Delivering Better Dairy Beef Series
Week 1: What role do genetics play in producing better beef animals from the dairy herd?
Week 2: Discover how calf rearing, performance recording and genetics on the ABP Demo Farm are helping to deliver better dairy beef performance
Week 3: How the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) is helping farmers make more profitable calf purchasing decisions
Week 3: How the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) is helping farmers make more profitable calf purchasing decisions
The third video in our Delivering Better Dairy Beef series focuses on the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) and the important role genetics can play when purchasing calves. Using performance data collected on the ABP Demo Farm, the episode highlights how calves with higher CBV rankings can deliver better performance, improved carcass results and greater profitability.
The Commercial Beef Value (CBV) is a genetic tool that helps predict the future beef performance and profitability potential of a calf. By using the CBV when buying calves, farmers can make more informed purchasing decisions and identify animals most likely to deliver strong returns at slaughter.
In this episode, Stephen Connolly, Agri Sustainability Manager with ABP, explains how the performance differences between high and low CBV cattle have become evident through the extensive data collected on the ABP Demo Farm.
For Angus-sired cattle, animals ranked in the top third for CBV were finished, on average, eight days younger and produced 25kg more carcass weight than animals in the bottom third. The combination of heavier carcasses and fewer days on farm resulted in a benefit worth close to €200 per animal.
A similar trend was observed in Hereford-sired cattle. Animals in the top third for CBV were finished approximately four days younger, achieved 24kg more carcass weight and delivered an additional carcass grade compared to cattle in the bottom third. Once again, the overall financial advantage was close to €200 per animal.
These results demonstrate the real-world impact that genetics can have on commercial beef production. Improvements in carcass weight, carcass quality and age at finish can all contribute to greater efficiency and profitability for beef farmers.
With calf prices remaining strong, selecting calves with a high CBV can help reduce risk and improve the likelihood of achieving better performance throughout the animal’s lifetime. CBV provides farmers with a practical and reliable tool to compare calves and identify those with the highest potential to meet market specifications and deliver stronger financial returns.
As highlighted in this episode, the Commercial Beef Value is more than just a figure on a screen. It is a tool built on real performance data that can help farmers make better calf purchasing decisions and maximise profitability from calf to carcass.
Find Out More About CBV
For more information on the Commercial Beef Value (CBV), how it is calculated and how it can be used to compare calves, click here.
Watch Episode 3 below to learn how the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) is helping farmers identify higher-performing calves and achieve better beef production results.
Week 2: Discover how calf rearing, performance recording and genetics on the ABP Demo Farm are helping to deliver better dairy beef performance
The second video in our Delivering Better Dairy Beef series takes viewers behind the scenes of the ABP Demo Farm, showcasing the calf rearing system used on the farm and the important role early-life management plays in achieving strong animal performance. The campaign focuses on how genetics, data and collaboration are helping to drive progress across the dairy-beef sector.
In this episode, Matthew Quinn, Farm Manager on the ABP Demo Farm, explains how calves are managed and monitored from the moment they arrive on the farm, ensuring they receive the best possible start while generating valuable performance data to support future breeding decisions.
Calves arrive on the farm at just a few weeks of age and are housed in clean, well-bedded pens with access to fresh water and meal. Each calf is weighed on arrival and grouped according to size, allowing performance to be monitored from the outset. Feeding routines are carefully managed, with calves fed at the same time each day to support consistency and animal health.
Maintaining high standards of calf health and welfare is a key priority. Calves follow a vaccination programme, have regular access to fresh bedding and clean water, and benefit from ongoing investment in housing facilities, including improved ventilation and the installation of fans to enhance calf comfort.
The farm rears calves from a range of beef sires and genetic backgrounds, with performance monitored throughout their lifetime. Animals are weighed monthly, allowing the farm team to compare sire performance and generate the data needed to identify the genetics delivering the strongest commercial results.
This data is shared with ICBF and plays an important role in the genetic evaluations that underpin the Dairy Beef Gene Ireland Programme. By linking animal performance back to sire information, the programme can identify the genetics delivering the strongest commercial performance and help farmers make more informed breeding decisions. The ABP Demo Farm plays a key role in collecting the performance records used to support these genetic evaluations.
As highlighted throughout the series, strong calf management and accurate performance recording go hand in hand with genetics. Together, they help identify the animals delivering the best results and contribute to continued improvement across the dairy-beef sector.
Watch video 2 of the series as we follow along the calf rearing process on the ABP Demo Farm.
Week 1: What role do genetics play in producing better beef animals from the dairy herd?
Over the coming weeks, ICBF and ABP will explore this question through a new nine-part video series highlighting the impact of the Dairy Beef Gene Ireland Programme, the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) and the collaboration helping to drive progress across the Irish dairy-beef sector.
Established in 2015, the Dairy Beef Gene Ireland Programme was developed to identify beef genetics that can deliver benefits throughout the supply chain. The aim is to help dairy farmers produce calves with strong beef potential while also supporting improved performance, profitability and sustainability for beef farmers and processors.
Since its launch, the programme has grown significantly, with more than 600 dairy farms participating and over 885,000 calves born from progeny-tested bulls. Through collaboration between ICBF, ABP, farmers, AI companies and pedigree breeders, the programme has become one of the largest dairy-beef progeny testing initiatives in Europe.
At the heart of the programme is data. Calves are monitored throughout their lives to collect information on growth, health, feed efficiency, carcass performance and environmental traits. This data helps identify the genetics delivering the best results and supports tools such as the Commercial Beef Value (CBV), allowing farmers to make more informed breeding and purchasing decisions.
Throughout this series, we’ll explore:
- How the Dairy Beef Gene Ireland Programme works
- The role of the ABP Demo Farm
- The value of the Commercial Beef Value (CBV)
- The importance of sire selection and genetic evaluations
- Partnerships between dairy and beef farmers
- The wider impact of genetics across the beef industry
- Initiatives supporting the next generation of beef farmers
Episode 1: Why the Dairy Beef Gene Ireland Programme Matters
In the first episode, Stephen Connolly, Agri Sustainability Manager with ABP, explains why the programme was established, how it works and the impact it has delivered over the past decade.
The episode highlights the challenge the programme was designed to solve, the importance of collaboration across the supply chain and how genetics and data are helping to improve dairy-beef profitability, efficiency and sustainability.Watch Episode 1 below and follow the series as we explore how better breeding decisions today are helping to deliver better beef tomorrow.