The latest beef genetic evaluations went live on Tuesday 5th September. With the release of these new Beef Genetic Evaluations, there has been a number of additional data added to the evaluation. Over 270,000 new genotypes have been added to the latest run (an increase of 24%). Over 414,000 calving surveys and over 317,000 animals with calving interval data have been added to this genetic evaluation. The addition of this genomic and phenotypic data is extremely valuable to the genetic evaluation system in Ireland and contributes directly towards increasing the reliability of the Euro-Star figure for animals.
Salers bull Beguin SA4059 tops the Euro-Star Replacement Active bull list with a Euro-Star value of €273. The second highest bull on replacement index is also a Salers bull Ulsan SA2189 with a replacement index of €200. Third on this is also a Salers bull Valiant VTA. The top 10 includes 3 Salers, 3 Simmental, 1 Belgiun Blue, 1 Limousin, 1 Charolais and 1 Angus.
Belgiun Blue bull Giga Du Bois Remont RGG tops the Euro-Star Terminal Active bull list with a Euro-Star value of €186. The second highest bull on replacement index is Charolais bull Crossmolina Jupiter CH2161 with a terminal index of €183. Third on the list is a Limousin bull Mullary Intrepid LM4093. The top 10 includes 5 Belgiun Blue, 2 Charolais, 2 Limousin and 1 Salers.
Below is a list of the number one bull in each breed as taken from the Replacement and Terminal active bull lists.
UK Simmental Data
This is the first time that UK data for Simmental animals has been routinely included in the evaluation. This new data has caused some bulls to shift significantly. These are mainly bulls that have very few progeny in Ireland, but potentially have a large number in the UK. Because the reliability figures on their Euro-Star indexes was so low, the UK data had the potential to have a big impact. For UK Simmental bulls that have a lot of progeny in Ireland, the UK data will have little or no effect.
Auchorachan Wizard (SI4030)
Auchorachan Wizard (SI4030) is an example of a bull that has changed significantly. He increased by €109 on the Rep Index (from €75 to €184) and this was driven primarily by milk (€91) and carcass weight + conformation (€16). This bull has only 37 Irish born progeny in his evaluation, but has >500 in the UK. Therefore, the UK data had a massive impact on his Euro-Star Index.