Strong tissue tag returns

The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) said the rate of return for tissue tag samples has been excellent this year.

According to the ICBF, 130,000 tissue samples have been returned so far this year by herds participating in the BDGP.

The rate of return is strong, given the issues with the system in the spring. In March, there were four-week delays for the issuing of tissue tags to farms which was causing frustration among farmers at the time.

The ICBF said just over 300,000 tissue tags have been issued to herds on a phased basis, over the past six to eight weeks. This equates to 42% of tags returned to date.

Farmers will receive a text message acknowledging receipt of tissue samples by the lab as soon as they are processed. Due to large volumes of samples, the ICBF says this notification may currently be delayed. The cut-off date for data and genotypes for the September evaluation is 27 July. Samples should be returned by 30 June to ensure that genotypes make it to the database in time, the ICBF warned.