ICBF is approved by my Department under the relevant EU legislation to produce genetic evaluations on Irish dairy and beef breeding animals.
A selection index known as the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) was designed by ICBF and Teagasc researchers to help dairy farmers and industry stakeholders to identify the most profitable and environmentally sustainable animals to breed from. The EBI has evolved over time to include seven main sub-indexes, including one for fertility.
With regard to beef breeding, ICBF and Teagasc researchers have developed two main selection indexes, viz., the Terminal Index and the Maternal Index. The former is used for selecting sires to breed animals for slaughter while the latter is intended for the selection of sires to breed replacement females. Both indexes include fertility trait information.
ICBF publishes an Active AI Bull list for dairy and beef annually which contain fertility information on each bull, thus facilitating individual farmers to select bulls which can have a positive impact on herd fertility.
While fertility levels on dairy farms have improved in recent years, poor fertility is still the main cause of involuntary culling on Irish dairy farms and it is also a major impediment to maximising efficiency and profitability in the suckler herd.
Research shows that reducing the current calving interval in the dairy and beef herds by 10 days can increase profitability by 2 cents per litre of milk for dairy farmers and by 30 cents per kg of beef from the suckler herd.
Knowledge transfer from research findings to application on commercial farms is crucial to addressing poor fertility issues.
Improved reproductive performance at farm level can be achieved through the application of an optimum breeding and management programme, including the use of genetically superior AI bulls and addressing nutrition and health aspects.
Fertility rates of bulls used in AI are monitored by each A.I company as part of an overall quality control programme, designed in accordance with international standards.
