26 March 2025

The Importance of Fertility Testing and Completing a Bull NCT for Suckler Farmers

For suckler farmers a healthy bull is key to a productive herd. Fertility testing and the Bull NCT help spot issues early. A subfertile bull could cost you €90 per cow. Martina Harrington tells us more.

For suckler farmers in Ireland, ensuring the fertility and health of their bulls is crucial for a successful breeding season and maintaining a productive herd. Fertility testing and completing a Bull National Cattle Testing (NCT) are vital steps in safeguarding herd performance and minimising the risk of costly reproductive issues.

Fertility Testing: Key to Successful Breeding

Fertility testing a bull is an essential practice for any suckler farmer. The test evaluates semen quality, including sperm count, motility, and morphology, to determine if the bull can effectively service cows. Checking the scrotum and penis for abnormalities is also critical, as these areas directly impact sperm production and delivery. A bull with poor semen quality or physical issues may fail to put your cows in calf, resulting in empty cows, longer calving intervals, and additional breeding costs. By identifying fertility problems early, you can take corrective action, or you may need to get a replacement bull or think about using AI.

Warning: If you have corrected an issue, you should increase your observation and recording of heats, if you have a lot of repeats after 17+ days, your bull is not inseminating your cows, you need to act quickly.

Bull NCT: Mobility and Health Checks

The NCT assesses the bull’s physical health, including his mobility which is crucial for his ability to serve cows effectively. Bulls with mobility issues or poor feet can struggle to breed efficiently, leading to reduced conception rates.

Additionally, the NCT checks for signs of infection and or diseases, such as BVD, which can impact fertility and herd health. If the NCT is completed early, issues like an infection can be resolved with antibiotics, or feet can be paired and healed. If the problem is bigger than this you have time to buy a bull or plan to change to artificial insemination (AI)

Ensuring bulls are free from diseases and physically fit for breeding is essential to maintaining a healthy herd and optimising reproductive performance.

Avoiding Financial Loss – €90 per cow

Subfertile bulls or those with health issues can result in empty cows, additional breeding costs, and reduced income from the sale of calves. One missed cycle is 21 days, at 1.1kg average daily gain your weanling would be 23kg lighter at sale, at €4.00 per kg that’s a loss per cow of €90.

Best Practices – compete 6 weeks pre breeding

Farmers should conduct fertility testing and an NCT on their bulls at least 6 weeks before the breeding season. This ensures bulls are healthy and capable of achieving successful fertilisation. In addition, monitoring factors such as nutrition, stress, and general health can further support breeding success.

For further information watch the Future Beef breeding webinar below, where vet Donal Lynch from Slieve Bloom vets, Tullamore, discusses the topic in detail.

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