Established in 1998, ICBF was created to bring together cattle breeding information from across the industry and use it to drive genetic improvement in the national herd. Today, ICBF works in partnership with farmers, breed societies, AI companies, milk recording organisations, marts, processors, research institutions and government agencies to collect, analyse and deliver valuable livestock information.

By transforming animal identification, pedigree, performance, genomic and carcass data into practical breeding evaluations, indexes and decision-support tools, ICBF helps farmers make more informed breeding and management decisions.

Through national genetic evaluations, breeding indexes such as the Economic Breeding Index (EBI), EuroStar Indices and the Dairy Beef Index (DBI), genomic services, herd performance reporting and digital tools including HerdPlus, ICBF provides independent, science-based information that supports profitable, sustainable and more efficient beef and dairy production systems.

Supporting Better Farming

Genetic improvement is permanent and cumulative. By helping farmers identify and breed superior animals, ICBF supports ongoing improvements in productivity, efficiency, animal performance and sustainability.

ICBF’s genetics, data and technology solutions help farmers make better decisions throughout the production cycle, creating value at farm level and across the wider agri-food sector.

Working Together

Collaboration is central to ICBF’s success. The organisation works closely with farmers and industry partners across the livestock sector to ensure that data, genetics and technology are used effectively to advance Irish cattle breeding and support sustainable food production systems.

Through this collaborative approach, ICBF helps deliver practical solutions that benefit farmers, strengthen the national herd and support the long-term success of Irish agriculture.

Our Vision

Economic, environmental, and socially sustainable food production through collaboration and excellence in genetics and data solutions.

Our Mission

ICBF leads industry collaboration to advance sustainable farming and food production systems by improving genetic gain and providing collaborative, precision AgTech solutions powered by the ICBF database.