At the Teagasc open day in Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Teagasc dairy specialist, Stuart Childs spoke to Agriland about sustainable breeding for dairy and beef production.
Many farmers have become sceptical on what type of cow they should be breeding for, with the feeling that the nitrates banding is punishing the bigger cow, while the commercial beef value (CBV) for calves is punishing the smaller cow.
Farmers have became frustrated with the lack of clarity in terms of the nitrates derogation, and it can be said that there has been a bit of uneasiness around what type of cow is going to be suitable for their farm’s future.
Childs offered a bit of clarity, saying that optimal breeding and reproductive programmes contribute to approximately half of the gains in performance for most herds.
It needs to be understood that that the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) is for selecting dairy cows and bulls for breeding dairy replacements.
The Dairy Beef Index (DBI) is for selecting beef bulls to mate to dairy cows and the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) is applied to genotyped calves as a measure of their beef value.
Sustainable breeding
A proper breeding plan needs to be implemented, with the breeding decisions not solely being about the bull, but about identifying the best cows and heifers for breeding to increase the rate of herd genetic gain.
In order for this to be effective, you need to use a team of high-EBI bulls.
Sexed dairy semen should be used for your replacements, while the remainder of the cows need to be mated to beef semen to increase the value of the resulting calves.
The cow of the future was highlighted on the day, with traits as follows:
- Good reproduction;
- Good longevity;
- Easy to manage;
- Good corformation;
- High value milk and meat;
- Efficient grazer;
- Good health and wellbeing;
- Low environmental footprint;
- Resilient to climate.
Speaking to Agriland, Childs said that the quickest and most efficient way to do this is through the technology available, by using genotyping; sexed semen; milk recording; ICBF reports and Sire Advice.
Childs added that “you can have a sustainable, high producing dairy cow that has a poor EBI beef sub-index, that produces a high CBV calf through the use of high DBI bulls”.
DBI to produce high CBV
It is important to use the DBI to select beef artificial insemination (AI) sires, while combining beef and calving traits.
To ensure a saleable, profitable, and sustainable dairy-beef calf, use a team of AI bulls from the from the ICBF dairy-beef active bull list.
Firstly, selecting for bulls with a calving difficulty percetnage range suitable for the females being mated (i.e., first calvers, second calvers, mature cows), followed by selecting for the highest beef sub-index value.
Teagasc dairy specialist, James Dunne, along with Childs, worked out the predicted the minimum DBI beef sub-index needed to deliver four and five star CBV calves off dairy cows with different EBI beef sub-index vales.
The predicted values are as follows:
| Dairy | Minimum DBI beef sub-index to deliver : | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| EBI Beef sub-index rank | EBI beef sub-index value | 4 star CBV calf | 5 star CBV Calf |
| Bottom 20% | -€18 | >€90 | >€130 |
| Bottom 40% | -€9 | >€82 | >€120 |
| Average | -€5 | >€78 | >€116 |
| Top 40% | -€2 | >€75 | >€113 |
| Top 20% | €2 | >€71 | >€110 |
“You can put a bad bull to a bad beef cow, which in this case is your dairy cow, and get a bad calf from it, but if you put a good beef bull to your bad beef cow, nine times out of 10, you will get a quality calf,” Childs said.
The CBV of calves links with the DBI incentivising dairy farmers to generate valuable calves for the dairy industry.