Moneen Rio remains at the summit of the latest Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) Dairy Active Bull List, the association has confirmed.
The economic breeding index (EBI) details of the 75 bulls on the list are now based on the July 2021 genetic evaluations computed by ICBF, the organisation said in an update yesterday (Tuesday, July 27).
According to the federation, to qualify for the “active” bull list, semen from all of the bulls “has been indicated as being available by the various AI (artificial insemination) companies”.
The criteria for making the list is as follows:
- EBI reliability greater than or equal to 35%;
- Calving difficulty reliability greater than or equal to 70% (based on 23% heifer rel% and 77% cow rel%);
- At least 50 calving records either in Ireland or in the country of origin of the bull;
- July 2021 List – Analysed.
The list is made up of 70 Holstein/Friesian bulls, four Jersey bulls and one Norwegian Red bull, the ICBF notes.
The 75 bulls on the list have an average EBI of €267 that range from €342 down to €242.
Looking into this further the average Milk Sub-Index is €97 with the highest bull FR5568 Peak Chilton-ET at €140. The average Fertility Sub-Index is €117 with the highest bull FR5133 Kildarra Major at €170, the federation says.
The list contains 46 bulls that have come through the Gene Ireland Programme.
55 of the bulls are ‘Genomically Selected’ (GS), 13 of them are daughter proven in Ireland ‘DP-IRL’ and seven of them are Daughter Proven with foreign daughters ‘DP-INT’. 42 bulls on the list have a Pedigree status.
JE5986 Moneen Rio remains on top of the list with an EBI of €342.
The next highest ranked is FR5860 Saintbrigid Frank Joseph with an EBI of €325, while FR6028 Brackherd Panama SRM slotted into third place on the list with an EBI of €322.
For those interested, the ICBF Dairy Active Bull List 2021 can be found here.