Euro stars in action - selecting profitable suckler cows

2014 Journal_Euro Stars in Action 09/09/2014 14:06 Page 1

Beef HerdPlus

€uro-Stars in action

Selecting profitable Suckler Cows

Above 5 Star Limousin x Hereford cow with her ‘Germinal de Fooz’ Belgian Blue calf in the herd of John O’Toole, Crosslow, Tullow, Co.Carlow.

Above 5 Star Shorthorn cow with her ‘Eionmor Ultra 8C’ calf in the herd of Martin Kelly, Ricketstown, Rathvilly, Co.Carlow.

Above 4.5 Star Simmental cow with her ‘Hillcrest Sylvester’ calf in the herd of Paddy Hennelly, Creggconnell, Rosses Point, Co.Sligo.

Above 5 Star Limousin x Friesian cow with her ‘Seaview Tommy’ calf in the Teagasc Kildalton Suckler herd, Piltown, Co.Kilkenny.

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2014 Journal_Euro Stars in Action 09/09/2014 14:06 Page 2

Beef HerdPlus Visual based selection There are many different factors that come into play when a decision is being made over which cows or heifers should be purchased or retained in the herd for breeding.

• “I always try and buy my beef heifers for breeding off a local dairy farmer – he always has a decent beef bull to clean up his late calver’s.”

Some common quotes that can often be heard over farm gates and around marts all over Ireland on this topic would include:

Generally speaking – the majority of the decisions are based on the looks and breed mix of the animal. In the absence of any other publically available information about a suckler cow, this is not surprising. The performance of suckler cows however when they are just grouped by their breed type does not show any clearcut winner. There are cows with good milk & fertility performances in each breed type and there are also poor ones.

• “Beef heifers out of British Friesian cows make tremendous suckler cows.”

• “Nice heifer into the ring there now – white markings on her belly and udder – must be some dairy backround there – they are the type I like.”

Better Farms Suckler Cows - Performance Summary Group

Number of cows Replacement Index

Calving Interval

% Still Alive

Calf Weight Kg

Calf Age Days

CH-CH

121

€53

388 days

59%

267 kgs

231 days

LM-CH

179

€98

399 days

64%

287 kgs

245 days

LM-HF

225

€140

393 days

67%

291 kgs

224 days

LM-LM

358

€141

401 days

67%

290 kgs

238 days

LM-SI

158

€132

382 days

70%

293 kgs

235 days

SI-SI

97

€148

396 days

67%

304 kgs

230 days

Table 1: Performance figures for Suckler cows when ranked by breed combinations.

Table 1 above shows the summary performance figures for nearly 2000 suckler cows in the BETTER farms program.

The data was extracted from the ICBF database and groups the cows by breed type. As can be seen in Table 1, across the various breed types there is no standout superior breed type for all of the various traits. The Limousin x Friesian suckler cows are highlighted as this is an extremely popular type of suckler cow in Ireland.

The table shows however that the performances, on average, of those types of suckler cows, are not standing out over the others. So selecting a Suckler cow on breed type alone, does not automatically guarantee that she will be fertile and milky.

Pedigree Limousin bull ‘Carrig-A-Duff Daithi’ (Sired by Navarin), owned by Mick Costigan, Gurtacurra, Templemore, Co.Tipperary, with British Friesian cows. The female offspring from such matings have traditionally been a popular choice of suckler cow for beef farmers in Ireland.

Selecting a Suckler cow on breed type alone, does not automatically guarantee that she will be fertile and milky 2

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Beef HerdPlus Visual & €uro-Stars based selection Sample of Suckler Cows from National Herd - Performance Summary Replacement Index

Cow Fertility

Progeny slaughter performance

Stars

Index

Count

% Alive after 5 years

Calvings

Carcass Weight

Age Output/cow

Carcass

5 Star

€186

15,371

79%

3.4

361 kgs

23.9 mts

1228

4 Star

€142

16,919

74%

3.2

354 kgs

24.5

1133

3 Star

€116

18,100

71%

3.0

350 kgs

24.7

1052

2 Star

€90

19,093

68%

2.9

350 kgs

24.8

1014

1 Star

€44

21,212

64%

2.8

352 kgs

24.9

986

Table 2: Performance figures for Suckler cows when ranked on €uro-Stars.

When Suckler Cows are ranked by their €uro-Star ratings (which combines performance & ancestry information), then a different picture emerges. This time they are ranked according to their on-farm performances & that of their relatives.

All of this performance & ancestry data is analysed by ICBF with the €uro-Stars being the end result – the more stars an animal has – the better the performance of animals from that bloodline are expected to be. Selecting a suckler cow on €uro-Stars puts the performance of the animal ahead of what it’s breed makeup is.

So by taking this approach, we end up with a mixture of breeds in each category, but crucially, the cows are grouped according to performance, instead of breed. As can be seen from Table two, the 5 star cows:

¾ Bred Belgian Blue x suckler cow with her Limousin calf at foot (by ‘ERE’), in the herd of John O’Toole, Crosslow, Tullow, Co.Carlow. She has an average calving interval of 357 days.

