Advantage Beef Programme
A section of the farm walk focused on future opportunities to improve the genetic beef merit of dairy-beef cattle.
While the main area of research on the ABP Demo Farm is improving dairy-beef genetic merit through the use of higher beef merit bulls, it was also emphasised on the day that a balanced dairy cow "is essential for an efficient and sustainable dairy and beef industry".
Speaking at the event, ABP's agri-sustainability manager Stephen Connolly said: "If you look at the trend in the beef merit of the dairy cow over the last number of years, her beef merit is reducing, that is a fact.
"That's not saying she is getting smaller, she's actually getting bigger, but her carcass merit is reducing."
Connolly acknowledged that there are "different views" on the ideal confirmation of a dairy cow.
He said: "I think what makes that [ABP] collaboration with the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) and Teagasc so successful over the last 10 years is we all have different views.
"For our side, we need a suitable cow for the dairy and the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) has really done that but for us, we're looking at the beef merit."!
Connolly stressed that from a beef-industry perspective, they would prefer to see the trend of falling dairy cow carcass merit "going in the other direction because if we can do that, we feel we will get more beef coming from the dairy herd".
"But it's important to get balance. We need a balanced dairy cow that she will produce good milk solids, she will go in calf, she will stay in the system but also produce a good beef calf. That's really, really important.
"It is an important point, it's a 'watch out'. and us in the industry need to keep an eye on that."
Another suggestion highlighted on the day as a potential future opportunity to improve the genetic beef merit of dairy-beef calves was to implement a minimum beef genetic merit standard for all beef artificial insemination (AI) and stock bulls used on all dairy herds.
Commenting on this suggestion, Connolly said: "We know we have the genetics to make improvements. The genetics are there.
"For example, what could be something that would really work is for dairy farmers to supply milk, is there a certain [minimum] beef merit to be used on the dairy herd to ensure we have good-quality cattle?
"We know that the indexes are increasing from the beef calves coming from the dairy herd, but can we push it further, can we push it quicker?" he asked.