New data from over 145,000 slaughtered animals shows that top‑ranked CBV cattle return €120–€400 more per head, finish earlier, and carry a lower carbon footprint—highlighting the CBV as a proven tool for boosting profitability and sustainability in dairy‑beef systems.
Analysis by ICBF of over 145,000 prime animals finished in Ireland between 1st June 2025 and 31st December 2025 highlights the significant role the CBV can play in identifying profitable animals for beef finishers. In this analysis, the four animal types examined were Angus x Dairy Steers, Hereford x Dairy Heifers, Dairy Steers and Limousin x Suckler Steers.
At slaughter, top‑ranked CBV AA steers returned €170 more per animal, driven by heavier carcass weights (+21 kg) and superior conformation. Crucially, this performance gap was not evident at calf purchase, where the price difference between top- and bottom-CBV animals was just €55 per head, highlighting the strong return on investment of selecting higher-CBV calves.
The high CBV animals also finished 27 days earlier, delivering an additional €45.63 per head based on Teagasc cost estimates, further strengthening their economic advantage.
Alongside improved profitability, CBV selection delivers clear environmental benefits. The steers in the top 20% had a lower carbon footprint of 0.4 kg CO₂e per Kg of carcass weight, reflecting greater efficiency and faster finishing. These results underline the role of CBV as a practical tool for improving farm profitability and environmental performance in dairy‑beef production systems.
The exercise above was repeated on 21,322 Hereford x Dairy heifers. Again at slaughter, the top‑ranked CBV heifers returned €138 more per animal, driven by heavier carcass weights (+16 kg) and superior conformation. This performance gap was not fully evident at calf purchase, where the price difference between top- and bottom-CBV calves was only €40 per head.
For those involved in finishing dairy steers, the same results emerged. Analysis of 43,398 of these finished in the same period showed that high-CBV animals returned €121 more per animal, driven by heavier carcass weights (+14 kg) and superior conformation. This performance gap was not fully evident at calf purchase, where the price difference between top- and bottom-CBV calves was only €25 per head.
Finally, data from a batch of 29,854 LM x Suckler steers were analysed, yielding similar results. The high CBV animals returned a staggering €398 more per animal, driven by heavier carcass weights (+47 kg) and superior conformation. This performance gap was not fully evident at weaning purchase, where the price difference between the top and bottom CBV weanlings was just €220 per head.
The message to farmers is clear – if you want animals that deliver high growth rates, feed efficiency, earlier finish, and higher-value carcasses, the CBV is the tool that can deliver for you.
To learn more about the CBV, click here:
If you have any questions, call the HerdPlus team on 023 8820452 or email [email protected].