Latest news with #IrishCattleBreedingFederation
Agriland
08-08-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Dairy heifer calf births set to recover due to dairy AI usage
Dairy artificial insemination (AI) usage has increased on farms this year, which should recover the number of dairy heifer calves born in 2026. Concerning data had emerged earlier this year regarding the number of dairy heifer calves born in 2025. As of April 1, the number of calves registered from the dairy herd was 16,000 lower than the same period last year, which was a decline of 1.4%, according to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF). However, the most concerning trend was the drop in dairy female calf registrations, which was down significantly - by 38,000 compared to the same period last year. This amounts to a 11.5% drop in 2025, which will have a knock-on effect on replacement heifers available in 2027. The number of first calved heifers recorded by April 1 was nearly 25,000 fewer than in 2024, which represented a 9% drop. However, ICBF data shows that many farmers have realised this threat to the national herd and potential scarcity of breeding dairy females as dairy AI usage and sexed semen usage increased significantly. This drop in dairy females being born was due to a consistent drop in dairy AI serves for the last three years, as 2022 saw a 12% drop, 2023 saw a 7% drop, and 2024 a 14% drop. The number of total AI serves on the dairy herd amounted to 1,279,357 serves, which is an increase of 72,818 serves from 2024. Dairy AI this year increased by 14%, which is a recovery of the 14% drop witnessed in 2024. There were 719,787 dairy AI serves as of August 1, 2025. Beef AI on the dairy herd actually dropped by 2% in 2025 compared with 2024 after consistently having an increase in usage over the last five years. It is another positive news story for sexed semen usage as 2025 saw another drastic increase in its uptake, with 852 more herds using sexed semen this year. There was 213,493 sexed semen serves so far in 2025, which is a 26% increase from 2024. Of the 1,279,357 serves to the dairy herd, 56% of them were dairy AI serves, 44% were beef serves, and 30% of the dairy AI serves were sexed semen serves. The trends in AI usage in the national herd from 2019-2025 as per ICBF is as follows: There has been a significant turn-around in the make-up of the national herd over the last five years and sexed semen usage continues an upward trend. According to ICBF, these trends are expected to continue over the next five years. ICBF believes that the dairy AI usage this year will recover the number of dairy heifer calves born on farm for the spring of 2026 back to 2021 levels due to overall dairy AI usage and in particular the increased uptake of sexed semen, which does not require the same number of straws per heifer calf born. ICBF also told Agriland that it would like to see more sexed semen used and enough dairy AI to maintain/grow the national herd. Addressing the drop in beef AI usage on the dairy herd, the ICBF would like to see more beef AI used also, as the Dairy Beef Index (DBI) from AI is higher than stock bulls, resulting in higher genetic merit calves. The strong uptake in dairy AI and sexed semen this year is encouraging, as farmers reacted strongly to a potential shortage in heifers born earlier this year and opted to breed a more comfortable/surplus number of potential heifer calves.
Agriland
31-07-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Table Impact of Calf and Beef Price on Dairy Beef Margins
As farmers operating dairy-beef systems are well aware, the purchase price of calves and the beef price received for finished cattle are two major factors impacting the profitability of the system. While these are two factors the farmer has little control over - and some will argue that farmers should focus on factors they can control within the farm gate - it is interesting to see how margins an be totally eroded when lower beef prices are paired with high calf prices. As events in recent years serve to remind dairy farmers, high prices are not always 'there to stay'. With the high prices being paid for dairy-beef calves this year, a drop in beef price could have a detrimental impact on the profitability of dairy-beef systems. In the week ending Sunday, July 13, the average price paid for Angus bull calves from 3-6 weeks-of-age was €506/head, according to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF's) calf price database. At a recent Teagasc dairy-beef farm walk, the impact of calf purchase price and beef price on the profitability of dairy-beef systems was highlighted. The table below shows the impact of calf price and beef price on net margins using four beef prices and two calf prices: Source: Teagasc For the purpose of the above table, the cost of rearing the calf to beef at 20 months-of-age is assumed to be €820. Where the purchase price of the calf is €350 and a carcass weight of 250kg (heifer carcass) is assumed, at a beef price of €6/kg the system will generate a loss of €20/head when variable and fixed costs are factored in. On the other hand, where the calf purchase price is at €200/head and the same beef price is included, the net margin is at €130/head. Assuming beef prices stay at the higher levels and a beef price of €7.50/kg is assumed, with variable costs at €820, and the calf purchase price at €350, the system will still generate a margin of €355/head or a net margin of €888/ha when stocked at 2.5 heifers/ha. While many of the costs may differ for farmers, the table shows the importance of farmers doing their own figures. It also highlights the risks associated with the higher calf prices when it comes to generating a margin from the enterprise at the other end of the line.
