Gene Ireland Young Bull Panel Spring 2014 by ICBF

Beef Gene Ireland Young Bull Panel

Spring 2014

Gene Ireland Maternal Bull Breeder Program 1850-600-900

Introduction We are delighted to present you with the first catalogue of beef bulls that have been sourced through the new Gene Ireland Maternal Bull Breeder programme. The bull breeder programme is a joint initiative between Pedigree Breeders, Commercial farmers, Breed Societies, AI Companies, DAFM & ICBF. Background In 2012, ICBF completed a major review of its Gene Ireland progeny test programme. This was driven by the deteriorating performance of the national suckler herd for the important maternal traits – collectively known as 'Milk & Fertility'. One of the key outcomes from the review was the need to increase the number of beef bulls being progeny tested on an annual basis that have excellent genetic indexes for the maternal traits. By encouraging more emphasis on maternal traits in pedigree beef herds, ICBF hopes to reverse the worrying decline in desirable traits in the national suckler herd. The Gene Ireland Beef progeny test programme has 2 main aims: 1. Identify Top Maternal Beef Bulls; By identifying pedigree females that excel in terms of their maternal performance (milk & fertility) through the ICBF database – the programme will encourage their owners to mate these females with certain sires that are also maternally strong. The resulting bull calves will then be shortlisted for possible purchase by the Gene Ireland programme for semen collection. A portion of this semen will be distributed into commercial herds with data being gathered on the resulting offspring (calving ease, liveweight, daily gain, calving interval etc). For Bulls whose progeny excel during the progeny test, particulalrly in terms of their daughters performances – their semen will be targeted back into the pedigree herds of the pedigree breeders that are participating in the Gene Ireland Maternal Bull Breeder programme. 2. To encourage more detailed and accurate data recording in pedigree herds. Pedigree herds that constantly record accurate data on their cattle will also be identified through this programme by way of the Bull Breeder Stamp being printed beside animals bred in their herd in Sales Catalogues and on the ICBF Bull Search. The level of transparency as regards record keeping will give commercial farmers purchasing stock from such herds an extra guarantee as regards the integrity of the data behind an animal's €uro-Star figures

Bull Breeder Stamp The Gene Ireland Maternal Bull Breeder Stamp has been designed to identify pedigree animals that have been bred in herds that are signed up to the programme and which have demonstrated a very high level of data recording. It is from these herds that ICBF has sourced the bulls owned by Gene Ireland in this catalogue.

Pictured at the launch of the ICBF Gene Ireland Maternal Bull Breeder Programme are: Back Row left to right: John McEnroe (Angus), James O'Leary (Simmental), Ollie Byrne (Limousin), Trevor Masterson (Charolais) & Jim Fitzpatrick (Hereford). Front Row left to right: Peadar Glennon (Irish Simmental Soc.), Pat Donnellan (ICBF), Paul Sykes (Irish Limousin Soc.), Nevan McKiernan (Irish Charolais Soc.) & Chris Daly (ICBF).

The Benefits If you contact ICBF (1850 600 900 or 045-521573) and order semen from any of the bulls in this catalogue you will receive the following benefits: ? ( Access to the best new maternal beef bulls in Irish AI. ? ( Free weight recording of the bull's progeny that are born in your herd. ? ( Automatically satisfy Task 3B of BTAP. ? ( Potentially sell some of the progeny animals back to ICBF for performance testing at the Tully Beef Test Centre. ? ( Freedom to choose whatever combination of bulls & breeds that you require from the catalogue. Note: None of the bulls in this catalogue are recommended for use on heifers, not because they are expected to be hard calving but because their calving ease is unknown at this stage. The Bulls Young Beef Bulls are selected for inclusion in this catalogue in 2 ways: 1. Irish Gene Ireland Maternal - Bull Breeder Herds The Gene Ireland operates the following selection process for selecting bulls for progeny testing; ? ( Young pedigree beef bulls with high Replacement Index figures, that are born in the herds of participating Breeders are identified by ICBF. ? ( Each breed has its own breed committee which decides on the criteria that bulls must meet before being considered for purchase. ? ( Bulls that meet these criteria are then inspected by ICBF Linear Scorers and a report is written up on the bull as regards his physical appearance. ? ( Those bulls that based on their Replacement Index, pedigree backround and physical appearance rank very highly, are then purchased by Gene Ireland. ? ( 13 of the 18 bulls in this catalogue were sourced by Gene Ireland through the above process. 2. Irish AI Companies AI Company owned bulls that meet predefined criteria, equivalent to those set by the Gene Ireland breeding committees, are also included in this catalogue.

These bulls are not recommended for use on maiden heifers Pic is of the sire of JZJ

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