Teagasc has embarked on a pedigree Aberdeen Angus breeding programme at its dairy research centre, based in Moorepark, Co Cork.

Set up under the Nextgen herd prefix, the project involves mating high index, pedigree-registered Aberdeen Angus cows with high index, pedigree-registered Angus bulls based in Irish AI stations.

Around 700 embryos were collected and implanted in spring-calving dairy cows in April 2021, via IVF. These were a mix of Angus and elite dairy embryos. Another 300 embryos were implanted in spring 2023, with the resulting calves born early in 2024.

The pedigree Angus heifer calves will be retained within Teagasc for research purposes, while the Angus bull calves have been made available to AI companies in Ireland for purchase.

To date, seven of these bull calves have been purchased by AI companies in Ireland. Approximately 67 of these embryo transfer (ET) Angus calves have been registered as pedigrees this year under the Nextgen herd prefix, with the majority made up of heifer calves.

The breeders who supplied the donor cows for the project also had the option of retaining some of the embryo calves, under the arrangement with Teagasc. Some of the ET calves were also reared on the farms that supplied the donor cows.

Society involvement

For generations, pedigree cattle breeders have bred and sold pedigree bulls into AI stations in Ireland. These bulls have formed the cornerstone of the national beef herd, which is regarded as one of the best in the world.

Pedigree breeders and breed societies will ask the question what is their role in all of this. They will wonder what is their purpose in breeding programmes going forward, if Teagasc plans on breeding pedigree bulls for AI, excluding the majority of pedigree breeders from the process.

Commenting on the project, chair of the Pedigree Cattle Breeders Council of Ireland, Seamus Nagle, said: “This issue was raised at a Pedigree Breeders Council meeting earlier this year, with a number of breed societies expressing serious concerns with Teagasc getting involved in breeding pedigree cattle.

“It raises the question: are pedigree breeders no longer capable of breeding the seedstock of the future?”

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal on the research project, Padraig French, head of the livestock systems department and dairy enterprise leader with Teagasc, said: “The reason for doing this is to speed up the rate of genetic gain of beef on dairy. In essence, we want to make dairy beef production more profitable, efficient and sustainable for farmers in Ireland. There are massive opportunities for improvements of beef on dairy, and we need to identify the best genetics to do that.

“When selecting genetics, we looked particularly at the Dairy Beef Index (DBI), with a particular focus on beef sub index traits within this index”

Teagasc designed the project and Teagasc is fully funding it. The biggest question is, what does Teagasc plan on doing with these ET calves?

Calves

While the heifer calves will be retained within Teagasc for research purposes, the bull calves, which are not purchased for AI will be placed on research trials and slaughtered. Questions arise around the selection process of the cattle involved and who was involved in the selection process.

It’s clear the donor dams were selected on indexes alone, without any visual assessment of them or their progeny.

It is also clear that the sires used were selected on indexes alone. Pedigree breed societies will also query why just the Angus breed was used.

According to Teagasc, it is solely because Angus is the predominant breed used within the dairy herd at present.

Comment

Pedigree breeders involved in cattle breed societies are disillusioned by Teagasc’s decision to breed pedigree beef cattle.

There are pedigree breeders who have spent a lifetime trying to master the art of pedigree cattle breeding.

Producing that perfect bull or heifer with the desired visual appearance, performance and indexes to match is not an easy task.

As a very successful breeder once said, “mating the best cow with the best bull doesn’t always give you the best calf, if it did, the wealthy breeders would have all the best cattle.”

Similarly, crossing the highest index cow in the country, with the highest index bull in AI, won’t necessarily give you the best calf either.

All of this comes just 10 months since the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) introduced changes to its Eurostar indexes, based on recommendations made by Teagasc.

These changes were heavily opposed at the time by commercial farmers, pedigree breeders, and cattle breed societies, resulting in an industry stakeholder forum being formed.

Although some common ground has been found as a result of these meetings, many will argue little has changed.

All eyes will be on the Teagasc Nextgen project to see how it unfolds.