New changes to the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) came into effect for both dairy and beef herds today (Tuesday, September 23).

The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) in partnership with Teagasc are rolling out the changes to ensure the indexes are more accurate in comparison with today's markets.

As current beef markets continue to prove strong, and overall costings remain high, the changes to the Euro-star indexes aim to reflect that.

The baseline system has undergone the biggest change in terms of beef, with several key figures undergoing a change to reflect the current climates.

The first change was the reduction of inorganic fertilizer from 122 kg/N/ha to 100 kg/N/ha.

ICBF also changed figures in regards to replacements, with the baseline figure going from 68 cows at a 20% replacement rate (14 replacements bred within the herd), to 65 cows with a 16% replacement rate (11 replacements bred within the herd).

Finishers have gone from 18 finishing heifers with a 311 kg carcass to 20 heifers with a 328 kg carcass.

Finishing steers have gone from 31 steers at 390 kg to 30 steers with 402 kg carcasses.

With a soaring beef market available currently, prices have also being readjusted to match the markets.

Beef prices have been adjusted from €4.53/kg + Adj to €5.70/kg + Adj.

Meanwhile, expenses have been adjusted with the likes of concentrates going from €380/t to €420/t, labour increasing to €17/hr from €15/hr, and land rental going from €500/ha to €550/ha.

Feed costs have also being adjusted to account for current markets, as grazed grass rising from €93/t DM to €95/t DM, and silage going from €208/t DM to €234/t DM.

The gross margins of calving cows has gone from €767 to €1218, while the net margin has increased to €737 from €342, each excluding land and labour.

The  replacement and terminal index values are created by a system which multiplies each of the trait predicted transmitting abilities (PTA) values included in the index such as carcass weight, calving difficulty, etc. by their respective economic values and adding them together to get the overall index value.

The economic values for each trait are calculated using the Teagasc Beef Systems model which reflects the future outlook for the sector.

ICBF said: "The positive outlook for beef prices has directly impacted the values on carcass weight and cull cow weight and indirectly impacted the values on traits such as calving difficulty and fertility."

With an increase in suckler weights since the launch of the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme in 2019, ICBF have also included suckler cow and calf weight data to the evaluation.

Under the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP), recording cow and calf weights is a requirement.

ICBF has said that any of these weights recorded that pass their quality control checks will be included, as they directly impact a number of traits in the index such as milk, cow liveweight, and carcass weight.

ICBF is also looking to include foreign breeding values in their evaluations in a bid to help increase the reliability of bloodlines where there may be very little data available in Ireland.

ICBF has assured farmers that animals which are already eligible in SCEP herds for the October 31 requirement, will remain eligible in their current herds.

ICBF said that this will be the way regardless of any change to their herds stars in september 2025.

Farmers are advised that there may be additional SCEP eligible cows within there herd, as the change could see some 3-star animals raise to 4/5 star animals.