HerdPlus membership went over 23,000 in 2016
In 2016, membership of HerdPlus exceeded 23,000 dairy and beef herd members.
These herd owners have access to a wide range of valuable breeding information which they can use to breed more profitable animals.
HerdPlus is ICBF’s subscription service which provides herd-owners with performance data which can be used to increase on-farm profit.
HerdPlus uses data from many different sources, including animal events data, AI data, carcass data, genomic data, milk recording data, weight data etc.
This data is ‘what goes in’.
The ICBF database then combines this data and compiles it into various different profiles, reports and applications; this is ‘what comes out’.
These profiles, reports and applications are management tools which supply extremely useful data to herd owners.
When used correctly, and when management decisions are implemented in line with reports etc, there is increased on-farm profit as a result.
HerdPlus is a tool that can benefit everyone, no matter what your breeding goals are.
The breeding and performance information that herd-owners receive through HerdPlus can be used to:
* select your most profitable heifers to keep as replacements,
* track submission rates, find out your herd’s calving interval, and identify what cows should be culled.
* view stock numbers broken down by month and category of animal, and create the best matings for your cows.
* prevent inbreeding and maximise your herd’s genetic gain.
Beef HerdPlus is a tool that can benefit every suckler farmer.
The breeding and performance information that herd-owners receive through Beef HerdPlus includes the following:
* full access to all your animals’ genetic profit indexes (Euro-Stars).
* full access to all HerdPlus profiles, expected calving profile, fertility and breeding chart profile, pedigree herd profile, weight, due first serve and due repeat profiles.
* You also get full access to all HerdPlus reports, including calving report, Euro-Star report, drystock report, suckler cow report, slaughter report, bull tracker report, weighting report, beef output report, inbreeding checker, stock reports and stock reconciliation and nitrates reports.
* access to generate a sales catalogue, and the animal search (male and female searches).
Dairy HerdPlus is a tool that can benefit everyone, no matter what your breeding goals are.
Breeding and performance information that herd-owners receive through dairy HerdPlus includes the following:
n full access to all your animals’ genetic profit indexes (EBI), full access to all HerdPlus profiles, EBI profile, expected calving profile, fertility and breeding chart profile, pedigree herd profile, milk recording, due first serve and due repeat service.
n You also receive full access to all HerdPlus reports; calving report, EBI report, fertility report, dairy cow report, expected calving list, and five-year trend report.
n A sire advice application and inbreeding checker are also available, as well as access to generate a sales catalogue, and the animal search (male and female searches) facility.
n Your HerdPlus pocket notebook will have the animals in your herd pre-printed for easy recording of events in the field.
EBI information is also included, for better decision making.
n You will also receive a HerdPlus dairy breeding chart, which enables you to plan which bulls to use during the breeding season and to record your heats, serves and pregnancy checks.
The ICBF animal search gives users up-to-date genetic and progeny performance information on AI bulls, stock bulls, and (as of this year) females located in a Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) or HerdPlus herd.
The animal search facility (now also available as the Animal Search mobile app, which includes the Active AI bulls in order of genetic index) had over 2.9 million individual hits in 2016, showing how useful it is for farmers and the cattle breeding industry.
In 2016, HerdPlus membership exceeded 23,000, after a year-on-year increase of more than 3,200.
HerdPlus costs herd-owners €60 per year for the electronic version, where you will receive most of the reports online, with some other reports posted to you.
If you wish to receive all your reports by post each year, the cost is €120/year.
Other advantages include ICBF Euro-Star ratings for beef breeding stock, or EBIs for dairy stock, displayed on boards at 68 marts nationwide, where you sell animals.
To be displayed, they must be above average (€69) for EBI, or must be four or five star beef animals (this service is also available to farmers in the BDGP).
Call 023-8820452 or complete a sign-up form on ICBF’s www.icbf.com website.
