As the 2025 dairy breeding season approaches, ICBF & Teagasc urge farmers to begin planning their breeding strategies to enhance herd sustainability, profitability, and efficiency.
The goal remains clear: to breed dairy cows that are healthy, efficient, and carbon-friendly while producing higher-quality calves for the beef industry. To support this, ICBF and Teagasc have developed essential breeding guidelines to help farmers maximise their herd’s potential.
Maximising EBI for Profitability Every €1 increase in Economic Breeding Index (EBI) translates to €2 in additional profit. Farmers should leverage their ICBF Herd EBI Scorecard to evaluate their herd’s genetic strengths and weaknesses. The Scorecard is a valuable tool in setting breeding objectives and selecting Artificial Insemination (AI) bulls aligned with these goals.
Breeding High-EBI Dairy Replacements Farmers are encouraged to breed high-EBI females (minimum EBI €185) using dairy AI bulls, either sexed or conventional semen. Selecting a well-balanced team of high-EBI AI bulls from the ICBF Active Bull List is crucial, ensuring no more than 15% of services come from a single bull.
Selecting the Right Beef Bulls The Dairy Beef Index (DBI) enables dairy farmers to select beef bulls that are easy-calving, have a short gestation, and provide high carcass merit. Farmers should:
- Review the DBI Active Bull List.
- Set a calving difficulty threshold suitable for the cow group (heifers, 1st calvers, 2nd calvers or mature cows)
- Select bulls with the maximum beef sub-index that is suitable for your herd (minimum €100 Beef Sub-Index).
Leveraging Sexed Semen for Future Heifers For those aiming to generate dairy heifer calves for 2026, sexed semen is a highly effective tool. With the level of sexed semen now currently available for high EBI bulls, farmers are encouraged to incorporate some level of sexed semen usage into their breeding strategy. Farmers should:
- Use at least two high-EBI sexed semen straws per required dairy female.
- Prioritise insemination in the first three weeks of the breeding season.
- Focus on maiden heifers, younger cows (lactation 1-4), and earlier calving cows (January/February).
- Ensure AI is timed optimally—14 to 20 hours post-onset of standing heat.
Optimising Mating Strategies with HerdPlus The ICBF HerdPlus Sire Advice Tool is available to help farmers:
- Manage inbreeding and improve both dairy and beef matings.
- Breed more balanced females in terms of milk production and fertility.
- Enhance beef merit while minimising calving difficulty risks.
Breeding for TB Resistance Farmers now have the opportunity to breed cattle that are less likely to become TB reactors. By selecting cows and bulls with the highest EBI and the lowest TB breeding value, herds can improve resilience against TB. Bulls with a breeding value below 8.5% are recommended, with those under 6.5% offering even faster improvements. ICBF has introduced a traffic light system to simplify interpretation, highlighting the top 30% in green and the lowest 30% in red.
For more information and guidance on breeding strategies for 2025, visit www.icbf.com or contact our support team.
All dairy farmers will be receiving a copy of the ICBF & Teagasc 2025 Breeding Guidelines in the post over the coming days.
ENDS