ICBF in association with Teagasc and the Irish Farmers Journal recently launched the Beef Stockbull and AI Sire Guide. The purpose of the guide is to allow farmers to make more informed decisions around stock bull selection and AI use.

The guide is full of clear and easy-to-follow practical advice on ICBF indexes, meeting BDGP targets as well as practical tips on buying a new stock bull. A full list of the top 75 active AI sires ranked on replacement index is also included.

The new Whole Herd Performance Recording Programme is also profiled and a full list of names, addresses and contact phone numbers is included for all current participants in the programme.

Click here for guide

Commercial beef producers are being encouraged to purchase bulls from these herds as all data on these bulls has been verified by ICBF and will have a higher reliability figure because of this extra data being gathered.

Commenting on the launch, Pat Donnellan of ICBF said: "We have been delighted with the uptake to the performance-recording so far and its our aim to reward those farmers who are putting in extra effort weighing and recording data on animals."

The guide is currently being posted to 17,000 dairy and beef farmers around the country.