The closing date for applications to join the National Genotyping Programme is Friday the 19th of September. All farmers are encouraged to sign up to the programme to avail of its many benefits.
What are the main benefits to the farmer?
Labour-saving: Farmers who sign up to the NGP will have exclusive access to Double Tissue Tags. By sampling animals at birth, farmers don’t have to wait for button tags or hair-cards for SCEP or Pedigree Societies and then round up and bring in animals for sampling at a later stage. It is also much safer and easier to tag and sample newborn animals than more mature animals.
Cost: Herds accepted into the National Genotyping Programme will genotype any remaining ungenotyped breeding stock FREE. From 2025 to 2027 (inclusive), farmers will be required to genotype ALL calves born at a reduced cost of approximately €6. (This is an estimate and includes the farmer’s contribution of €4 towards genotyping, plus the additional cost associated with a double tissue tag and postage cost.). Herds participating in SCEP will only incur the €6/calf cost of those calves not counted towards their annual 70% SCEP genotyping requirement.
Parent verification: Parentage errors (which currently sit at an average of 15% nationally) lead to incorrect EBI & Eurostar figures and create paperwork to correct once the animal is already registered. Genotyping at birth will confirm parentage & correct any errors before registration.
Genomic Eurostar figures: Animals sampled at birth will receive genomic evaluations at the earliest possible opportunity, thereby increasing the reliability of their EBI & Eurostar figures well before they are selected or sold for breeding.
Commercial Beef Value (CBV): Genotyped calves being traded through marts will have their CBV displayed on mart screens.
If you are interested in applying and to find out more about the programme, please click here.
If you have further questions that you would like answered before you apply, please contact the HerdPlus team on 023-8820452 or email [email protected].
WATCH the videos below to get some first hand feedback from farmers who are currently involved in the programme.
