The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) will update the economic values within its beef indexes in the upcoming July evaluations.

Following on from the beef index updates introduced in autumn 2025, a commitment was made by the ICBF to review the economic values again, once updated EU beef price forecasts became available.

These forecasts were released earlier this spring, and the impact of the updated beef price on the terminal and replacement indexes has now been assessed.

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The main change is an update to the economic values used in the indexes.

These values are based on the Teagasc beef systems model and reflect expected costs and returns in beef production. As beef price outlook has improved, the economic importance of several traits has increased.

Traits linked to output and sale value, for example carcase weight and cull cow weight, now have a higher value.

Traits related to efficiency and fertility, such as calving interval and gestation, are also impacted indirectly.

According to the ICBF: “There are no changes to the underlying breeding values (PTAs) — only the economic values used to calculate the overall index.

“When economic values change, the overall index value will change even if the animal’s PTAs stay the same.”

Farm level

“Animals strong for carcase and output traits will generally see increases in their index values. Animals with good fertility and efficiency traits will also benefit.

“Some animals may move up or down slightly, but this is driven by the change in economic emphasis rather than new data.

“Overall, the updated indexes better reflect the expected future profitability of animals under current market conditions,” the ICBF said.

The next run of evaluations will be released on 21 July 2026.