In our special focus supplement this week we carry the ICBF active bull list. It is a global first, with all available AI sires and breeds compared against each other based on their genomic evaluations for overall farm profitability.

Bulls range from a replacement index of €202 to €90, with an average of €124, well above the four-star cut-off for BDGP (€73 based on replacement index).

It is positive to see a wide range of breeds on the list, confirming that all breeds have a key role in helping improve the maternal attributes of our national suckler herd.

The Irish cattle breeding industry is to be congratulated for reaching this milestone.

Ironically, at this same time, the Australian cattle breeding industry (from which the global Breedplan genetic evaluation systems has been developed and applied) is undergoing a radical restructuring of its industry to start using data from commercial farms in its genetic evaluation systems, as opposed to relying on data from pedigree herds only.