{"id":904431,"date":"2022-11-17T14:58:58","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T14:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agriland.ie\/?p=904431"},"modified":"2022-11-17T14:59:10","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T14:59:10","slug":"ebi-beef-sub-index-updated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/farming-news\/ebi-beef-sub-index-updated\/","title":{"rendered":"EBI beef sub-index updated"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Along with the launch of the new carbon sub-index<\/a>, there has also been a number of updates to the beef sub-index within the economic breeding index (EBI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the first time since 2014 that changes have been made to the beef sub-index. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The updated beef sub-index will account for 10% of the total EBI, rather than the previous 8%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updates to the beef sub-index are important for a number of reasons especially considering that 57% of national kill origin is from the dairy herd and this figure is going to increase in the coming years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changes to sub-index<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There have been three main changes to the beef sub-index within the EBI, with the inclusion of an age of slaughter trait, in-spec carcass traits and economic value updates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the new carbon sub-index, it is the first time that age of slaughter has been included in a cattle breeding objective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of sexed semen on dairy cows will result in the majority of surplus calves from the dairy herd entering the beef herd having been sired by beef bulls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But without more emphasis on beef traits, it will be difficult to improve the overall quality from the dairy herd – as the cow contributes up to half the beef merit of the calf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beef sub-index<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A study conducted by Teagasc compared the old sub-index to the updated sub-index on 46,000 Friesian steers slaughtered from large beef herds in 2021 and 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study found that the old sub-index was doing a ‘fairly good job’ according to Alan Twomey from Teagasc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference between the top 20% and bottom 20% is outlined in the table below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/th>Bottom 20%<\/th>Top 20%<\/th>Difference<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Carcass weight<\/td>307<\/td>322<\/td>15<\/td><\/tr>
Weight spec (280-380kg)<\/td>72%<\/td>75%<\/td>3%<\/td><\/tr>
Conformation spec (\u22650=)<\/td>26%<\/td>37%<\/td>11%<\/td><\/tr>
Fat spec (\u22652+ and \u22644=)<\/td>85%<\/td>85%<\/td>0%<\/td><\/tr>
Age at slaughter (days)<\/td>771<\/td>768<\/td>-4<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
Old beef sub-index<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the new sub-index, the results are outlined in the table below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest change between the two is in the age of slaughter with 20 days saved between the top 20% and bottom 20% of dairy sires. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/th>Bottom 20%<\/th>Top 20%<\/th>Difference<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Carcass weight<\/td>308<\/td>320<\/td>12<\/td><\/tr>
Weight spec (280-380kg)<\/td>73%<\/td>76%<\/td>3%<\/td><\/tr>
Conformation spec (\u22650=)<\/td>25%<\/td>40%<\/td>15%<\/td><\/tr>
Fat spec (\u22652+ and \u22644=)<\/td>84%<\/td>87%<\/td>3%<\/td><\/tr>
Age at slaughter (days)<\/td>781<\/td>761<\/td>-20<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
New beef sub-index<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There will be increased variation between dairy sires on beef sub-index, as there will be a \u20ac50 difference between the top and bottom 20% of bulls – compared to \u20ac29 in old index. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Twomey this will make it easier to select dairy bulls that are high value for beef without compromising on dairy traits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it will penalise bulls with poor genetic merit for beef traits, according to Twomey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new index will align with dairy beef index (DBI) and the commercial beef value (CBV). <\/p>\n\n\n