The commercial beef value (CBV) of calves will only be displayed on mart boards for calves that have been genotyped.
The Irish Cattle and Breeding Federation (ICBF) has confirmed that this will mean that although the CBV is set to be rolled out in marts this year, only a very small percentage of – if any – calves will actually have a value displayed.
CBV will not be available for all calves due to a concern around the incorrect recording of sires. This has the potential to result in lesser quality calves having a higher value at the point of sale.
CBV
According to the ICBF, the CBV is a tool for non-breeding beef farmers which will give them a better insight into an animal’s genetic potential to produce a beef carcass.
The tool is primarily aimed at farmers buying calves at marts that are destined for beef production, as it can be difficult to access the genetic potential of a young calf to produce beef.
However as cattle get older, their conformation and beef potential become more apparent.
The CBV consists of five traits from the terminal index that are important to a non-breeding dry-stock enterprise:
- Carcass weight;
- Carcass conformation;
- Carcass fat;
- Docility;
- Feed intake.
The CBV is expressed as a euro value – like the replacement and terminal indexes – with both ‘within breed type’ and ‘across breed’ star ratings.
For it to be possible for the CBV to be displayed in marts, the calf, along with its dams, needs to be genotyped.
Only a small portion of the Irish national dairy herd is genotyped, which means that only a small number of calves will have a value displayed in marts this year.