black cattle.
“I sell more black, polled cattle than apricot and horned,” Ms Sheehan said. “Australian herds are predominantly black, especially in Tasmania.”
The extra labour involved with horned cattle has also turned Ms Sheehan towards breeding polled cattle.
“Horns are getting to the point they’re an OH&S and issue and there’s more labour involved.”
Ms Sheehan said she aims to produce cattle that are easy to put cover on, are docile and still have the muscling and yield traits of the Limousin breed.
