With spring sales just around the corner, this week we spoke to the cattle breed societies to get some feedback on their outlook for the year ahead.

We asked them what they see as their biggest challenges.

They also outlined whether they foresee any possible opportunities in an ever-changing landscape.

Opportunities

One of the biggest opportunities lies in the growing export market for pedigree cattle.

In 2024, we saw a large number of pedigree cattle sell to mainland Europe, with countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal most active.

The Irish Holstein Friesian Association has seen unprecedented demand for pedigree Irish cattle from abroad in recent years.

Laurence Feeney from the Irish Holstein Friesian Association said this month sees the biggest shipment of dairy replacements ever to leave Ireland for north Africa with David Clarke of cows.ie.

Bluetongue

As bluetongue continues to spread across Europe, Ireland’s free status of the disease leaves Irish breeders in a strong position for future sales into the continent.

Many of the traditional breeds identified the growing use of sexed semen as a big opportunity to increase bull sales into the dairy herd.

Strong beef trade

The current strong beef trade is one positive that will benefit all breeds. As this is expected to continue, breeds will hope for a lively bull trade this spring, as cull value remains strong.

Continental breeds see a bright future for live cattle, as commercial breeding sales continue to blaze in marts across the country.

Some of the continental breed societies see the National Genotyping Programme as a major advantage for their breeds, as all crossbred calves receive a commercial beef value at birth, highlighting their benefits as a terminal sire.

Challenges

As bluetongue brings opportunities for cattle sales into Europe, it also brings major challenges for pedigree breeders here in Ireland. Obviously, the disease entering the island is always a concern, raising obstacles for breeders importing pedigree cattle from Europe and the UK.

Many breeds identified sexed semen as a massive opportunity. However, one wonders if it may bring its own challenges in the years to come.

An oversupply of bulls in some breeds could result as breeders use more sexed male semen.

This may become a problem, particularly for some of the more traditional breeds, as breeders use sexed male semen from high-dairy beef index AI sires to produce bulls for the dairy herd.

Reducing suckler herd

A number of the continental breeds identified the reducing national suckler herd as a major challenge.

Some breed societies believe government bodies are not doing enough to halt this decline and support suckler farmers, who are the lifeblood of rural Ireland.

A number of breed societies highlighted the continuously changing Euro-Star indices as one of their main challenges, hindering education to their customers, as well as significantly narrowing the gene pool available to pedigree breeders.

Some breeds believe the changes to the indices in November 2023 have been so drastic that a lot of their best cows are being culled based on the evaluations.

Outcross genetics

This leads to the availability of new genetics. One challenge that faces all breeds is the narrowing gene pool.

Indices, schemes and health regulations regarding imported semen and embryos are the main factors driving this issue. How breed societies overcome this challenge will determine their progression over the coming years.

Pick up a copy of this week's Irish Farmers Journal to read all about it.