The Irish Belgian Blue Cattle Society has identified the need to “modify” the highly muscled medium sized Belgian type to better suit the Irish market for larger framed more mobile working sires for natural service on dairy and suckler herds.

Our specific objectives are to:

• Improve mobility while retaining muscularity
• Select for improved legs and feet and free movement
• Select for more height and length while avoiding heavy bone.          
• Select for easy calving.

Why choose Belgian Blue as a Terminal Sire ?

• Superior conformation – R and U grade carcases from FR x BB are easily achieved. They put muscle on the large Friesian/Holstein frames. E and U grade carcases achieved from continental suckler cows.

• The BB has the shortest gestation length of all continental breeds, 275- 285 days. Average gestation length is 281 days. Short GL is vital for compact calving.

• Easy calving – The BB calf only develops the superior muscle after calving , not in the womb. The fine bone and short gestation length leads to easy calving.

• Docility – The superior docility of the BB crosses relative to other continental breeds is a major attraction, as labour gets scarcer and part time farming increases.