Superior carcase sire

If you purchase a superior carcase sire, you are safe in the knowledge of having chosen a bull with some of the best carcase traits in the breed.

But the real value of using superior genetics should be seen in the quality and performance of the progeny. AHDB suggests selecting a sire with the right genetics could increase the profitability of a 50 cow suckler herd by £1,500 to £2,000 a year.

Making the decision to buy a superior carcase sire even easier, is the £5 per head claim which can be made on every calf born.

What is a superior carcase sire?

Achieving the following Breedplan EBVs:

• retail beef yield – top 20 per cent
• eye muscle area – top 25 per cent
• calving ease direct – top 75 per cent
• terminal index – top 25 per cent
• Fully registered
• From a Breedplan recorded herd
• Birth weight recorded
• Under 30 months of age at the point of sale
• DNA tested prior to sale
• Tested free of hypotrichosis
• Officially transferred to the new owner
• Minimum scrotal circumference of 32cm measured by the technician at scanning
• Has a combination of two live weights recorded in addition to the birth weight i.e. 400 day weight and 200 or 600 day weight

Purchasers of eligible bulls can claim £5 per calf by these sires, with claims accepted twice per year for up to four years from the date of purchase, or up to a total of 100 calves per sire. This means purchasers are able to get a maximum £500 back from the society for using a high performance bull.

Calves will be subject to a random DNA test for sire verification and checks that the bull was present on the farm at the time of conception of the calves. The incentive may only be claimed once in the bull’s life and is confined to the original purchaser.

No payment will be made in respect of any calf that is over six months of age at the time the claim is received and the scheme is only available to the initial purchaser of the bull.