The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has been called upon to ease farmer concerns with changes to beef indices due to come into play in two weeks’ time.The call came from Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) president Dermot Kelleher, who said that the group’s members are unsure of how the new index weightings will affect their herds’ standings.
The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has been called upon to ease farmer concerns with changes to beef indices due to come into play in two weeks’ time.
The call came from Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) president Dermot Kelleher, who said that the group’s members are unsure of how the new index weightings will affect their herds’ standings.
The changes will see a bigger emphasis put on age at slaughter, lower cow weights and reduced calving difficulty traits, with traditional breeds expected to benefit from the updated indices in bull rankings.
Major changes
“Major changes to both terminal and replacement beef indices are scheduled to be introduced on 21 November,” Kelleher commented.
“However, as these changes have been decided upon without adequate consultation with farming organisations or the pedigree breed societies, confusion has reigned supreme among beef and suckler farmers.
“Our members have been demanding answers as to why [the] ICBF are making these changes, why they are doing so now and what it will mean for their farming enterprises.”
The farm leader spoke after a meeting between the association and the ICBF on Monday.
More balance coming
Kelleher claims that the ICBF stated that bull rankings will see a better balance between traditional and continental breeds within two years.
The ICSA has proposed that no bull should appear in the top 100 replacement list if it does not show satisfactory terminal traits too.
“[The] ICBF [has] taken our proposals on board and we are prepared to engage further on these proposals so that a fairer message around these changes emerges; one that farmers can get behind,” ICSA’s suckler chair Jimmy Cosgrave said.
“The lack of consultation around this move by [the] ICBF is at the root of the farmer frustration we are seeing.”
Cosgrave noted that farmers participating in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).
“Many farmers had to think long and hard about joining SCEP in the first place and they need to have a clear understanding of the ramifications of these changes and how to manage any changes to the ratings in their herds.”
Separately, the move to publish commercial beef values (CBV) has been welcomed by the ICSA.
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