The confirmation will be good news for the ICBF, as this was the main reason the ICBF went ahead with the late March EBI re-evaluation. The news will go some way to improving confidence in the reasoning behind the evalution just prior to the start of the main breeding season.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Munster AI CEO Kevin Coffey said: “Yes, our sales representatives are working with clients to replace AI straws that have fallen in value as a result of the late March EBI re-evaluation.”

Dovea

Dovea AI boss Ger Ryan also said he would expect that 90% to 95% of Dovea clients would have got a phonecall from their local Dovea sales representative regarding the changing EBI figures if they had AI straws ordered and subsequently the sire figures fell in the late March EBI re-evaluation.

He said: “Yes, our team around the country have been instructed to replace low EBI sires if the figures fell in the late March EBI re-evaluation.”

Progressive Genetics

Progressive Genetics has also confirmed it will take back low-EBI sires that have fallen in value. Bova AI boss Eoghan O’Neill said: “Yes, we will always look to keep the customer happy and some orders have changed, but that’s what we have to do and roll with it for this year.”

When contacted, nobody from Eurogene AI was available for comment.

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