The benefits of 5-star suckler cows
With a critical replacement strategy deadline under the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) fast approaching, it’s worth remembering some of the benefits of 5-star cows on the Replacement Index.
With a critical replacement strategy deadline under the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) fast approaching, it’s worth remembering some of the benefits of 5-star cows on the Replacement Index.
The Irish Cattle and Breeding Federation (ICBF) recently carried out an analysis of mart data for suckler weanlings sold between 6-9 months of age in Irish marts this year.
Examining weights, prices and the fertility performance of their dams, the ICBF analysis compared the performance of 5-star versus 1-star cows on the Replacement Index.
From this analysis, the ICBF found that progeny from 5-star cows were 24kg heavier, thus boosting the total sales price, while the difference in price (€/kg) was negligible when compared to the progeny from 1-star cows.
Additionally, on a cow basis, 5-star dams had a shorter calving interval (-39 days) than 1-star dams, thus resulting in the production of 0.08 extra of a calf per year.
From this analysis, the ICBF found that a 5-star cow is generating almost €263 more than 1-star cows. This is due to a combination of heavier weanlings, higher prices and better fertility. More details, including what it means in terms of revenue from weanling sales, are included in table 1 below:
Table 1: Comparison of 5-star versus 1-star cows in a 10-cow weanling system on overall farm revenue (Source: ICBF)
| Replacement Index Impact on Weanling Systems
(using a 10-cow herd selling all calves as weanlings) |
|||||
| Dam Replacement Index | Weanling weight (kg) | Weanling price €/kg | Calving interval of dams (days) | Calves/cow/year | Total farm revenue from weanlings sales
(price x calves/cow/year x 10) |
| 1-star | 306 | €1,655 | €5.40 | 0.85 | €14,048 |
| 5-star | 331 | €1,786 | €5.39 | 0.93 | €16,675 |
| Difference 5 vs 1 | 24kg | €131 | -€0.004 | 0.08 | €2,627 (€263/cow) |
5-star targets
Beef Specialist at Teagasc, David Argue recently took a closer look at the SCEP female replacement strategy targets. He explained:
The Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) includes five mandatory actions; one of the most critical is Action 2, the Female Replacement Strategy. This element of the scheme requires farmers to ensure that a rising proportion of their replacement females carry high genetic merit by being genotyped as 4 or 5-star on the Replacement Index.
Key targets and timing:
- By 31 October 2023, at least 50% of your “yearly reference number” must be eligible females (4 or 5 star) at purchase or at the time of genotyping.
- By 31 October 2025, this increases to 65%.
- By 31 October 2027, the target rises further to 75%.
- Replacement females must be at least 16 months old at the time of purchase or genotyping.
Read the full article Getting your SCEP female replacement strategy right here