There are now over 591 herds signed-up to the Dairy Gene Ireland Programme taking a total of 24,374 straws to date. There are still Dairy Gene Ireland straws available to order, so make sure to get your order in soon.
The Dairy Gene Ireland programme has delivered an accelerated rate of genetic gain to the national herd by utilising genomics to identify the best young bulls produced in the country. Gene Ireland bulls are on average €30 higher in EBI than Daughter proven sires, which equates to 3-4 years of genetic gain. Why wait?
Straws are available in packs of 35 (5 bulls x 7 straws) 49 (7 bulls x 7 straws) and 70 (7 bulls x 10 straws) and 100 (10 bulls x 7 straws). The cost is €12 per straw, plus technician fee, which varies by AI company. Packs are distributed to participating herds through your sales reps or AI technician. To maximise the genetic potential of your herd, use the Sire Advice application to match your allocated bulls to the most suitable cows in your herd.
Click Here to view the genetic indexes of the Breed packs. The Multi-breed pack is a combination of Jerseys, HF x JE crossbreds, and HF bulls for comparative purposes.
The dairy breeding programme is a key component of the Irish dairy industry with the aim of providing farmers with new genetics and increase the rate of genetic gain in EBI.
If you are interested in ordering a pack of straws, please complete one of the following 3 steps:
- Sign-up online through the Gene Ireland Sign-Up screen by logging into your HerdPlus account and selecting ‘Services’ – ‘Gene Ireland Sign-up’.
- Complete a Sign-up Form and return to ICBF, Link Road, Ballincolllig, Co Cork. Alternatively, a scanned copy, can be emailed to [email protected]
- Call the ICBF HerdPlus team on 023 882 0452.
