Some decisions have been finalised and “progress is being made”, following the third meeting of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) stakeholder group this week, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
The lower weights issue in the indices has been settled, with the minimum weight set at 520kgs at 200 days after calving, according to IFA livestock chair Declan Hanrahan.
This equates to a mature cow weight of 570kgs and will now be incorporated into the indices.
Hanrahan said that the IFA had sought an index that reflects weanling production specifically.
Detailed data provided by the ICBF and Teagasc over the meetings supported that position.
Hanrahan added that various data sources were discussed at the meeting to identify the most suitable cows for this production system, with agreement to assess the most appropriate mechanism and data points to develop the index.
ICBF meeting
“One of the challenges in this process will be setting the parameters for the data, given the spread in age of sales of weanlings and stores from suckler farms in the country, with weanling price and daily live weight gain some of the considerations,” Hanrahan said.
Hanrahan said another “key component” of the index will be the maintenance cost of the cow on extensively-stocked farms.
Teagasc has agreed to carry out further detailed analysis in the area to ensure the data used accurately reflects the actual on-farm costs.
Hanrahan added that there were also discussions around carbon and its inclusion in the indices, the weighting attributed to it and the costings used.
He said this is a key issue and that “further interrogation” of how it is reflected is required with some proposals coming forward to the next stakeholder meeting.
Concerns
Concerns around the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) eligibility and the lower cow weights were addressed at the ICBF meetings.
Hanrahan said that the “critical issue” when the process concludes is that the indices and ICBF have the trust of suckler farmers and pedigree breeders.
“Progress is been made in addressing some of the genuine concerns originally raised with indices and this work must continue at the next meeting, which is scheduled for July,” Hanrahan said.