Breeding objectives for beef cattle in Ireland

Abstract Breeding objectives for beef cattle in Ireland were derived and used to define selection sub-indexes. The intention of the sub-indexes was to simplify selection decisions by commercial bull and semen buyers for situations where all of the resulting progeny are slaughtered, or when some female progeny are kept as replacement breeding cows. Separate sets of economic values for calving ease and gestation length are proposed for use in separate calving sub-indexes depending on whether dairy cows or beef cows are to be mated. Proposed economic values for calf quality, growth, calving and reproduction sub-indexes were assumed to be independent of the breed of cow to be mated. It was also recommended that separate total indexes for dairy cow and beef cow matings be constructed as simple linear functions of the sub-indexes.