The Charolais pedigree herd continues to show an increase in the number of registrations each year though there would appear to be some indication of an easing in the rate of expansion. Detailed here in the various figures are some of the trends and statistics extracted from the Charolais database.
A total of 10,352 animals were registered in 2002.
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| Figure 1 details the breakdown of all registrations by sex |
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Figure 2 shows the birth pattern throughout the year broken down by year, since 1996 with the normal peaks in the March/ April/ May period. A noticeable change in 2002 is the increase in December registrations and the decline in January registrations.
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Figure 3 shows the distribution of herd sizes. While the average herd size is small there was a significant decline in 2002 in the number of herds from which one calf was registered. More than 1320 herds registered 1 or 2 calves only in 2002.
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Figure 4 shows the level of linear and weight recording by year. The Charolais herd continues to make good progress in onfarm recording. However the level of recording is considerably less than 50% of the calves registered. The records for 2002 born calves are somewhat under estimated, as late 2001 born calves may not have been recorded at the time of publication. |
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Figure 5 shows that the Charolais breed is committed to the testing of bulls at Tully. The downward trend to 2001 would appear to have been reversed due most likely to the renewed efforts to make Tully the shop window of what is best in Irish cattle breeding toge- ther with the strong support of the Charolais herdbook. |
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Figure 6 shows the ranking of sires by their usage in 2002. This figure also shows the usage of these sires in 2001 and their overall use to-date in the Charolais herd. It highlights the genetic contribution of various sires to the national pedigree Charolais herd. The figure shows the contribution that any one bull can make to the national herd in a short period and emphasises the importance of providing pertinent genetic information to breeders who are making these important breeding decisions, which can have long-term consequences for the national pedigree and commercial herds.
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Figure 7 shows the genetic trends for muscle and skeletal traits since 1990. It should be noted that the base for these indices has been set to the average of calves born in 1995 as advised by the Beef Technical Advisory Committee. In deriving this base the average indices for calves born in this period are set to 100. The standard deviation of these indices is set to 10. This means that animals with indices of 110 or greater would be expected to come from the top 15% of the population when compared to the 1995 base. If improved breed- ing animals are being selected to be the parents of the next generation, then a positive genetic trend would be expected. As can be seen in these graphs the trends are positive.
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Figure 8 shows the distribution of muscle indices for calves born in 2001. The average muscle and skeletal indices for calves born in 2002 is 108.5 and 104.8 respectively. |
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Figure 9 shows the genetic trend for 365 day or yearling weight. Again the genetic trend is positive. In terms of Kgs of improvement, genetic progress for yearling weight has been about 0.4Kgs per year since 1990. Genetic trend is influenced by the intensity of selection and by the generation interval. The higher the selection intensity the greater the possible superiority of the parents of the next generation. Shortening the generation interval through the culling of poorer animals early in their breeding lives will also improve the rate of genetic progress. |
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The Charolais herd may now be approaching production limits in respect of potential market demand for breeding bulls. CAP reform may also have an impact. The current review of breeding strategy as initiated at the last Charolais AGM is most opportune. An expansion in the level of recording will be an important component of this initiative. ICBF is progressing as rapidly as possible its blueprint for a comprehensive field recording, genetic evaluation and delivery system for the beef sector. |
