As we have been learning throughout this series, there are four factors that contribute to a bull’s index figure for a particular trait and also to how it changes over time. The milk index is no different.

Breeder profile

Mireille McCall, Calverstown House, Kilcullen, Co Kildare

Pedigree breed: Aubrac

Why do you participate in the WHPR programme?

I joined to have the maximum information on each individual animal, to use it to make our breeding decisions and to make it available to our buyers so they can buy the animal that best suits them. It also gives a good indication of the general trend of the herd. Our aim has always been to raise the standard of the entire herd rather than have a couple of so-called exceptional cows with the rest trailing behind. All the cows and calves are treated in the same way, so with WHPR it is easy to see which ones perform and which ones are not keeping up.

Have you had bull enquiries through the Stockbull Finder?

Most of our enquiries are return customers or by word of mouth but we have had enquiries and sales through the Stockbull Finder. They tend to be enquiries on the bulls with the highest figures.

What are your thoughts on the BDGP and BEEP schemes?

We found BDGP a little complicated in that you always had to recalculate where you stood. That said, it was a great way to get financial help to get some of the herd genotyped. BEEP will fit in well for us in that the cow and the calf will be weighed. The truly sustainable calf should grow on milk and grass. The truly sustainable cow should be able to wean a calf close to half her weight on grass. It will be interesting to see which cows can achieve it and which cows can’t. We certainly believe the Aubrac cow can do it.

Genotyping can confirm parentage and tell us more about an animal’s genetics. What do you think of it?

Originally, I saw genotyping as yet another expense and found it frustrating that information that had stood for years and had been given in good faith was suddenly found to be inaccurate, leaving some animals worthless. I have come to realise that now that the technology is available, breeders have to be able to stand by the ancestry of their animals. It will be great to use genomics to predict the genetic potential of animals but it will have to be accurate to be credible.

What are the three most influential AI sires in the Aubrac breed in your opinion?

Heritier, Eros and Dolby.

If you had to pick one highlight of your pedigree breeding journey to date, what would it be?

It would be the fact that Deerpark Kevin topped the dairy beef index. Although he was not born in our herd, both his sire and his dam were by stock bulls. By using stock bulls we have tapped into generations of selection by French breeders on working traits and in turn we have carried on our own selection following the same criteria.

What advice you would give to a new pedigree breeder starting out?

Do plenty of homework before you buy. Each breed has its own advantages and disadvantages. Do not buy under a false pretence. Buy a breed and an animal that suits your system and don’t be fooled by appearances. Visit different herds and take your time. There is plenty of choice. Choose an animal that suits you and your system and one that you will be happy to work with for years to come.

Significance of BDGP and BEEP

The ICBF database is powered by data recorded by Irish farmers and industry partners. This data is converted into genetic indices by ICBF. The BDGP and BEEP schemes have been crucial in terms of generating the genomic and farmer-recorded data currently in the ICBF database. In turn, the difference in a bull index based on back pedigree and foreign data compared to one with Irish farmer-recorded data, as well as the bull’s genotype and the genotypes of his daughters, is huge. The bull example provided clearly supports that.

Bull example: Bavardage (AGB)

Bavardage is a Limousin AI sire. By looking at back-pedigree, genotype, foreign data and Irish data, we can begin to understand how this sire’s milk figure has been calculated. For a start, he is by the sire On-Dit and his dam is a cow called Dauphin. This is a very strong maternal back-pedigree. Because milking traits are evaluated in France (his country of origin), it has been included in his evaluation here. He is rated at 118 in France at 98% reliability which is an excellent index for milk. The next step in building the reliability of his index is to look at how his calves are performing here in Ireland.

The milk data of his daughters can be seen in the ICBF Animal Search facility by following these four steps:

  • Go to www.icbf.com.
  • Go to the Animal Search facility on the right side of the website and enter “Bavardage” (or his AI code “AGB”).
  • Click on “daughter milk (kg)”, which is shaded in blue.
  • Scroll down to the two tables that say “maternal weaning weight” and “cow milk scores”.
  • Maternal weaning weight

    This is weight data (Table 1) that has been recorded on progeny of daughters of Bavardage. This data would have been recorded on-farm, by commercial farmers who weight-record, as well as those taking part in the WHPR and BEEP schemes. Table 1 shows that this sire’s daughter’s progeny grew faster than their herd mates – 1.17kg per day compared with 1.13kg per day.

    Cow milk scores

    This is a rating that farmers give their cows as part of the BDGP as regards how milky they think their own cows are. This data (Table 2) shows that Irish farmers gave their daughters an average milk rating of 4.2 while their herd mates were scored lower (3.9). In simple terms, Irish farmers have found Bavardage’s daughters to have more milk than their herd mates.

    Putting all four factors of information together results in Bavardage being rated as a five-star bull for milk in Ireland with a 91% reliability rating.

    On average, a bull’s back pedigree, genotype and foreign data (if available) will take him up to a reliability of 50% to 60%. It is only when data from his Irish progeny filter through the system that we will see his reliability figure push past the 90% mark. A bull’s index will undoubtedly change as it goes through the four phases of indexing. As frustrating as this can be, there is unfortunately no silver bullet that will take a bull to 99% reliability immediately at birth. We are, however, very fortunate in Ireland to have breed societies, AI companies, industry partners and a database that gets the data recorded as accurately and efficiently as possible, so we know where a bull stands genetically before his semen goes for widespread use.