In these unprecedented times, Munster Bovine’s sales team, AI technicians and DIY milk recording technicians are adapting to this evolving crisis to facilitate their customers to the best of their ability.

The handshake in the yard has been replaced by a phone call and white board messages, but the commitment of the entire team is unsurpassed as final preparations are being put in place for the breeding season.

Dennis Howard, a vet with Munster Bovine, details here in this short video some of the extra measures which have been put in place for the AI technician team who will visit farms over the coming weeks.

Help Us Help You

From a herd owner’s perspective, Munster Bovine is appealing to farmers to play their part in ensuring everyone’s health and safety during these difficult times.

Put very simply, farmers are being asked to avoid any person-to-person contact with the AI technician when he is on farm.

In addition, Munster Bovine has run a very simple Help Us Help You campaign on social media and radio which clearly identifies the very simple measures that herd owners can take during this public emergency to reinforce actions taken by the AI technician team.

Munster Bovine’s Help Us Help You campaign focuses on the following key areas and these requests have been very well received at farm level.

  • Avoid face-to-face contact with AI technicians when they are on the farm;
  • Maximise use of the mobile phone for communicating with the AI technician;
  • Always maintain a safe 2m distance between yourself and the AI technician;
  • Provide hand washing facilities and paper towels for AI technicians on leaving the farm;
  • Please provide a fresh footbath each time your technician arrives on farm;
  • Have a designated area e.g. white board for instruction as to what cows are to be inseminated and with what sires, ensuring no personal contact;
  • Have a clean crush available and disinfect the bars regularly;
  • Provide a bin for all AI disposables. Gloves, sheaths, straws, etc;
  • Please inform your local area manager if you test positive for Covid-19.

Speaking about these measures, Kevin Coffey chief executive of Munster Bovine said: “We very much appreciate all the efforts that herd owners are putting in place to ensure that our service can operate in the safest way.

“The highest standards in hygiene and biosecurity will be applied at farm level to ensure that we play our part in curbing this disease. There is great evidence of a huge collaboration between our technician team and farmers and I would urge everyone to follow the stringent protocols during the challenging weeks ahead.”

The Munster Bovine technician service is recognised as the leader in its field with over 70 years’ experience of carrying out AI in the Munster and Galway areas.

With access to the best genetics, today it offers a complete and an integrated range of breeding, milk recording, fertility and performance-enhancing services for herd owners to ensure a sustainable farm business into the future.

The company’s aim is to be the trusted partner in genetics and decision support, adding measurable value for herd owners.

Profitable, consistent, problem-free cows that fit your system and maximising the calf value in 2021 is what Munster strives to achieve.

Panels for different farming systems

This season, to make life easier for farmers to choose which bulls to use, Munster Bovine has introduced panels specifically selected to suit different farming systems.

All the sires on these panels have calves on the ground; therefore, a calving survey is available, semen fertility is high and no young bulls in their first season are included.

The panels are as follows:

  • All-Stars panel;
  • Production panel;
  • Fertility panel;
  • Milk price panel;
  • Super Grazer panel; and
  • Daughter proven panel.

All-Stars panel

The All-Stars panel is designed for farmers feeding between 0.5t and 1t concentrates and maximising grass intakes. This panel produces a balanced cow in both production and fertility that will average 500kg of milk solids with high % and, therefore, a high milk price.

The panel average is: EBI 323; fertility 171; health +5; and 30kg solids at +0.21% fat and 0.17% protein.

The All-Stars panel can be further divided into a production panel and a fertility panel depending on the area of improvement required in your herd without compromising the other.

Munster’s milk price panel

Need to improve your milk price? The Munster’s milk price panel achieves this through fat % and protein % in a milk payment system of A + B – C, maintain or increase kg of fat and protein and improving fertility and health.

Panel averages: fertility 130; health +4h +0.2 % fat and 0.22% protein.

Super grazer panel

The super grazer panel is designed for farmers looking to breed an efficient cow of 500kg body weight that will produce 500kg of milk solids on less than 500kg of concentrates.

Panel averages: fertility 150; health +2; 27kg solids at +0.22% fat and 0.15% protein.

This panel is for herd owners looking for the most efficient cows to convert kg grass dry matter (DM) into kg of milk solids with high % while minimising concentrate supplementation.

Daughter proven panel

The daughter proven panel is designed for farmers looking for high reliability.

Panel highlights: EBI 276; milk 97%; 33kg solids at +0.27% fat and 0.23% protein.

Fresh semen programme

Munster Bovine’s hugely popular Fresh semen programme that starts next week really makes life easier for you the farmer. You heat detect and phone for an AI call and Munster does the rest.

Fresh offers an exceptional panel of balanced sires, breeding high EBI offspring that will be fertile and capable of producing high kg of milk solids with high percentages.

The bulls selected for the Fresh programme are proven high conception rate sires with no G1 bulls being used. Inbreeding checks will be carried out by experienced technicians.

Munster is also excited to announce its sexed semen line-up with new additions to the high EBI, high solids bulls: ZORO; MILAN; NELSON; EBONY; RIPTIDE; and DANDYMAN.

The choices don’t stop there, with semen available from three of the World’s largest international genetics companies – ABS, CRV and Semex – making a call to Munster a must for any serious cattle breeder.

Finally, the dairy beef line up offers a complete package for herd owners.

From easy calving, to short gestation to maximising beef value, Munster Bovine has it covered.

Further information

For more information visit: www.munsterbovine.ie; or call today on: 022-43228.