Certified Irish Angus has today (Thursday, August 25) launched what it describes as “a new programme which will reward breeders with a bonus scheme”.
The programme is titled ‘Certified Irish Angus Elite Breed Improvement Programme‘ and is the first of its kind for beef farmers in Ireland.
The key aim of the new initiative is to improve the quality of Angus-cross beef cattle while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 9% per kilogram of beef.
A statement from Certified Irish Angus said the initiative “will enhance the genetics of Angus-cross beef cattle”.
By improving the beef genetics of these Angus-cross cattle, the programme aims to reduce the level of carbon emissions produced.
The programme is also designed in a format that aims to “provide a benefit to pedigree breeders, dairy farmers and beef producers”.
The Certified Irish Angus Elite Breed Improvement Programme will be headed up by Catherine Smyth, who is described as having “significant experience” in livestock genetics.
The initiative began in December 2021 with the purchase of Drumcrow Tribesman as part of a joint venture between Certified Irish Angus and Dovea Genetics.
Commenting on the rollout of the initiative, Catherine Smyth said: “By improving the genetics of Angus-cross beef cattle, we can increase carcass weight and decrease slaughter age, which will reduce the emissions produced per animal.”
“Using the best genetics available can increase the sustainability of Angus-cross animals at each stage of the production cycle.
“This programme has been almost 12-months in the making and involved extensive research and analysis to identify how we could help beef farmers move the dial when it comes to GHG emissions.
“Our programme also aims to improve the level of beef-sire recording on dairy farms, providing more genetic information to beef farmers on the performance and future value of Angus-sired calves,” Smyth said.
The financial incentives and supports for pedigree Angus breeders, dairy farmers and calf-to-beef farmers include:
- Access to subsidised male-sexed semen with an €80 refund per male calf born and genotyped for pedigree breeders;
- A €200 refund on the purchase price of Drumcrow Tribesman-sired pedigree bulls for dairy and suckler farmers;
- An opportunity to sell offspring direct to Certified Irish Angus members via an online portal;
- Access to genetically-superior calves for beef farmers with genetic information that allows for predictable performance and a margin while reducing GHG emissions.
Commenting on the initiative, the Certified Irish Angus general manager Charles Smith said: “We are really excited about this programme which has been designed to accelerate change in breeding and to improve the financial and sustainability credentials of Certified Irish Angus beef production.
“We believe this model is something which could be followed by others around the country and our collective efforts could go a long way towards helping beef farmers to meet our carbon-reduction targets,” he added.
Smith said the initiative will highlight the role each farmer makes in the production cycle, including the sire-choice the pedigree breeder makes for stock bulls in dairy herds; the decision the dairy farmer makes when purchasing these bulls; and the decision the beef farmer makes when purchasing a dairy beef calf for finishing.
“All of these decisions make an impact on the final product and its associated carbon footprint when it reaches the consumer.”
Certified Irish Angus currently has nine pilot dairy farms with cows that are in calf to Drumcrow Tribesman.
Offspring from the bull will be used in the Certified Irish Angus school competition, which forms an education aide to students studying Agricultural Science for Leaving Cert and provides students with an insight into beef animal breeding, feeding, processing, and marketing.