Teagasc advice for dairy farmers: Six years on, genomic dairy bulls still €50 ahead
Recent changes to proofs for genomic bulls left many farmers wondering if they should continue using GS bulls this spring, or revert back to DP, but the comparison confirmed the need to use teams of GS bulls, on average, €50 ahead of DP bulls at any given point in time.
The comparison included SOK, KOZ and FLT in the GS category, and BHZ, BYJ and GMZ in the DP category.
In February 2011, the team of seven GS bulls were €52 ahead, and this difference was still there six years later, despite having added almost 100,000 progeny records in the intervening time period.
The key to managing this risk is to use a team of bulls. The average change for both groups was minus €2 for GS and minus €4 for DP.
The analysis undertaken by ICBF and Teagasc also looked at 33,577 female calves born during 2012 from the 14 AI bulls.
Of the 12,229 DP calves, 58% have calved three times, the average calving interval is 382 days, and the average fat and protein kgs up to three lactations are 1,055.
Of the 21,348 GS calves, 63% are calved three times, the average calving interval is 379 days, and the average fat and protein kgs up to three lactations are 1,089.
Three days of calving interval, 5% in survival, and 34 kg of solids more than confirm the estimate from the EBI of a €50 per lactation advantage.
