The mandatory recording of the breed of dam is to be included on the blue cattle ID cards for all new calf registrations from 2020 on, the Irish Farmers Journal understands.

The inclusion of the dam breed on cattle cards applies with immediate effect.

This will leave farmers in a better position to be informed of the breeding of any calves they are purchasing.

This is a very welcome measure following from representations that we made to the Department last November

The next step is getting the data shown on mart boards around the country.

Ray Doyle of ICOS welcomed the development.

“This is a very welcome measure following from representations that we made to the Department last November.”

“The provision of additional dam data will greatly aid farmers buying calves and will promote adoption of the dairy beef index which, in turn, will support improvement in the overall beef traits of the national dairy herd,” he said.

The breeding index helps to identify the likely impact a sire or dam will have on the profitability of the next generation

The IFA had previously campaigned for its inclusion to better inform calf buyers of the type and breed make-up of calf they were buying.

“The breeding index helps to identify the likely impact a sire or dam will have on the profitability of the next generation of animals and contributes to the achievement of additional economic benefits for farmers.

“The greater the availability of information, including the extra data on dams, then the better it is for farmers as they decide on their current and future stocking arrangements. We wish to thank the Department for this development,” Doyle said.