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06 February 2025

Watch: Dairy-beef breeding tools in brief

Watch: Dairy-beef breeding tools in brief


As part of the series of on-farm Calf Care events, farmers were reminded of the purposes of the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) and the Dairy Beef Index (DBI).

Discussing these tools at the series of events organised by Teagasc and AHI (Animal Health Ireland), and supported by Feed For Growth, Manager of the Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Campaign, Alan Dillon detailed their uses and identified some of the key breeding targets for selecting beef sires for the 2025 breeding season.

“When producing quality beef calves from the dairy herd, we have two tools at our disposal. The Commercial Beef Value, which is used by beef farmers, and the Dairy Beef Index which is used by dairy farms,” Alan Dillon explained.

What is the Commercial Beef Value (CBV)?

  • A tool to identify higher beef merit calves expressed as a € value and a star rating;
  • Available for cattle likely to be finished as beef;
  • Higher CBV animals have been shown to grow faster, finish earlier and have better food conversion efficiency;
  • Animals are assigned to one of three breed types: suckler, beef x dairy or dairy x dairy;
  • All are assigned a star rating of 1 to 5.

Dairy Beef Index

At the events, dairy farmers were encouraged to use the Dairy Beef Index when selecting beef sires to use on their cows, allowing for the production of a more profitable beef calf which is sought after by dairy-beef producers.

Alan Dillon explained: “It is advisable for dairy farmers to pay attention to the carcass value and the beef sub index of the sires, while at the same time paying attention to the gestation length and the calving ease.

“A beef sub-index of a minimum of €100 is required. For early maturing bulls, dairy farmers must try and achieve a carcass value of at least 10kg on early maturing Angus and Herefords, while on continental bulls it’s advisable to push near 20kg of carcass.”

For further tips and advice on breeding quality calves from the dairy herd, watch the below video:

Also read: Can anything more be paid for dairy-beef calves this year?