Teagasc Breeding Week 2024

Monday, 25^th – Friday, 29^th March

The breeding season on Irish dairy farms has become increasingly concentrated in the late April to June period. The purpose of Breeding Week, which takes place from Monday, 25^th – Friday, 29^th March, is to provide timely reminders to farmers on important genetic and technical issues underpinning a successful dairy breeding season.

Get more information on breeding and genetics here 

See details of the events taking place throughout the week below

Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday

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Monday, 25^th March

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Podcast

The Dairy Edge Podcast 
presented by Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist 

The role of ICBF in Irish Breeding Progress and Future Direction
with Sean Coughlan, CEO of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF)

Listen to the episode of The Dairy Edge Podcast below

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Video

Developing a breeding plan for your farm

Teagasc Aurivo Joint Programme farmer, Michael Gordon from Crossmolina, Co. Mayo provides an overview of their breeding plan for the upcoming breeding season in the below clip.

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Daily Article

Developing a breeding plan for your farm

The advent of sexed semen has created an opportunity for dairy farmers to become very selective about the cows that they breed to dairy AI to generate the next generation of replacements for their herd, writes Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist. Read the article here 

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Tuesday, 26^th March

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Video

Understanding the Maintenance Sub Index

Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist provides an overview of the Maintenance Sub Index in the EBI in the below clip. Maintenance accounts for 8% of the overall EBI figure. But what does maintenance mean and what do the values represent? The maintenance value gives an indication of the expected cost of growing a replacement and maintaining her as a cow in a dairy herd based on her genetic makeup.

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Daily Article

Understanding the maintenance sub-index 

The maintenance sub-index of the EBI represents 8% of the total euro value of the EBI, but what does the maintenance figure actually represent and what should it mean to you? Teagasc Dairy Specialist, Stuart Childs talks us through what the sub-index means and how it can be used to influence mature cow weight at farm level. Read the article here

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Wednesday, 27^th March

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Developing an Efficient Breeding Strategy for your Farm – Webinar | 7:30pm

An Efficient Dairy Breeding webinar took place on Wednesday, 27 March as part of Teagasc Breeding Week. Host Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist was joined by Dr. Stephen Butler, Teagasc; Dr. Siobhan Ring, ICBF; and John Dwyer, Tipperary dairy farmer.

The panellists on the webinar discussed maximising the return from synchronisation, maximising beef without impacting the dairy herd, and the breeding plan for my farm.

Watch webinar recording below

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Thursday, 28^th March

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Daily Article

Breeding Week 2024: A refresher on sexed semen

With approximately 300,000 sexed semen straws expected to be used on dairy farms this spring, Dr Stephen Butler of Teagasc Moorepark provided a refresher on this technology and outlined best practice for its use as part of the recent Efficient Dairy Breeding Webinar. Read the article here

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Friday, 29^th March

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Daily Article

Maximising beef calf potential through sexed semen use

Farming in Ballytarsna, Co. Tipperary, John Dwyer has placed a firm focus on using sexed semen to not only ensure the production of high EBI dairy replacements but to also maximise the potential of the beef progeny being produced from his herd. Read the article here

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Video

Breeding Week 2024: John Dwyer

In the clip below, John Dwyer outlines how sexed semen is used on his high EBI herd, from which 520kg of milk solids were produced per cow in 2023.