Her previous Limousin calf was growing at 1.47 kg/day at 300 days old and was slaughtered at 15 months old grading U+3+ & 388 Kgs.

• Had the highest survival rates on-farm and also produced the highest number of calves.

• Progeny of 5 Star cows had highest average carcass weights at the youngest ages.

• Therefore output/cow (Carcass Weight x Nbr of Calvings) is highest for the 5 Star cows.

Rio – the highest rated AI Sire (over 90% reliability) on ‘Replacement Index’ (Aug’14)

Selecting a suckler cow on €uro-Stars puts the performance of the animal ahead of what it’s breed makeup is.

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Beef HerdPlus Top cows – in the flesh

Table 3 below gives an overview of their breed makeups, actual performance figures as well as €uro-Star Replacement figures.

What identifying cows based on their €uro-Star figures has shown is that in every breed there are bloodlines that are both strong & weak for the maternal traits. Following are a group of Irish Suckler cows, from a wide range of breeds that prove this point. The one thing that they do have in common however is that they are all at least 4.5 stars for the Replacement Index.

Breeds: 11 different breeds are represented across the 12 cows Angus, Aubrac, Blonde d’Aquitaine, Charolais, Hereford, Limousin, Parthenaise, Saler, Shorthorn, Simmental

Suckler Cow Breed, Performance & €uro-Star details Animal Details Jumbo Tag

DOB

Main Breed

Performance Details

Replacement Index (04/14)

Sire

Dam Nbr of Age 1st Average Calf - Progeny Calves Calving Calving Max Carcass Interval Wt. Grades Days Gain

ZLL

40282

1

19 mts

IE331505840522 28/11/11 AA (63%), BA (25%),LM (12%)

724

IE141402780724 08/02/07 AA (100%)

70337 50202

6

25 mts

357

1.17

275

IE271272760275 11/04/09 AU (50%), SI (22%),LM (18%) AU564 40133

2

34 mts

355

1.38

250

IE211414970250 19/01/11 CH (50%), BB (22%),SI (12%) 70110

452 2 29 mts

311

919

IE141402740919 08/05/09 HE (100%)

280

IE371256820280 08/03/09 LM (50%), SH (40%)

263

IE321552080263 12/04/07 LM (84%), SI (9%)

360

IE371256880360 04/02/12 PT (50%), BB (22%),LM (18%)

IRX

40

IE231107170040 03/04/05 SA (50%), AA (40%)

575

IE151494970575 19/10/07 SH (100%)

181

IE111113830181 29/3/04

SI (72%), CH (18%)

276

IE271113360276 21/4/09

80584 30621

Index Rel %

€339 31% 1U

€176 22% €174 21% €183 28%

2

26 mts

329

0.95

0110B

4

24 mts

352

1.31

70117 60166

5

30 mts

361

1.31

30158

1

24 mts

KRA

001V

8

31mts

397

1.42

1U,1R,1O

€186 37%

BZF

40091

6

22 mts

348

1.37

1U,2R

€250 45%

50080 40096

8

30 mts

365

1.79

2U

€257 28%

SI (50%), SH (22%), AA (22%) 10206 80088

4

24 mts

358

1.69

1R

€236 28%

NSQ

Across Breed

€321 28%

522

30

Within Breed

1U

€221 40% €221 30% €159 30%

Table 3: Summary of Breed, Performance & €uro-Star details of 4.5 and 5 star cows.

Performance: These cows have demonstrated excellent performances in terms of their own fertility & the quality of calf produced.

• Average Age of 1st calving is 26 months.

• Average Calving Interval is 353 days • Average Daily Gains running up to 1.79 Kgs/day.

• 6 of the 11 carcass grades were ‘U’ grades.

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€uro-Stars: These cows also all have excellent €uro-Star evaluations for the ‘Replacement Index’.

• 9 of the cows have 5 stars for the ‘Replacement Index’.

• 3 of the cows have 4.5 stars for the ‘Replacement Index’.

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Beef HerdPlus 522 Owner: John Lanigan, Leigh, Two-Mile-Borris, Co.Tipperary

724 Owner: John Appelbe, Carrigroe Hse, Clonakilty, Co.Cork

275 Owner: Joe Cunnane, Aughamore, Ballyhaunis, Co.Mayo

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Beef HerdPlus 250 Owner: Christy Comerford,Knockmahon, Castlewarren, Co.Kilkenny

919 Owner: John Appelbe, Carrigroe Hse, Clonakilty, Co.Cork

280 Owner: Thomas Wickham, Bloomfield, Enniscorthy, Co.Wexford

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Beef HerdPlus 263 Owner: Joseph Boland, Bunnafiddia, Dromard, Co.Sligo

360 Owner: Thomas Wickham, Bloomfield, Enniscorthy, Co.Wexford

40

Owner: Joseph Boland, Bunnafiddia, Dromard, Co.Sligo

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Beef HerdPlus 575 Owner: Richard Lee, Kildorrery Road, Mitchelstown, Co.Cork

181

Owner: Michael Glennon, Ballydangan, Athlone, Co. Roscommon

276 Owner: Sean Gill, Moneymore, Crossmolina, Co.Mayo

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Journal 2014/15