Confirmation that 5 star cows are more climate efficient

Validation work undertaken by Teagasc and ICBF on 46 participating commercial beef farms over the past 3 years has confirmed that 5 star cows are; (i) more fertile, (ii) lighter (thereby requiring less feed), (iii) have more milk (i.e., a heavier weanling), (iv) produce a heavier carcass and (v) are more carbon efficient, compared to 1 star cows on the same farms (Table 1).

A total of 7,790 cows have been involved in the trial to date, with all cows and calves weighed on these participating farms over the three years of the study. The indexes used for validation, are the replacement index values at the start of the study (Spring 2015) or for more recent replacements, the index value when the heifers were yearlings (i.e., prior to first breeding).

Table 1. Comparison of 5 star and 1 star cows for key metrics relating to profitability, sustainability and climate efficiency.

* Based on Gross Emissions Output over the cows lifetime. Includes emissions from the cow and her progeny.

The results presented in table 1 clearly indicate the accuracy of the €uro-Star system as a means to identify cows that will produce “more from less”, which is completely consistent with the objectives of the BDGP scheme.