A lot of interesting figures have arose following the breeding season of 2024, which gives an insight into what way the breeding and the genetics of our cows is going over the next number of years.
The fertility of cows in Ireland has improved over the last number of years due to genetic gains achieved through the economic breeding index (EBI).
This has had a knock on-effect on the way breeding strategies have gone, as cows are now more productive, fertile and have longer lifespans, which has reduced the need for excessive dairy replacements.
Breeding 2024 has shown us that farmers are breeding the number of replacements that they need through sexed semen and putting the remainder of their cows to dairy-beef straws.
The breeding trends and a profitable breeding strategy was highlighted at the Teagasc Ballyhaise dairy open day by the Irish Cattle Breeders Federation’s (ICBF’s) Margaret Kelleher and Teagasc’s Anthony Mulligan.
Breeding trends
The data shows that 20% of all artificial insemination (AI) serves were a sexed semen straw this year, which is a 50%increase in only two years.
Genomic selection can be thanked for rapid genetic improvement in the national dairy herd as genetic gain in EBI has doubled due to genomic selection, while contributing to profitability and sustainability on farms.
Sexed semen has had traditionally lower conception rates, however, according to the ICBF, the relative performance of sexed semen to conventional semen is 92%, over the last five years.
There has been a significant improvement in the technology which has resulted in its usage gaining in popularity.
Sexed semen has been a major contributor in increasing the genetic gain of herds by intensely selecting which cows are selected to be the dams of future replacements.
The use of sexed semen means that farmers can increase the use of high beef merit semen on dairy cows, which will subsequently lead to calves with higher Commercial Beef Value (CBV).
Sexed semen enhances the profit potential for dairy farmers, while benefiting beef farmers, as they will have a calf with a reduced age of slaughter.
The use of beef semen on dairy females had again, seen a surge in usage. Traditionally, dairy sires were used at the start of the breeding season, with beef semen being used for repeats or late calving cows.
In the last number of years, beef semen has been used relatively early in the breeding season and this was proven when for the first time, the number of beef calves born from dairy cows had surpassed the number of dairy calves born from dairy cows.
Breeding strategy
A proper breeding strategy needs to be implemented, with the breeding decisions not solely being about the bull, but about identifying the best cows and heifers for breeding to increase the rate of herd genetic gain.
A team of high-EBI bulls needs to be used and sexed dairy semen should be used for your replacements, while the remainder of the cows need to be mated to beef semen to increase the value of the resulting calves.
The Dairy Beef Index (DBI) is for selecting beef bulls to mate to dairy cows and the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) is applied to genotyped calves as a measure of their beef value.
It is important to use the DBI to select beef artificial insemination (AI) sires, while combining beef and calving traits.
To ensure a saleable, profitable, and sustainable dairy-beef calf, use a team of AI bulls from the from the ICBF dairy-beef active bull list.
Firstly, selecting for bulls with a calving difficulty percentage range suitable for the females being mated (i.e., first calvers, second calvers, mature cows), followed by selecting for the highest beef sub-index value.
The CBV of calves links with the DBI, incentivising dairy farmers to generate valuable calves for the dairy industry.
With the costs associated with farming in recent years, and the lower margins resulting, a profitable breeding strategy needs to be put in place to ensure that you are breeding for a cow that will make you money while producing a calf that is saleable.
The breeding trends tell us that there is more than likely going to be a shortage of surplus heifers for sale in two years time, which is something to be considered for those who don’t breed their own replacements.