'Pure nostalgia' - Throwback pictures from the last time Ireland reached World Cup in 2002
Search
26 Mar 2026
Search
26 Mar 2026
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Ask the question, has that calf a CBV?
The Commercial Beef Value (CBV) is a tool introduced by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) in late 2021 to help farmers make informed decisions when purchasing calves for beef production. It assesses an animal's genetic merit based on traits such as carcass weight, feed efficiency, conformation, age at finishing, docility, and carbon efficiency.
The CBV is particularly useful for dairy calf-to-beef systems, where genetic variation within breeds can significantly impact profitability. Calves bred from high-genetic-merit beef bulls tend to produce better carcass weights, improved conformation, and are more likely to meet factory specifications compared to those from lower-genetic-merit bulls. However, identifying a calf's beefing potential at a young age can be challenging since many visually appear similar early on.
The CBV simplifies this process by providing a numerical value and a star rating (1 to 5) indicating the calf's potential for beef production. This data is accessible via ICBF HerdPlus accounts and mart boards for animals with recorded sires and genotyping. Farmers can also generate CBV catalogues for eligible animals when selling directly off-farm, enabling buyers to make data-driven decisions.
A CBV is only generated when a sire is recorded at birth. If a calf’s sire is unknown or inaccurately recorded, CBV data may be unavailable.
Purchasing high CBV value calves can help eliminate underperforming animals that drain resources and reduce the profitability of your thriving stock.
Teagasc provides a Local Advisory and Education service to farmers. They have offices based in Roscommon Town (Tel: 090 6626166), Castlerea (Tel: 094 9620160) and Longford Town (Tel: 043 3341021), You can find us on Facebook @Teagascroscommonlongford and twitter @teagascRNLD. Email; Roscommon LongfordAdvisory@teagasc.ie
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
