The Irish Hereford Prime beef producer group have made a substantial investment in a new beef genetics sustainability program. The farmer-led group has partnered with Dovea Genetics and the Irish Hereford Breed Society. Together they hope to identify and promote bulls capable of further improving the quality and substantiality credentials of its premium beef brand.
In the first year, the initiative sees the roll out of three new Hereford AI sires suitable for Irish dairy and suckler farmers this Spring. The AI Strawsfrom these three new bulls are being put through their paces on the ICBF Gene Ireland Dairy Beef Programme in 2022 and are also currently available through Dovea Genetics.
A number of young bulls of potential interest to the program were shortlisted using ICBF Eurostar data. The final decision on a bull’s suitability for this programme was made following visual inspection and updated breeding values incorporating genomics. The three bulls selected are now being made available to farmers this Spring to use on their herds to produce the next generation of Hereford cross cattle suitable for the premium markets supplied by Irish Hereford Prime.
As the largest Hereford producer group in Europe, Irish Hereford Prime hopes to position itself to better supply the needs of the market.