Straws from four bulls, 3 beef and 1 dairy, were exported recently from Ireland to Australia.

The bulls included the Holstein Ruud 96, Limousin Millbrook Tanko and Charolais Alex and the young bull Kilbline Cupidon. The orders were placed following visits by Australian farmers to the stud in Enfield. See pictures below.

Kilbline Cupidon

Alex

Ruud 96 daughter.

A Irish record of €24,000 was paid for a bull at the December 09 Irish Charolais Society Christmas Cracker Showsale in Carrick-on-Shannon. The bull Cottage Devon,  bred by the Butler family in Cashel Co Tipperary, was purchased for Irish AI by the National Cattle Breeding Centre in Enfield Co Meath.

Cottage Devon, by French based Texan-Gie was Male Calf Champion at the Charolais National Show, he was Junior Champion at the National Livestock Show in Tullamore and again was Junior Champion last Saturday in Carrick-on-Shannon.  His index places him in the top 1% of the breed for Suckler Beef Value at €190. He also has  5 stars for all beef and maternal traits coupled with 4 stars for calving ease. NCBC report huge interest in straws from Cottage Devon as his sire Texan-Gie is dead with very few straws remaining.

British observers describe Cottage Devon as the best Charolais ever seen in Ireland.

Cottage Devon pictured with breeders Gerry and Annemarie Butler, Arthur Bredin Progressive Genetics and Nuala Hourihane, CEO Irish Charolais Herdbook.

Two Belgian Blue bulls from the NCBC stud have entered the GeneIreland Beef Programme.

Sauveur de Monin Chapelle, AI Code SEU, was purchased in Belgium and is an outcross for the breed. Plus 11 in height this black and white bull is by a stock bull and has Danseur, Inexes and Viril 6418 Grigeoule in his pedigree.

Evergreen Chestnut AI Code EVG, is by Tintin de My and out of a Totem dam. EVG has exceptional height and was purchased following a good performance in the Irish national beef test centre at Tully.

Evergreen Chestnut.

Sauveur de Monin Chapelle

First calves from the Charolais bull Limkiln Bosco, Code KIB, are showing a lot of muscling and shape. The signs are that this Doonally New son will be an excellent sire for breeding export qaulity weanlings. Calving difficulty figures suggest that KIB will be similar to his sire at about 12%. See pictures taken from the herd of Michael Hanlon from Granard Co Longford. 

 

 

 

KIB sons from crossbred cows

 

The National Cattle Breeding Centre recently purchased five bulls from the National Beef Performance Test Station at Tully;  two Angus, two Charolais plus a Simmental.

The Angus bulls are Friarstown Dan Carter, by TC Freedom and out a dam by DMM FLEX 6L and Carrigroe Earl, by Cashelane Bowie and out of a dam by Tonroe Udi.

 Dan Carter gained 3.0 kg per day over the three month test period placing him 1st across all breeds. Earl gained 2.87 kg per day on test. At €108 Earl has the highest Suckler Beef Index in the Angus breed.

The top Simmental performer Ballindrennan Wilbert was also acquired. A Raceview King son and out of a Ballingar Franco dam, Wilbert was bred by John Conroy in Rahan Co Offaly.

The Charolais purchases included Liscally Domino 1, by Domino and out of a cow by Maerdy Super and Skeaf Damien by Nelson and out of a Rodin dam.

Ballindrennan Wilbert.

Friarstown Dan Carter.

Carrigroe Earl

Skeaf Damien

Liscally Domino

 

A historic breakthrough for Irish Agriculture was announced today by Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food  Brendan Smith TD.  This breakthrough is based on a new science known as genomics in which Ireland is already a world leader.  Today Minister Smith launched Ireland’s first ever teams of genomically tested Holstein Friesian bulls from NCBC Ireland Genetics for use in Irish AI.
Genomics  has the potential to revolutionise cattle breeding in Ireland and across the world. Using this new science an analysis of an animal’s DNA can now predict its genetic potential for generating profit from livestock farming. Initially the science has been harnessed for dairy farmers but plans are already underway to extend the technology for Ireland’s beef production.
This launch by the Enfield Co Meath based NCBC Ireland Genetics was made possible by a collaborative project over the past year which included Teagasc, the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation and financial support from the Department of Agriculture. The project involved collecting and analysing DNA from well over 1000 dairy sires and using this as a benchmark training population for evaluating the young sires in the NCBC Ireland Genetics progeny test programme.
 The best of these sires, as assessed by a combination of the new Genomic assessment and conventional progeny test, will be offered to Irish farmers for the 2009 breeding season. Without the benefit of the Genomic test Irish farmers would have had to wait another two years before the merit of these sires could be established.
Speaking at the launch Dr Pat Dillon Teagasc Head of Dairy Research said that Genomic selection  has the potential to increase genetic gain by 50% and this will be worth an increase of over €8 million to the Irish dairy industry annually and cumulatively. “Also traits such as fertility, vital to the Irish seasonal dairy industry will be more accurately evaluated with genomic selection. “
Dr Brian Wickham head of ICBF (Irish Cattle Breeding Federation) said that Irish Cattle Breeding has undergone a revolution. “We have come a long way in the last seven years but it was the establishment of the database and the EBI that were two of the essential building blocks that made it possible for NCBC to launch genomically selected bulls today.”
“The ICBF Active Dairy AI Bull list, due out in early March will, for the first time, include genomically selected bulls. I expect these bulls to create a lot of interest with farmers and their high EBIs to attract more farmers to use AI.  NCBC is to be congratulated for taking a lead in exploiting this exciting new technology for the benefit of Irish dairy farmers.”
NCBC Ireland Genetics Chairman Tom Corcoran welcomed the leap forward in Irish dairy cattle breeding that had come about from the outstanding collaboration between ICBF, Teagasc, and the AI industry. He particularly paid tribute to the role played by Dr Donagh Berry of Teagasc Moorepark is catapulting Ireland to the forefront of worldwide genomics.
 Further information B Eivers Tel 046 954133. Email beivers@ncbc.ie

Click any of the links below to view presentations from the NCBC Ireland Genetics Annual Conference that took place on October 17th 2008:

The Role of AI in Profitable Beef by John Shirley NCBC

Some Perspectives on Dairy Cattle Breeding in North America by Dr Gary Rodgers (Geno Global)

Genomic Selection by Donagh Berry (Teagasc Moorpark), Dawn Howard and Sinead Waters (Teagasc Animal Bioscience Centre) and Francis Kearney (ICBF)

Where to with the Holstein? Breeding Goals, Inbreeding, Crossbreeding? by E.P Cunningham, Trinity College, Dublin.

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