Sire selection in pedigree herds is as important now as ever before. Sire selection in the past was mainly done on physical attributes, which were easily identifiable in the resulting progeny.
However, now a lot of purchasers’ decisions are done before any animal is seen. While I wouldn’t agree with it, it’s the unfortunate truth that many potential customers are relying solely on the €uro-Star indices that an animal carries.
This makes breeding decisions even more difficult. Breeders must try to predict which animals are going to have good stars two years after the cow is inseminated.
Pedigree breeders need to breed for the market in which they supply
Pedigree breeders in the past were always the ones who would experiment with out-cross genetics in a bid to have the next in-demand bull. However, many are incapable of doing this financially, as the out-cross bull may take five or more years to get proven or for his stars to rise, making many of the progeny unsellable.
Pedigree breeders need to breed for the market in which they supply. If they can be assured of getting the progeny away, many will use high-star bulls, even if this comes at the expense of animal quality.
So how does a pedigree breeder go about protecting themselves against using bulls whose figures drop? I asked the ICBF for their input.
Pay close attention to reliability percentage. If a bull is under 95% for the replacement index, he should not be over used.Use teams of bulls, otherwise new bloodlines will not be discovered. However, make sure that some high-reliability bulls are part of your team.Support the Gene Ireland progeny test programme. By routinely progeny testing young bulls with high replacement index figures, you will have a wider selection of proven AI sires with high reliability percentage figures from which to choose from.From the outside, these stand as perfectly acceptable ways for breeders to protect themselves, but at ground level it is a different story.
Ninety-five per cent reliable bulls
It takes many years for a bull to become proven and obtain a reliability figure of 95%. To get this figure on the replacement index, the bull needs to have produced a substantial number of female progeny which have produced more than one calf. In years, the minimum this could be is four years for the first records to come in.
So how many of the Irish bulls available in AI meet this standard?
A total of 44 bulls on the most recent active bull list across all breeds make the cut. However, breeders want to use the best bulls, so are advised to use bulls which rank four or five stars on the index.
Fewer bulls made the cut here. Of the 44 bulls, only nine ranked four or five stars on the replacement index within breed – six five-star and three four-star bulls.
Only five breeds are accounted for in this nine; two Belgian Blue, three Angus, two Charolais, one Simmental and one Limousin (see Table 1 for list of high reliability bulls).
This means that many breeds have no bull of high enough reliability to meet the criteria.
For those breeds that have bulls that qualify, if all pedigree breeders were to use them, it would have serious consequences.
Many breeds already have a very tight gene pool. By only selecting these high-reliability bulls, the gene pool would narrow further.
This would give rise to an increased amount of inbreeding, which in turn would lead to increased mortality and a general health reduction in offspring.
Teams of bulls
The second recommendation made by the ICBF is to use teams of bulls. Again, this is great in theory, but on ground level isn’t feasible.
Pedigree breeders in Ireland have an average herd size of six cows. If a breeder uses a team of three bulls on those six cows – two proven, one unproven – the same issue arises.
The progeny off the proven bulls will be very closely bred to everything else available due to the lack of high-reliability bulls and the progeny off the unproven bull run the increased risk of not having stars by the time it comes to sale day.
Teams of bulls can work very well on large farm enterprises where the numbers game can be played. This is different in small herds where each calf needs to stand on its own.
Gene Ireland
In Table 2, the Irish Farmers Journal has listed all bulls put through the programme since spring 2014 which have sired females which have now calved down a minimum of twice.
The table outlines when the bulls were on the panel, their €uro-Star value at that time plus their star ranking, as well as the bulls’ €uro-Star value and star ranking now.
While it’s not fair to compare index on index due to a base change two years ago, we can compare where they stand on stars.
Overall, 30 bulls have gone through the programme and produced daughters which have gone on to breed two of more calves. Of these, 70% of bulls dropped in stars, 23% stayed the same and 7% increased. The 30 bulls saw an average drop of 1.6 stars.
However, perhaps the most striking figure is that 63% of the bulls on the panel dropped by two stars or more.
These bulls are supposed to be the very best high-replacement bulls born each year. However, after progeny testing, over 73% failed to make the desired four- or five-star grade.
The indices need to be used as a tool, not as sole selection
While the ICBF advises supporting the programme, those who have supported it in the past ran just as high a risk of seeing the stars of their stock dropping as much as any of the other bulls which were not part of the programme.
The reason for highlighting this is simple. The indices need to be used as a tool, not as sole selection. If these select bulls, chosen from some of the best herds in the country, can rise and fall, so too can any young bull purchased for the coming season.
If you like a bull with lower figures, there’s as much chance that he could rise as a bull with high figures could fall.
Sale season
This weekend marks the first big weekend of the spring for premier bull sales, with the Simmental premier on Saturday and the Limousin premier on Monday.
Reliability on young bulls is lower than that of AI bulls, so even less reliance should be placed on them.
Bulls should be thoroughly inspected for functionality and for any health problems
A good rule of thumb is to match your decision with the reliability. If a bull is 20% reliable, base 20% of your decision on indices and 80% on looks. If a bull is 40% reliable, then base 60% of your decision on looks and so on.
Remember, the indices were created as a tool and that’s how they should be used. Bulls should be thoroughly inspected for functionality and for any health problems. Following this, enquire about herd health and select a bull based on phenotypic characteristics, pedigree and indices – in that order.
