The first of three beef information meetings organised by Aurivo in conjunction with Progressive Genetics and the Irish Farmers Journal took place in Aurivo Mart Balla on Monday 5 October. About 130 farmers listened to invaluable tips and advice on nutrition and health before learning about market prospects for cattle and receiving a rundown on the new Beef Data and Genomics programme (BDGP), delivered in tandem with breeding advice and a live cattle demonstration.

An overview of BDGP terms and conditions, presented by Teagasc adviser Alan Nolan, and the live cattle demonstration, given by Rose Goulding of the National Cattle Breeding Centre (NCBC) and Arthur Bredin of Progressive Genetics, were received very favourably by farmers. A feature of the demonstration that went down particularly well was a discussion on how to breed high-index replacements from within the herd while also starting from a low base. Watch an extract from the demonstration below.

Three generations were used to demonstrate the message, with an 11-year old two-star cow used as the starting point. The cow in question had performed well, producing nine calves in nine years. According to Rose, a contributor to the cow's low index was the fact that there was no sire data recorded and very little information on her background breeding. Rose encouraged farmers, where possible, to record information on cows in their herd if known through ICBF, and in doing so reap the benefits of getting a more accurate index.

Entering the ring with the two-star cow was a daughter of the cow, which in turn also had a spring-born heifer calf at foot. Mating the two-star cow with the high replacement-index sire HCA resulted in the younger cow receiving a four-star value. A similar approach of mating the four-star cow with a high-index sire resulted in the young heifer calf possessing five stars on the replacement index.

€74 index for four stars

Delving further into breeding tips, Rose said that looking at indices rather than stars is more accurate in developing breeding plans and meeting the scheme's four- and five-star requirements. Females with an index of €74 or greater on the replacement index are classified as four-star. In its simplest explanation, the index is calculated from the average replacement value of the dam and sire. In theory, selecting a breed mix that delivers a replacement index with an average of €74 or more should be adequate in breeding an animal rated as four-star.

However, Rose said that aiming for a minimum value of €74 comes with a degree of caution as if an animal’s index changes, even marginally, it could result in an animal falling from four to three stars and falling outside contributing to the four- and five-star replacement requirement.

To overcome this, following discussions with Teagasc and ICBF, NCBC and Progressive genetics are advising farmers to aim for a parent average value of €102.50. This will allow room for movement in sire and dam indices without overly affecting the replacement index of their progeny. A booklet including these guidelines can be downloaded from Progressive Genetics' website.

Top tips from other speakers

Aurivo nutritionist John Coleman told farmers that the starting point in developing winter feed plans is to get their silage analysed. He said that where the value of silage is unknown, there is no way of knowing if you are meeting an animal’s nutritional requirements.

Fergal Morris of MSD told farmers that pneumonia was the single biggest contributor to mortality in weanlings, accounting for 40% of deaths. He cautioned farmers to pay special attention to management around weaning and take extra care where housing animals.

His advice for weaning or purchasing weanlings is to ensure animals have access to fresh clean water if housed, have plenty of comfort (ideally housed for a couple of days on straw) and are housed in sheds with adequate ventilation. Showing the importance of ventilation, he said that animals produce about 40 litres of moisture daily. In dry normal conditions viruses will last for about 30 seconds in the environment but in damp conditions, contributed to by poor ventilation, viruses will last for up to 10 minutes in the environment. This highlights the importance of housing animals in adequate conditions.