822,746 beef calves (beef sire x beef dam) were born on Irish farms in 2022. Of these, 169,295 were registered to beef AI sires. This represents approximately 21% of all beef calves born in the period. 51% of the calves were registered to a Stockbull with 28% approximately having no sire recorded.

Below is a list of the 10 most popular beef AI sires recorded on beef x beef calves born in 2022.

Table 1: Top 10 most popular beef AI sires recorded on beef x beef calves born in 2022.

Encouragingly, 8 of the 10 bulls and all of the top 3, listed above have graduated from Gene Ireland over the years which highlights the value of the programme for progeny testing young high impact sires. This helps to drive the rate of genetic gain by 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 sires are made available to Suckler farmers for just €7 per straw.

To view the bulls currently available on the Spring 2023 programme click here Gene Ireland Sire Directory Spring 2023

The list of the top 50 most popular beef AI sires recorded on beef x beef calves in 2022  is made up of 9 different breeds with Limousin and Charolais making up 62% of the top 50 bulls. The list includes 18 Limousin, 13 Charolais, 7 Angus, 3 Belgian Blue, 5 Simmental, 1 Hereford, 1 Saler, 1 Shorthorn and 1 Aubrac.

The importance of sire recording

A sire is one of the most important pieces of data that can be recorded on any animal. Being able to identify a sire of an animal is vitally important from a genetic evaluation point of view. Without a recorded sire, ICBF is unable to generate €uro-Star information on an animal, as it is missing 50% of the back breeding. By linking the sire to the calf, we can better track the performance of the sire for the purpose of genetic evaluations.

We would recommend that farmers consider genotyping their stockbulls and their baby calves. This process will quickly match the calf up to the correct sire via the DNA as well as providing the farmer with an abundance of information to help with future decision making.

For more information, please contact the HerdPlus office on 023-8820452 or email [email protected]

There is always room for improvement around sire recording. To quickly and easily record missing sires, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log-in to HerdPlus

Step 2: Go to ‘Record Events’ & select ‘Missing Sires’

Step 3: Enter in the AI code or the full tag number of the bull.

Step 4: Press save. A €uro-Star value will generate overnight for the animal.

For more information, please contact the HerdPlus office on 023-8820452 or email [email protected]