Text messages to breeders from some breed societies this week suggesting they would pull all ICBF data behind a curtain was a shock to many suckler farmers, especially those in SCEP looking to purchase a stock bull. In our interview this week with ICBF CEO Sean Coughlan (see pages 34 and 35), it’s clear he acknowledges the extent of the problem, but also that he is standing his ground on the core issue that indexes do work. We all know from experience that you can breed improvements in docility, calving difficulty and terminal genes over time. The maternal side of the house is proving more complex for breeders, ICBF and farmers to ride as the mix of fertility, milk, questionable data and the alignment with the stars is a dilemma. The move to allow the breed societies a time allocation to vent their frustrations in person this Friday at the stakeholder forum is a positive move. There is no doubt that explaining changes on technicalities is difficult, but not insurmountable. It’s clear some ICBF changes were made since the re-ranking event last year when carbon was included and more changes are on the way. It’s critical all sides stay talking to narrow down exactly the core issues causing the divide because both sides recognise there are issues.