With the breeding season just around the corner for the spring-calving dairy herds, farmers have been advised to carefully think about the value of the offspring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The breeding choices farmers will make over the next few weeks will have a major impact on calf quality and calf marketability next spring, a leading dairy advisor has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at a Lakeland Dairies \/ Teagasc Joint Programme Breeding event in Longford last night (Thursday, March 28), Michael Monahan, along with Owen McPartlan from the Joint Programme, said that as well as picking a team of dairy bulls, farmers should closely examine the Dairy Beef Index (DBI) too with beef farmers more concerned about calf quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael Monahan said the days of just picking artificial insemination (AI) straws on gestation length are over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need to be thinking about the calf that is coming off the cow, especially for dairy beef. It\u2019s a whole new world out there now and we have to make smart, sensible choices,” Monahan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cThe reality is that it\u2019s not just about getting a calf. There needs to be that quality in there, there needs to be good beef traits for the calf rearer of beef farmer to work with.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t just be thinking about going for a crazy short gestation and not consider the next farmer. We all have to be working together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Because, in reality, if it\u2019s not a calf that a farmer can make a profit out of, then the dairy farmer will be stuck with that calf,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Selecting for breeding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
When selecting bulls on the DBI, Monahan advised farmers to look at \u201ccalving difficulty, gestation length and then focus on carcass weight and conformation”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also dismissed the notion that a beef bull with a high DBI rating means that it will be difficult calving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re getting good bulls with carcass and conformation with a calving difficulty at 4% so they are there,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018No reason to run beef bulls with the heifers\u2019<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
At the same meeting, Michael Monahan said farmers should do all they can to avoid using stock bulls even on maiden heifers on out farms or land away from the block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s absolutely no reason to run a beef bull with the heifers,\u201d He continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a well-planned fixed AI programme, the need to run a beef bull is eliminated he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere were situations where a farmer would be going to an out block four or five times a day on heat detection,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“If you have a fixed AI programme in place, this means that you don\u2019t need to be doing this and it also means that (a beef bull) is a no-no from me to be doing this.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Both McPartlan and Monahan spoke at length on the benefits of the Economic Breeding Index (EBI), however warned that it is not just about the bulls with the highest figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about matching the cows you have with the best bulls that suit each cow,” McPartlan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Sometimes the highest EBI will not be the best for a particular cow. You need to sit down and match the bulls with the needs of the cows. When you do that, you have profitable calves.”<\/p>\n\n\n