The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) was established in 1997 as a cooperative and is registered with the Registrar of Friendly Societies. It has been approved under EU legislation (Commission Decision 2006/427/EC) by my Department as the designated organisation to carry out performance recording, assessment of genetic value and publication of breeding values for dairy and beef cattle in Ireland. The management of ICBF is the responsibility of its Board, which is broadly representative of all sectors of the Irish livestock industry.
ICBF is in receipt of an annual grant from my Department — which this year amounts to €884,000 — to support it in carrying out the functions in respect of which ICBF has been approved. It has also been allocated €1.35m in 2012 towards projects approved under the National Development Plan.
The Federation also raises income from other sources such as a calf tag levy and charges to service providerse such as Herdbooks, AI Organisations and Milk Recording Organisations. This latter source of funding is increasing annually in recent years.