Agriland
31-07-2025
- General
- Agriland
Reminder: Weighing suckler pairs for the SCEP
Year four of the five-year Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) started on July 1, and weighing cow-calf pars is a core action of this scheme, making up 20% of the yearly farmer payment. The deadline to submit SCEP weights in the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) database is 5:30pm on November 1, annually. Weights must be submitted within seven days of recording. The requirement is to weigh the cow and calf on the same day, for which the calf must be over 50 days-of-age and not yet weaned from its dam. The ideal time to weigh is when the majority of calves are in the 5 to 8-month stage. Calves should be weighed before they are weaned. SCEP participants must weigh at least 80% of eligible animals born on the holding of the yearly reference number in each scheme year and their dams and submit these weights to the ICBF. The table below details the optimum time to weigh weanlings, according to the ICBF: Weanlings born between Recommended time to weigh July 1 - September 30, 2024 January 1 - March 31, 2025 October 1 - December 31, 2024 March 1 - June 30, 2025 January 1 - March 31, 2025 June 1 - August 30, 2025 April 1 - June 30, 2025 September 1 - October 31, 2025 Source: ICBF According to the rules and regulations of the scheme, each live calf must be un-weaned and weighed with its dam on the applicants' holding on the same day. Where a calf dies before 5 months-of-age or its dam, this must be recorded on the Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) and the 80% does not include such a pair. All calves being submitted for weighing must be in the ownership and possession of the applicant since birth and maintained on the holding. Only registered scales used in accordance with the requirements of the scheme may be used for the purpose of this programme. Scales can be rented through 100 depots spread across the country in co-ops, marts, and FRS offices. Scales rented through the Cattle Weighing Scales Rental Service are automatically linked to a farmers' herd.
Agriland
31-07-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Dairy advice: Don't miss the opportunity to genotype your herd
Farmers should not miss the opportunity to genotype their herd now that the National Genotyping Programme (NGP) is open again to all Irish cow herds. Herds accepted into the NGP can genotype any remaining ungenotyped breeding stock for free. Up until 2027, farmers will be required to genotype all calves born at a reduced cost of approximately €6, which is made up of €4 for the actual genotyping and the additional cost associated with a double tissue tag and postage cost. The standard rate for genotyping a cow at the moment is €18 per sample if you were to genotype without being in the NGP, so signing up is a no-brainer and will lead to better decisions on the farm. With the opportunity to get all your breeding stock genotyped for free and a small fee for calves thereafter, the benefits of genotyping completely outweigh the cost of it. Genotyping is the process of decoding DNA. Obtaining DNA information for breeding decisions has increased the efficiency of cattle breeding compared to traditional breeding methods, which relied only on ancestry records to evaluate the genetic merit of animals. Having DNA information of cattle will generate a bespoke prediction of genetic merit and captures both the family-based performance and the unique attributes of the animal itself. Through genotyping, selection decisions are more accurate - thereby increasing the rate of genetic improvement and drives profit for the farmer. Genomic evaluations require less data (e.g., fewer daughter records) compared to traditional evaluations to get the same level of accuracy. Therefore, selection decisions can be made sooner and more cheaply, which in turn increases the rate of genetic improvement by shortening generation intervals. The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has set out additional benefits of genotyping that are not just restricted to more profitable breeding decisions. These were displayed at the Moorepark open day, and are as follows: Correcting misassigned parentage, misassigned breed, and misassigned sex for 17.4%, 3.2%, and 1.6% of genotyped calves, respectively; Evaluating the commercial beef value (CBV) of calves, which is a DNA-derived metric used to help calf-to-beef farmers predict which calves are the most valuable for a calf-to-beef farming enterprise; DNA information is also essential for reporting on genetic variants of myostatin, polled Celtic, and other important genes; Access to tools such as GenoCells, which can be used to efficiently identify cows with mastitis when the entire milking herd is genotyped. Chromosomal abnormalities can also be identified through genotyping as in cattle, DNA is not one continuous chain, but is split into discrete blocks known as chromosomes. Each chromosome exists as a pair, one inherited from the father and the other inherited from the mother. Sometimes in reproduction, one of the chromosomes in a pair can be lost or doubled. If this loss or doubling of a chromosome happens with a sex chromosome (the chromosomes which determine if a calf is male or female) the animal can appear normal, but be infertile. An estimated 0.04%–0.08% of calves born annually will have an abnormal number of sex chromosomes. This programme will not last forever and signing up now means, for a small price, you can increase the accuracy of predicted breeding values, reduces the burden of data collection, can correct recording errors, and report genetic variants in major genes.
Agriland
08-06-2025
- General
- Agriland
Less than 1 in 4 calves born to suckler cows to date this year
Latest calf registration figures from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) show that fewer than 1 in 4 calves born to date this year have been registered to suckler cows. There have been a total of 1.8 million calves registered as of Friday, May 30, this year. Of these, 436,000 have been registered to suckler cows with the remaining 1.4 million calves registered to dairy cows. On a percentage basis, this equates to 24% of calves born in suckler herds and 76% of calves born in dairy herds. Looking at suckler calf registrations, numbers are down almost 17,000 on this time last year with 436,398 suckler-bred calves registered as of Friday, May 30 of this year. Dairy calf registrations are down 29,000 this year to 1,407,281 as of Friday, May 30. Total calf registrations are down almost 46,000 (45,957) to date this year to 1,843,679 as of Friday, May 30. With 1.4 million calves registered to dairy cows this year and calf exports just under 188,000 as of Sunday, May 25, it can be assumed that approximately 13% of all calves born to dairy cows have been exported this year. There has been a significant drop in the number of calves being slaughtered in Ireland this year. As of Sunday, June 1, just over 2,500 calves had been slaughtered under Category V. In the same time last year, the number of calves slaughtered was over 16,000 calves higher at 18,682 calves. The significant drop off in calf slaughtering comes following changing regulation surrounding calf slaughter and compliance with Bord Bia's Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS).
