The ICBF active bull listing is a useful tool allowing farmers to select sires across AI companies. There are two lists – the replacement list which is more aligned to maternal characteristics and the terminal index which majors on beef characteristics.

The list is available to any farmer to look up and can be found by scanning this QR code on your smartphone. Farmers can filter by breed, or opt to see all breeds, and by replacement index, terminal index or dairy beef index. AI companies control the availability of their bulls on their listing and the price per straw detailed.

Table 1 and table 2 detail a snapshot of the top bulls ranked by breed. A filter has been used setting the maximum price of a straw at €25 to keep the list applicable to the majority of commercial farmers.

ADVERTISEMENT

Once a list has been extracted from the database it is then possible to filter by the range of traits by clicking on that trait. This will then become the value on which bulls are ranked.

Universal tips

The replacement index should be used where the aim is to breed replacements whether for breeding within the herd or for sale as potential replacements.

While the terminal index should be used where the objective is to breed cattle primarily to be sold as weanlings/stores or for slaughter. It is not just as black and white as the above statement.

For example using the replacement index does not mean that it is only maternal genetics that are taken in to account.

The index can be used with a greater focus on beef characteristics to select animals which major on maternal genetics but still possess desired beef traits – for example in two sires with a replacement index value of €140 once could have a high carcase weight figure while the other could be low.

As such the traits within the index should be studied as to what is desired in the breeding mix. Ideally the sire will complement or compensate for characteristics in the cow being bred.

There is three important reliability figures – the first of which is with the index value. The reliability is influenced by progeny performance and that of closely linked relatives. A value of upwards of 85% to 90% is strong with the figure unlikely to vary greatly once this level of reliability is hit. This is critical for calving difficulty figures, especially where calving is likely to be on the more difficult side.

Trait guide

Re the gestation figure, a negative value means a bull is below average and shorter for gestation. In contrast for docility a positive value is desirable with temperament based on a scale of one to five.

The higher the value the more docile progeny are likely to be. For feed intake a negative value is desired as the lower the value the less feed will be consumed by progeny. For carcase weight and carcase conformation positive values are desired.