Re-ranking of active bull list ahead of winter breeding
The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has released its September evaluations, leading to another re-ranking of the active bull list.
The current evaluations is what many winter milking herds will be ordering their straws off ahead of the December breeding season.
The evaluations will stand until November 24, where ICBF will reveal its final evaluations for the 2026 season.
In the September evaluations, there was no major re-ranking as the top four bulls are still the same.
Overall, eights bulls remained in the top 10 from the previous evaluations, while only three bulls slipped out of the top 20.
As usual, the re-ranking is based on additional data being collected which affects Economic Breeding Indexes (EBI), as well as allowing for some bulls to move from a Genomic Proof (GS) bull to a Daughter Proof (DP-Irl) bull.
Active bull list
The updated top 20 bulls on ICBF's Active Bull List as of September 2026 are as follows:
| Rank | Bull Name | Code | EBI € | Supplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CREFOGUE TOPBIKE SRM | FR2537 | 339 | NCBC |
| 2 | RIVENDELL LOKI SRM | FR2602 | 299 | Eurogene LIC |
| 3 | BUNACLOY DETROIT | FR1849 | 299 | Dovea |
| 4 | MAUDMOUNT FIREPOWER SRM | FR1840 | 295 | Dovea |
| 5 | HILLTOWN PRIDE | FR2522 | 287 | Eurogene LIC |
| 6 | REDCHAIR MCGINN SRM | FR2524 | 287 | Eurogene LIC |
| 7 | COOLNACLEHY WOLVERINE SRM | FR1796 | 285 | Dunmasc |
| 8 | MORRISHEEN QUALITY | FR2528 | 276 | Eurogene LIC |
| 9 | GLOUNAWILLAN AKI | FR2525 | 275 | Eurogene LIC |
| 10 | BALLYGOWN PETE | FR1900 | 275 | Dovea |
| 11 | ROEFARM MILAN SRM | FR2577 | 274 | Bova AI |
| 12 | BROWNEY ROGER | FR2519 | 274 | Eurogene LIC |
| 13 | AGHERNBRIDGE BOROCCO SRM | FR9813 | 270 | Dovea |
| 14 | KILVURRA GRASSLEAF SRM | FR1958 | 270 | NCBC |
| 15 | BUNACLOY FANTASY | FR2533 | 266 | NCBC |
| 16 | FOXVIEW GRAIG SRM | FR2578 | 266 | NCBC |
| 17 | SWIFTSHEATH LUCKY | FR2532 | 265 | NCBC |
| 18 | NEXTGEN GIRVIN SRM | FR9010 | 262 | NCBC |
| 19 | CHERRYHILL TROOPER | FR9819 | 262 | Dovea |
| 20 | KILLALOUGH PLATOR SRM | FR2551 | 262 | NCBC |
Crefogue Topbike SRM (FR2537) has now held his number one position on the active bull list since the May evaluations.
The bull, who is owned by the National Cattle Breeding Centre (NCBC), currently has an EBI of €339, €40 higher than the next bull on the list.
However, the GS bull did see his EBI drop by €7 from the €346 he was valued at in July.
The Irish-bred bull currently has a milk sub-index of €52 and a fertility sub-index of €199.
The top 20 has returned to 100% Friesian inclusion, as the only Jersey from the July evaluations, Carhue Saldo (JEX338), dropped from 14th position to 31.
Coolanagh Nobelman SRM (FR2592) also dropped out of the top 20, going from 19th to 40th.
Magheraboy Samson (FR1843) was the last bull to drop out of the top 20, as he was ranked at 20 in the July evaluations but is now ranked 32.
The new bulls to the top 20 include Bunacloy Fantasy (FR2533), now ranked at number 15 with an EBI of €266.
He was previously in the top 20, but his ranking fell to 30 in the July evaluations as his EBI dropped from €267 to €257.
Dovea genetics GS bull, Cherryhill Trooper (FR9819), has climbed to number 19 on the rankings.
He has an EBI of €262, with a milk sub-index of €79 and a fertility sub-index of €93.
Killalough Plator SRM (FR2551) from NCBC is the last bull to climb into the top 20.
The January-2024-born bull was sired by the renowned Olcastletown Mojo (FR8709), and has an EBI of €262 with a milk sub-index of €67 and a fertility index of €124.
