Breeding your future suckler cow
Breeding a balanced cow is the foundation of a successful suckler system, Aisling Molloy, Advisor on the Teagasc Future Beef Programme, told the gathered masses at BEEF2026 ongoing in Teagasc, Grange, today July 1.
“Farmers firstly need to identify the cow type they need for their systems,” Aisling Molloy explained: “They need to be fertile with the capacity to produce a calf every year, have adequate milk yield, be docile, and have good feet, legs and an udder to last year after year.
“Additionally, a moderately sized cow is more apt for grass-based systems and going above ~650kg can lead to additional feed costs through maintenance. And, most importantly from a labour perspective, she needs to calve easily and have a good mothering ability.”
For farmers looking to breed their cows of the future, she advised them to examine their herd’s EuroStar profile, specifically the Replacement Index. The Replacement Index looks at the maternal traits such as milk and fertility, whilst maintaining or improving beef traits, and is used for breeding heifer replacements. Calf traits account for 41% of the index, while the cow’s traits contribute to 59%.
Traits included within the Replacement Index:
- Daughter milk
- The milk ability of progeny from the animal. Target predicted transmitting ability (PTA) of 8 kg for replacement heifers.
- Daughter calving interval
- The number of days between successive calvings which indicates fertility. Target a minus PTA value to reduce the calving interval.
- Carcass weight
- The expected carcass weight of progeny. Target a PTA of 18-20 kg for suckler cows to balance cow size with carcass potential and cull value.
- Docility
- This indicates how quiet an animal is expected to be. Target a positive PTA value.
“Producing a balanced suckler cow means avoiding extremes in most traits and helps to produce a uniform set of calves for the farm system.
“Visual assessment and tools from the ICBF, including the Beef EuroStar report, suckler cow report, weaning performance repot and beef calving report, are all useful things farmers need to be aware of when planning to breed the next generation of their herd,” Aisling Molloy explained.
For more information on the above, view Aisling Molloy’s full paper: Producing the future suckler cow: balanced genetics for profitability and sustainability