Teagasc recommends that maiden heifers are bred with dairy AI because they are the most fertile animals in the herd and they have the highest EBI. Make sure to target your heifers with sexed or conventional dairy AI to maximise the rate of genetic gain in your herd. (more…)
New dairy breeding guidelines have been sent to herd owners for Spring 2021 season. The guidelines have been developed by a Department of Agriculture working group involving key stakeholders such as the Department of Agriculture, Teagasc, ICBF and the broader industry. The guidelines include six simple steps which if followed will ensure the continued improvement of your dairy herd into the future. In this short clip, Andrew Cromie of ICBF outlines these six steps. (more…)
Invariably bulls are only proven for milk traits and not for female fertility traits which remains a key issue for dairy farmers. If you want to improve fertility and other traits related to fitness on your farm then you need to use teams of bulls. In this short clip, Margaret Kelleher from ICBF speaks about when planning what bulls to use this breeding season, also plan how to use each bull equally across your herd. (more…)
The breeding season on Irish dairy farms has become increasingly concentrated in the late April to June period. Teagasc in conjunction with the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) will run a dairy breeding week this March. (more…)
Bryan Kingston (ICBF) explains the role of the national breeding programme in the Irish dairy Industry (more…)
ICBF and FBD would like to congratulate and thank this year’s winners and all the finalists involved in the 2020 FBD Breeding Awards. The hard work and determination shown by all the finalists across the beef, dairy and sheep categories will lead to a more profitable and sustainable future at both an individual and a national herd level. (more…)
The overall winners of the FBD Breeding Awards will be announced next Wednesday 3rd March at 8pm on the ICBF website www.icbf.com and all ICBF social media platforms. The winners will also be published in the Irish Farmer’s Journal on Thursday the 4th March. (more…)
Enda and Kevin Moloney operate a pedigree Limousin herd under the ‘Fermoyle’ prefix, situated outside Broadford, Co Clare. The herd consists of 16 pedigree Limousin cows, 8 commercial cows and 11 pedigree young bulls. Their main market for the pedigree bulls produced on the farm is suckler herds. For this reason, there is an emphasis placed on both the Replacement and Terminal Index. (more…)
Sean Brady along with his family, farm the Kilkitt pedigree Simmental herd outside Castleblaney, Co Monaghan. The herd’s Replacement Index now ranks in the top 10% nationally, having increased from €102 in 2016 to €118 in 2021. (more…)