Dovea AI has pulled out of the Gene Ireland young bull programme in the latest twist to the ICBF contracts controversy, the Irish Farmers Journal understands.

The company does not want young test sires going into contracted herds where it will not have an opportunity to purchase a potentially well-bred bull calf.

Last week Sam Campbell confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that Eurogene had withdrawn from ICBF’s Gene Ireland young bull testing programme.

These withdrawals mean that the 2017 national young bull testing programme will only now test National Cattle Breeding Centre (NCBC) young bulls.

Eurogene

In a further development we have unconfirmed reports that Eurogene/LIC will this week introduce a contract for semen that would allow some New Zealand sires to be used by Irish farmers before Kiwi farmers.

Four weeks ago Eurogene/LIC had decided, in agreement with ICBF, to put a hold on contracts but keep new premium sires out of Ireland. The Eurogene board will make a final decision this week following the emergence of details on the NCBC Keystone contracts.

EBI moves

Meanwhile AI companies and farmers are just coming to terms with changing values in the EBI of genomic dairy sires.

While values changed as new information became available, an unexpected technical error due to a software update has wiped significant EBI values from some young sires.

We understand this software update introduced the number zero into some values where it was not required.

One AI stud owner paid over €20,000 each for two extremely high-EBI young bull calves that have been producing semen since last June.

Their new EBI figures have fallen by over €100, rendering the young sires no better than comrades with much lower semen demand expected.