New dairy-beef bull index balances beef and management

An economic breeding index has been developed that marries management traits and calf value, promising to offer three broad breeding options for dairy units.

Cogent UK has launched the £CBI, which is split into two sub-indices (£EMI and £MVI) to assist breeders in maximizing the value of their beef cross calves.

See also: Limousin launches four maternal genomic breeding values

Farms prioritising low calf-management costs and ease of calving can select bulls on £EMI, farms seeking larger, higher value calves should focus more on £MVI and those wanting a compromise should look to £CBI for an all-rounder.

This is according to Cogent’s beef sire specialist Samantha Wilson, who says the reliable bull-testing programme remains the same but the data is displayed in a more transparent way.

“Some extreme-looking bulls can be very short gestation and easy calving,” explains Ms Wilson.

“This new tool enables our customers to make more informed breeding decisions and select the correct beef genetics that can be worth over 3p/litre/lactation.”

“This new tool enables our customers to make more informed breeding decisions and select the correct beef genetics that can be worth over 3p/litre/lactation.”

The index is designed with the dairy farmer in mind, using figures from real on-farm calving data, market research and peer-reviewed research.

An overall monetary benefit is given by adding EMI and MVI to result in CBI because the value of saving on labour and calving difficulty is felt by a farm just as the value of faster growing, heavier calves (calf value birth weight).