The second half of 2023 saw, 157,847 suckler beef calves (beef sire x beef dam) born on Irish farms, of which 32,832 were registered to an AI sire. This represents approximately 20% of all suckler beef calves born in the period. Below is a list of the Top 10 AI sires of the Autumn 2023 born suckler progeny based on sires recorded.
These 10 sires account for 36% of all the AI suckler progeny born in the second half of 2023. The list is dominated by well proven Charolais and Limousin sires along with 1 Belgian Blue. The 10 sires listed above have an average Replacement Index of €107 with relatively high reliability across all the sires and very high in some cases.
Encouragingly 6 of the 10 sires, and all the top 4, listed above have graduated from Gene Ireland over the years which highlights the value of the programme for consistently progeny testing young high impact sires. The helps to drive the rate of genetic gain but building high reliability indexes at a young age on the back of robust data recording. Every Spring and Autumn a new panel of young high genetic merit AI sires are made available to suckler farmers for just €7 per straw.
Take a look at the Spring 2024 panel here: GI Beef Bulls – ICBF
To order straws, contact the HerdPlus office on 023-8820452 or email [email protected]