The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) is pleased to announce the launch of Sire Advice on the HerdPlus mobile app, giving dairy farmers an even easier and more convenient way to plan and manage their breeding programmes ahead of the 2026 dairy breeding season.
Designed for busy dairy farmers, Sire Advice on the HerdPlus app helps users make the best possible breeding decisions—quickly, accurately, and with confidence.
Commenting on the launch, ICBF Chairman Michael Doran said:
“The introduction of Sire Advice on the HerdPlus app is another important step in supporting farmers with practical, data‑driven tools. Breeding decisions are among the most impactful choices dairy farmers make each year, and this update ensures those decisions can be made more easily, more accurately and with greater confidence. Our goal is to empower farmers to improve the genetic strength, efficiency and sustainability of their herds, and Sire Advice on the app will play a central role in delivering that progress.”
Teagasc Dairy Specialist Stuart Childs also welcomed the development, saying:
“Sire advice is a fantastic tool that all farmers should use to help breed the future generations of dairy cows and future beef animals too. It helps to balance milk performance and fertility, eliminates inbreeding, avoids potential lethal mutations and maximises beef while also minimising calving difficulty. Its availability on the HerdPlus App in 2026 is a big step in making it more accessible to more farmers and I would strongly encourage people to use it for breeding in 2026.”
Enhanced Bull Selection and Balanced Dairy Matings
Farmers who select their own bull teams can now enter their preferred dairy and beef sires directly into the app. Sire Advice will automatically generate the most suitable and balanced dairy matings, optimising for milk production, fertility etc.
The bull selector filters also support the efficient selection of preferred dairy and beef sires for the 2026 season.
Tailored Breeding Programmes
The updated Sire Advice tool enables farmers to:
- Tailor breeding programmes to assign cows for both dairy and beef matings
- Identify preferred cows or heifers for sexedsemen use
- Automatically avoid risky matings through built‑in inbreedingchecks, including prevention of lethal recessive mutation matings in fully genotyped dairy herds
Once matings are generated, they can be shared directly with an AI technician and/or added to an ICBF breeding chart to ensure each cow receives the optimal mating for milk, fertility, and consistency.
Optimising Dairy‑Beef Matings
To maximise calf value and farm profitability, farmers are encouraged to select high Dairy Beef Index (DBI) beef bulls with a high Beef Sub-index to generate matings that will produce calves with high Commercial Beef Values (CBVs).
Easy Access Through the HerdPlus App
Dairy HerdPlus members who have not yet downloaded the ICBF HerdPlus app can find it in their device’s app store.
Farmers are reminded to contact their AI company promptly after completing Sire Advice to ensure their preferred bulls are available.
Laptop Version Also Available
Farmers who typically run Sire Advice multiple times during the breeding season may prefer the desktop/laptop version, which retains sire and female selections for minor adjustments throughout the season.
ENDS:
For any enquiries or assistance with running Sire Advice for your herd, please contact the HerdPlus team:
Phone: 023‑8820452
Email: [email protected]
Link to download the app: https://onelink.to/h2asa6
Media Queries: Erin Kennedy [email protected]