It was planned to include the ICBF active bull list in this week’s Focus but ICBF and its industry stakeholders have decided to hold publishing the list based on two key issues. Firstly, some new data is suggesting genomic evaluations may be overpredicting the EBI value by somewhere up to €30 and €40.
Industry stakeholders are meeting this week to discuss the situation. Previously, there had been some comment at breeding stakeholder industry meetings that the value of fertility in the EBI was slightly overestimated. This ‘‘overestimation’’ has been observed in other countries and is one of the reasons that the Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) use genomics differently to Ireland.
Data
Now that cumulative data from 2009, 2010 and 2011 sires is available, the quality of data has improved and better correlations with parent average information is available, allowing ICBF scientists to tighten down on the differences.
The opening suggestion, as we go to press, is that genomic evaluations should be brought in line with the new information available and the overestimation accounted for in any new evaluation probably in the order of a €30 discount.
On the second issue – young bulls with new calving evaluation data – the suggestion is to include these on the 2017 active bull list. So, in effect, what it means is that sires born in 2015 and used extensively in 2016, with good EBI and calving survey evaluation should be included on the 2017 active bull list. This would allow young sires born in 2015 and used extensively on dairy farms last year to be included and hence be widely available with up to date calving survey evaluations.
Effectively, ICBF has been collecting ‘‘ease of calving information’’ on these young bulls for the last six weeks as calves are born on farm.
Rather than wait another year before they are used extensively on Irish farms, ICBF and its relevant AI society partners want to allow them be part of the active bull list and hence the best young sires, if ranking high enough on EBI, would be available to use widely this year.
Read more
Special focus: spring AI 2017
It was planned to include the ICBF active bull list in this week’s Focus but ICBF and its industry stakeholders have decided to hold publishing the list based on two key issues. Firstly, some new data is suggesting genomic evaluations may be overpredicting the EBI value by somewhere up to €30 and €40.
Industry stakeholders are meeting this week to discuss the situation. Previously, there had been some comment at breeding stakeholder industry meetings that the value of fertility in the EBI was slightly overestimated. This ‘‘overestimation’’ has been observed in other countries and is one of the reasons that the Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) use genomics differently to Ireland.
Data
Now that cumulative data from 2009, 2010 and 2011 sires is available, the quality of data has improved and better correlations with parent average information is available, allowing ICBF scientists to tighten down on the differences.
The opening suggestion, as we go to press, is that genomic evaluations should be brought in line with the new information available and the overestimation accounted for in any new evaluation probably in the order of a €30 discount.
On the second issue – young bulls with new calving evaluation data – the suggestion is to include these on the 2017 active bull list. So, in effect, what it means is that sires born in 2015 and used extensively in 2016, with good EBI and calving survey evaluation should be included on the 2017 active bull list. This would allow young sires born in 2015 and used extensively on dairy farms last year to be included and hence be widely available with up to date calving survey evaluations.
Effectively, ICBF has been collecting ‘‘ease of calving information’’ on these young bulls for the last six weeks as calves are born on farm.
Rather than wait another year before they are used extensively on Irish farms, ICBF and its relevant AI society partners want to allow them be part of the active bull list and hence the best young sires, if ranking high enough on EBI, would be available to use widely this year.
Read more
Special focus: spring AI 2017
SHARING OPTIONS