The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) is encouraging all farmers with herds in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) to sign up to the National Genotyping Programme (NGP).
The ICBF recently launched the National Genotyping Programme (NGP) for beef and dairy herds – although the closing date for applications for dairy herds was July 21.
According to ICBF, the programme “is the first step in moving the national herd towards DNA calf registration”.
All NGP samples will count towards a suckler farmer’s annual 70% SCEP genotyping requirements.
Farmers who join the programme will receive access to new double tissue tags so all calves can be DNA-sampled at birth.
The programme will run from 2023-2027. In year one (2023), all ungenotyped females and stock bulls in the applicants herd will be genotyped free of charge.
This will be paid for by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) through the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR).
From 2024-2027, farmers in the programme will be registering calves electronically, using the DNA registration process.
This means taking a tissue sample from the calf at birth, posting to the relevant lab and recording the calves information online via Agfood.ie or using a farm software package.
Once the DNA results are returned to ICBF, the farmer can complete the registration online and a passport (blue card) will be issued.
Based on the DNA registration pilot, which ICBF has operated with a few hundred herds for the last number of years, the average turnround time between birth and a passport being issued is 13 days.
NGP cost
Similar to SCEP, applicants will be committing to signing up for the full five years of the NGP.
From 2024-2027, it will cost the farmer €6/calf to genotype and register via DNA. €4 of this will be paid directly to ICBF when tags are ordered, with the remaining €2 being the extra cost incurred for DNA tissue tags and the postage of samples.
All NGP samples will count towards farmers’ annual 70% SCEP genotyping requirement, so a SCEP applicant will only incur the €6 cost on calves above their SCEP requirement.
For example, a herd with a SCEP reference number of 30 has to sample 21 animals/year (70% of reference number).
There are 30 calves born in the herd and all are registered via DNA registration. 21 of the 30 samples will be counted towards SCEP, meaning the farmer will only incur the cost of genotyping for the remaining nine calves.
The total annual cost to the herd in the above example to participate in DNA registration is 9 x €6 = €54.
Herds that sign up to the programme will be using double tissue tags. One tag will take a sample for BVD, while the second tag will also take a sample which will be used for genotyping, removing the need for a third button tag to be applied later to collect DNA.
Calves registered with any remaining single tissue tags can be DNA sampled using button tags.
Farmers can order these button tags from their tag supplier. Farmers who sign up to the programme will receive double tissue tags which will collect both BVD and DNA tissue samples the next time they order tags.