Data from over 32,000 cattle have been displayed on new boards that were installed in marts across the country earlier this year.

The data includes both Euro-Star and EBI figures.

The new mart board initiative has seen boards installed in 68 locations throughout the country, according to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

These mart boards provide real-time information on animals for sale, thus allowing farmers ringside in marts to view the ICBF Euro-Star ratings for beef breeding stock and also EBI figures for dairy stock.

In total 32,267 animals have had evaluations displayed on the mart boards since they rolled out earlier this year.

The installation of these mart boards is still an on going process, the ICBF said, so there will be more marts displaying figures in the future.

In order for animals to have figures displayed on the mart boards they must meet a number of criteria, it says.

An animals information will be displayed once it resides in a herd that is currently taking part in the Beef Data and Genomics Programme or a herd who is currently subscribed to ICBF’s HerdPlus service.

Dairy stock must have an index that is above average for EBI (€69), while beef stock must have either four or five stars either within or across breeds before the information will be displayed.

In 2016, HerdPlus exceeded 23,000 dairy and beef herd members, with a year-on-year increase of over 3,200 members, figures show.

HerdPlus membership currently stands at 23,185, with these herd owners having access to a wide range of valuable breeding information which can be used to breed more profitable animals, the ICBF said.