A new Certified Irish Angus initiative launched on Thursday 25 August will pay farmers to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by breeding better cattle.

By enhancing the genetics of Angus-cross cattle, the Certified Irish Angus Elite Breed Improvement Programme aims to reduce emissions by up to 9% per kilo of beef.

The initiative is nearly 12 months in the making following the purchase of Drumcrow Tribesman, an Angus bull with superior genetics, as part of a joint venture with Dovea Genetics.

Financial incentives

Pedigree breeders will have access to subsidised male-sexed semen and will receive an €80 refund for every male calf born and genotyped on the farm.

Dairy and suckler farmer benefits include access to Drumcrow Tribesman’s sons and a €200 refund for each Tribesman son bought.

There will also be an opportunity within the programme to sell offspring direct to Certified Irish Angus members via an exclusive online portal.

Beef farmers, as a result, will benefit from access to genetically superior calves, with genetic information that allows for predictable performance and margin while reducing GHG emissions.

Increased sustainability

Catherine Smyth from Certified Irish Angus said that using the best genetics available can increase the sustainability of Angus-cross animals at each stage of the production cycle.

"By improving the quality of Angus-cross cattle through better genetics, we can increase carcase weight and decrease the age of slaughter, which results in a significant reduction in overall emissions per animal."

The programme, she said, also aims to improve the level of beef sire recording on dairy farms, which in turn provides essential genetic information to beef farmers on the likely performance and future value of these calves.

Speaking about the initiative, general manager of Certified Irish Angus Charles Smith said: "We wish to highlight the role each farmer makes in the production cycle, ie the decision that the pedigree breeder makes when choosing sires that will be used as stock bulls in dairy herds, the decision the dairy farmer makes when purchasing these bulls and the decision the beef farmer makes when purchasing a dairy-beef calf for finishing – all of these decisions make an impact on the final product and its associated carbon footprint when it reaches the consumer.”

Drumcrow Tribesman progeny

Certified Irish Angus currently has nine pilot dairy farms with cows that are in-calf to Drumcrow Tribesman.

Offspring from this bull will also be used in the Certified Irish Angus schools competition, which forms an education aide to students studying agricultural science for Leaving Cert and provides students with an insight into efficient animal breeding, feeding, processing and marketing.