New sire proof data has been sent to individual companies showing data for their own sires but no list comparing sires between companies has yet been created. Geneticists are working through the weekend to finalise and check data in advance of publication.

On Friday, AI companies started emailing farmers with lists of sires showing the old and the new EBI figures. We have reports that some individual sires are seeing a more severe drop in EBI than the €30 to €40 drop predicted based on revised fertility proofs. This re-emphasises the need for farmers to use a team of sires – at least five. Closer to 10 sires might be more in order for farmers buying 100 straws upwards.

Updates

As reported previously, the active list is being updated with sires born in 2015 that are just getting their first calving evaluation figures this year. The genomic training population is also being updated, as daughters of 2011 sires are included on the list. It is likely that the top 75 list will again be dominated by genomic sires, with very few daughter-proven sires on the list.

It is very late to be compiling and releasing new figures for sires. AI companies are scrambling for the list as soon as possible as this is peak season for sales of straws in advance of the breeding season starting mid-April in the deep south of the country.

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