Sire selection in pedigree herds is as important now as ever before. Sire selection in the past was mainly done on physical attributes, which were easily identifiable in the resulting progeny.
However, now a lot of purchasers’ decisions are done before any animal is seen. While I wouldn’t agree with it, it’s the unfortunate truth that many potential customers are relying solely on the €uro-Star indices that an animal carries.
This makes breeding decisions even more difficult. Breeders must try to predict which animals are going to have good stars two years after the cow is inseminated.
Pedigree breeders need to breed for the market in which they supply
Pedigree breeders in the past were always the ones who would experiment with out-cross genetics in a bid to have the next in-demand bull. However, many are incapable of doing this financially, as the out-cross bull may take five or more years to get proven or for his stars to rise, making many of the progeny unsellable.
Pedigree breeders need to breed for the market in which they supply. If they can be assured of getting the progeny away, many will use high-star bulls, even if this comes at the expense of animal quality.
So how does a pedigree breeder go about protecting themselves against using bulls whose figures drop? I asked the ICBF for their input.
Pay close attention to reliability percentage. If a bull is under 95% for the replacement index, he should not be over used.Use teams of bulls, otherwise new bloodlines will not be discovered. However, make sure that some high-reliability bulls are part of your team.Support the Gene Ireland progeny test programme. By routinely progeny testing young bulls with high replacement index figures, you will have a wider selection of proven AI sires with high reliability percentage figures from which to choose from.From the outside, these stand as perfectly acceptable ways for breeders to protect themselves, but at ground level it is a different story.
Ninety-five per cent reliable bulls
It takes many years for a bull to become proven and obtain a reliability figure of 95%. To get this figure on the replacement index, the bull needs to have produced a substantial number of female progeny which have produced more than one calf. In years, the minimum this could be is four years for the first records to come in.
So how many of the Irish bulls available in AI meet this standard?
A total of 44 bulls on the most recent active bull list across all breeds make the cut. However, breeders want to use the best bulls, so are advised to use bulls which rank four or five stars on the index.
Fewer bulls made the cut here. Of the 44 bulls, only nine ranked four or five stars on the replacement index within breed – six five-star and three four-star bulls.
Only five breeds are accounted for in this nine; two Belgian Blue, three Angus, two Charolais, one Simmental and one Limousin (see Table 1 for list of high reliability bulls).
This means that many breeds have no bull of high enough reliability to meet the criteria.
For those breeds that have bulls that qualify, if all pedigree breeders were to use them, it would have serious consequences.
Many breeds already have a very tight gene pool. By only selecting these high-reliability bulls, the gene pool would narrow further.
This would give rise to an increased amount of inbreeding, which in turn would lead to increased mortality and a general health reduction in offspring.
Teams of bulls
The second recommendation made by the ICBF is to use teams of bulls. Again, this is great in theory, but on ground level isn’t feasible.
Pedigree breeders in Ireland have an average herd size of six cows. If a breeder uses a team of three bulls on those six cows – two proven, one unproven – the same issue arises.
The progeny off the proven bulls will be very closely bred to everything else available due to the lack of high-reliability bulls and the progeny off the unproven bull run the increased risk of not having stars by the time it comes to sale day.
Teams of bulls can work very well on large farm enterprises where the numbers game can be played. This is different in small herds where each calf needs to stand on its own.
Gene Ireland
In Table 2, the Irish Farmers Journal has listed all bulls put through the programme since spring 2014 which have sired females which have now calved down a minimum of twice.
The table outlines when the bulls were on the panel, their €uro-Star value at that time plus their star ranking, as well as the bulls’ €uro-Star value and star ranking now.
While it’s not fair to compare index on index due to a base change two years ago, we can compare where they stand on stars.
Overall, 30 bulls have gone through the programme and produced daughters which have gone on to breed two of more calves. Of these, 70% of bulls dropped in stars, 23% stayed the same and 7% increased. The 30 bulls saw an average drop of 1.6 stars.
However, perhaps the most striking figure is that 63% of the bulls on the panel dropped by two stars or more.
These bulls are supposed to be the very best high-replacement bulls born each year. However, after progeny testing, over 73% failed to make the desired four- or five-star grade.
The indices need to be used as a tool, not as sole selection
While the ICBF advises supporting the programme, those who have supported it in the past ran just as high a risk of seeing the stars of their stock dropping as much as any of the other bulls which were not part of the programme.
The reason for highlighting this is simple. The indices need to be used as a tool, not as sole selection. If these select bulls, chosen from some of the best herds in the country, can rise and fall, so too can any young bull purchased for the coming season.
If you like a bull with lower figures, there’s as much chance that he could rise as a bull with high figures could fall.
Sale season
This weekend marks the first big weekend of the spring for premier bull sales, with the Simmental premier on Saturday and the Limousin premier on Monday.
Reliability on young bulls is lower than that of AI bulls, so even less reliance should be placed on them.
Bulls should be thoroughly inspected for functionality and for any health problems
A good rule of thumb is to match your decision with the reliability. If a bull is 20% reliable, base 20% of your decision on indices and 80% on looks. If a bull is 40% reliable, then base 60% of your decision on looks and so on.
Remember, the indices were created as a tool and that’s how they should be used. Bulls should be thoroughly inspected for functionality and for any health problems. Following this, enquire about herd health and select a bull based on phenotypic characteristics, pedigree and indices – in that order.
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