The importance of genetics in the dairy-beef system to maximise performance & profitability

The Beef Edge

This week it’s a joint episode between the Beef and Dairy Edge podcasts with dairy farmer Paul Delaney joining Emma-Louise Coffey & Catherine Egan to discuss the importance of genetics in the dairy-beef system to maximise performance and profitability.

Paul first gives an overview of his system. Two thirds of the cows are calved to date and Paul has used a number of continental sires to breed top quality calves. Paul previously was a suckler farmer prior to converting to dairy in 2015.

While selecting sires for gestation length and calving difficulty he has no issue with the sires he’s selected while focusing on beef characteristics. He puts a huge value on having two customers for calves that return year on year.

Paul also discusses the value of good calf genetics can have on the whole process from calf birth to finish and further in the processors.

For further details on the DairyBeef 500 campaign:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/beef/dairy-calf-to-beef/dairybeef-500/

More information on the Dairy Beef Index is at:

https://www.icbf.com/dairybeef-results/

For more episodes from the Beef Edge podcast, visit the show page at:
https://www.teagasc.ie/thebeefedge
Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com