Agriland understands that the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has agreed to cap the benefit available to cows with extremely low live weights in the new New Beef Eurostar evaluations.
Representatives from the ICBF and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) met today (Thursday, February 22) with farm lobby groups and representatives from the pedigree breed societies to discuss issues which have arisen from the New Beef Eurostar evaluations.
The updated evaluations have caused a significant level of frustration amongst many suckler farmers and pedigree breeders since their roll out last November.
Sources have confirmed to Agriland that there was some level of “constructive discussion” at today’s meeting.
Farm lobby groups who attended the meeting had called today for the same accommodations that were made for female cattle in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) to be made available for bulls also.
Earlier this year the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, announced “further flexibility” for participants in the SCEP who may have been impacted by beef index changes which came into effect on November 28.
The flexibility allowed for female offspring of genotyped females in SCEP herds that do not become eligible for the scheme on their own genomic evaluation may enable them to become eligible if their sire and dam meet a minimum requirement on the September 2023 ICBF evaluation.
In the case where the dam was 3, 4 or 5-star and the sire was 4 or 5-star on the replacement index, their female offspring will be considered ‘SCEP eligible’ even if, when they are genotyped, they are not evaluated as 4 or 5-star in their own right.
This flexibility will exist for all years of the programme.
Females will retain this ‘SCEP eligible’ status where they are traded to another SCEP herd but if they are traded to a non-SCEP herd, they will lose this ‘SCEP eligible’ status.
The same flexibility is now being sought for bulls used for breeding.
Agriland understands this proposal will be put to the Minister McConalogue following today’s meeting.
Meanwhile it is believed that a proposal will also go to the ICBF technical advisory committee in relation to extremely light cows, which outlines that these would not continue to benefit from the lower live weight in the index.
If the committee approves this proposal – early indications suggest that this will happen – it is understood that these extremely light cows will no longer get credit in the indexes which they have currently been given.