In this article, we look at the five main stories of the cattle world on That’s Farming this week.
Headlines include:
- Dovea Genetics’ extended triple range offering;
- Funding for a new 5-year genotyping programme for dairy & beef cattle;
- Angus, the most dominant sire breed in Northern Ireland;
- A €3,620 BBX cow in Balla Mart;
- A 60% TAMS grant for young farmers.
Triple Range from Dovea Genetics
Tipperary-based bovine genetics company, Dovea Genetics, has expanded its triple range offering, with some of the country’s leading sires.
Its triple semen straw range contains a combination of semen from three sires of one breed in each AI straw.
The development of the extended range, a spokesperson for the company told www.thatsfarming.com, follows last year’s “very positive feedback and success” for its triple semen straws.
The spokesperson explained: “As bovine semen suppliers, we are now pleased to offer four mixes which are available to our Irish customers.”
“Sperm from different bulls have varying capacitation times, so by pooling sperm from three different sires, there is an increased capacitation variability which overall leaves a greater opportunity to fertilise an oocyte.”
“Each semen mix features bulls of the same breed and shares similar figures for calving and gestation, with an aim to produce a consistent calf crop with the benefit of improved fertility rates in your females.”
Read more on this article.
Funding for 5-year genotyping programme for dairy & beef cattle
The DAFM has confirmed funding for a “major and world-first” €43m genotyping programme for the Irish national herd.
The voluntary genotyping programme, which will be available to both beef and dairy herd owners, will run over five years.
According to the DAFM, the project is a “significant” step towards realising the minister’s ambition for Ireland to be the first country in the world to genotype the national bovine herd.
The programme will be based on a cost-sharing model between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the beef and dairy industry, and participating farmers.
The first year of the programme in 2023, with a budget of €23 million, will be funded by the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, and the five-year programme will be notified to the European Commission under agriculture state aid rules.
Genotyping from 2024 onwards will be met on a one-third cost-sharing basis by the DAFM, industry and farmers.
Read more.
Angus, the most dominant sire breed in Northern Ireland
Aberdeen Angus continues to be the dominant sire used across both dairy and suckler herds in Northern Ireland, calf registration figures show.
In its latest release, the LMC – Livestock and Meat Commission – has reviewed calf registrations, which stood at 46,830 beef-sired calves on NI farms during April, which represents an 8.1% decline from April 2022 levels when 50,978 beef-sired calves were registered.
Sire selection used on NI farms continues to be “a long-term shift”, the body noted, and, in recent years, there has been an overall decline in the proportion of calf registrations to the major continental breeds in NI.
There were 11,815 AA calves registered during April this year, bringing Aberdeen Angus calf registrations to the close of April this year to total 42,968 head, representing 31% of all beef calf registrations in the region.
This was an increase from 39,617 AA registrations recorded during the corresponding period in 2022, when they made up 29% of all beef-sired
calf registrations.
Moreover, 2023 figures rose by 3,589 head from 2021, when 39,379 AA calf registrations were recorded and accounted for 28.4% of total calf registrations in NI during the first four months of the year.
Read more on this news story.
BBX cow tops Balla Mart sale for a second time
A Belgian Blue-cross is making headlines on That’s Farming for a second time after topping the dry cow category in Aurivo Balla Mart, Co. Mayo, for a second occasion in the space of seven months.
The cow, which was born in September 2015 and is herself by ADJ, going back to BYU and out of a BBX dam, crossed the scales at 820kgs at Saturday’s sale (May 27th, 2023) and made €3,260 or €3.98/kg for a local seller, following a flurry of activity.
As previously reported by That’s Farming, the black-and-white female was acquired in the same ring, by Saturday’s seller, on October 15th, 2022, where she again, sold suitable for breeding, including flushing, the purpose of which she reportedly successfully served, for €3,320 (€3.67/kg) and weighed in at 905kgs.
Ahead of Saturday’s sale, the seller, in an advertisement, described her as a “Belgian Blue show cow cycling every three weeks and suitable for flushing”.
Read more on this news article.
60% grants to support young farmers under TAMS
The next tranche of TAMS 3 (Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme), the Young Farmers Capital Investment Scheme (YFCIS), has opened to applications.
The measure, which provides funding for capital investments on farms and will be in place for five years, continues at higher support rates for young farmers of 60% grant support.
This scheme covers over 300 investment items for dairy, beef, sheep, pig, poultry, and tillage enterprises with maximum ceiling of €90,000.
These investments cover areas of animal welfare and housing, energy efficiency, and nutrient management.
Read more on this story.
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