Dairy

Read more about the article Peter Hynes – “It has been our best breeding season yet”

Peter Hynes – “It has been our best breeding season yet”

It’s the time of year when planning is crucial on farm. Decisions we make now will have the greatest impact on farm performance for 2021. We had a super scanning result with only 7% of cows empty and 100% of heifers in calf, with 68% in calf to first service. 145 animals will calve in February 2021. It has been our best breeding season yet. Synchronising the heifers on fixed time AI really works for us and it also shows the in-calf rate for first lactation cows. I feel it just allows them time to recover after calving to prepare for the breeding season. (more…)

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Read more about the article Genomics Service for dairy crossbreds launched

Genomics Service for dairy crossbreds launched

We are pleased to launch the ICBF genomics service for across breed dairy evaluations. The genotype ordering screens has been updated to allow DNA sampling kits for multiple dairy breeds to be ordered online. The ordering menu has also been upgraded which will make it more user friendly to order genotypes, particularly for a group of females. The cost to genotype dairy females as part of a group or individually is now €22. (more…)

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Read more about the article Dairy Gene Ireland programme now in it’s 16th year

Dairy Gene Ireland programme now in it’s 16th year

Gene Ireland is the name of the national dairy breeding programme in Ireland and it forms an extremely important part of the Dairy Industry. The aim of the programme is to provide dairy farmers with the best genetics through a coordinated progeny test programme. Now in its 16th year, the program has delivered over €200 million to Irish dairy farmers through increased genetic gain. (more…)

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Read more about the article HappyMoo – developing tools to monitor cow health

HappyMoo – developing tools to monitor cow health

ICBF is participating in a large-scale European research project called HappyMoo. The project aims to develop tools to identify cow welfare issues before they become a problem and affect performance. There are many different aspects to cow welfare and essential among them are freedom from hunger, stress, and disease. These are the areas that the HappyMoo research project is focusing on. (more…)

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