‘Sustainable breeding’ in focus at open day

At the Teagasc open day in Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Teagasc dairy specialist Stuart Childs spoke to Agricultural land on sustainable breeding for the production of dairy and beef cattle.

Many farmers have become skeptical about the type of cow they should breed. They feel that the nitrate band penalizes the larger cow, while the commercial meat value (CBV) for calves penalizes the smaller cow.

Farmers are growing frustrated by the lack of clarity surrounding the nitrate exemption and there has been some concern about which type of cow is suitable for the future of their farms.

Childs provided some further clarity by stating that optimal breeding and reproduction programs contribute to about half of the performance improvements in most herds.

You must understand that the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) is intended for selecting dairy cows and bulls for dairy cattle breeding.

The Dairy Beef Index (DBI) is used to select beef bulls for breeding with dairy cows. The Commercial Beef Value (CBV) is applied to genotyped calves as a measure of their meat value.

Sustainable breeding

A good breeding plan must be implemented where breeding decisions are not just about the bull but also about identifying the best cows and heifers for breeding to increase the genetic progress of the herd.

For this to be effective, you need to deploy a team of bulls with high EBI.

To replace the cows you should use sexed dairy semen, while the remaining cows should be mated with beef semen to increase the value of the calves.

On this day, the cow of the future was put in the spotlight, with the following characteristics:

• Good reproduction;
• Good lifespan;
• Easy to manage;
• Good conformation;
• High-quality milk and meat;
• Efficient grazer;
• Good health and well-being;
• Low ecological footprint;
• Climate-proof.

Speak with Agricultural landAccording to Childs, the fastest and most efficient way to do this is with the technology that is available, which involves genotyping, semen sexing, milk recording, ICBF reports and bull advice.

Childs added that “you can have a durable, high-yielding dairy cow with a poor EBI beef subindex that produces a high CBV calf by using high DBI bulls.”

DBI to produce high CBV

It is important to use DBI to select artificial insemination (AI) bulls for beef cattle, combining beef and calf traits.

To ensure a marketable, profitable and sustainable calf for dairy and beef cattle, use a team of AI sires from the active list of ICBF sires for dairy and beef cattle.

First, selection is made for bulls with a percentage of calving difficulties that is appropriate for the females to be covered (i.e. first calving cows, second calving cows, mature cows). Then, selection is made for the highest subindex value for meat.

James Dunne, Dairy Specialist at Teagasc, worked with Childs to calculate the minimum beef DBI sub-index required to deliver four- and five-star CBV calves from dairy cows with different beef EBI sub-index values.

The predicted values ​​are as follows:

Dairy		Minimum DBI sub-index for beef to supply:
EBI Beef subindex rank	EBI sub-index value for beef	4 stars CBV calf	5 stars CBV Calf
Bottom 20%	-€18	>€90	>€130
Bottom 40%	-€9	>€82	>€120
Average	-€5	>€78	>€116
Top 40%	-€2	>€75	>€113
Top 20%	€2	>€71	>€110

“You can put a bad bull with a bad beef cow, which in this case is your dairy cow, and get a bad calf, but if you put a good beef bull with your bad beef cow, nine times out of 10 you’re going to get a quality calf,” Childs said.

The CBV for calves is linked to the DBI, which encourages dairy farmers to produce valuable calves for the dairy industry.