The deadline for applications to the National Genotyping Programme (NGP) has been extended by one week.
The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has confirmed that the new deadline is Friday, July 21.
ICBF has described the NGP as a collaborative initiative enabling Ireland to take the first step in achieving a fully genotyped national herd.
The first year involves genotyping all cows and replacement females in participating herds.
A spokesperson from ICBF has said: “We have about 2,900 dairy herds with just under 450,000 dairy cows signed up to the programme.
“This represents is about 75% of our 600,000 capacity, which is good, but we’d like to give a bit more sign-up time to give every dairy farmer the opportunity to join.
“Therefore, we’ll be extending the deadline until Friday, July 21.”
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue formally announced the programme in May and had said he expected strong uptake among farmers for the programme.
Minister McConalogue had previously said: “We’re expecting really very strong uptake. All the farm organisations and industry are absolutely behind this, as is the department, and people who have been working now for ICBF for many years have seen the potential of genetic recording, [and] of recording data as well.
“So I expect every farmer in the country to want to be part of this and that’s where I expect to see it go,” he said.
National Genotyping Programme
ICBF said that the scale of the programme is a “world first” and sees Ireland placed firmly at the forefront when it comes to national sustainability efforts.
The first year of the five-year programme (2023), with a budget of €23 million, will be funded entirely through the Brexit Adjustment Reserve.
The department’s total expenditure is set to rise to €43 million over the course of the programme, with industry and farmers expected to meet the rest of the cost.
The voluntary genotyping programme, which will be available to both beef and dairy herd owners, will run over a five-year period.