Tully High Health Status Sale

(Monday, 3rd May 2010)

Tully Bull Performance Testing Centre is holding an elite high health status sale on Monday, 3rd May 2010. This will be the first sale in Tully in three years and the first high health status sale in Ireland. There will be 105 bulls on offer, which consist of 40 Limousins, 26 Charolais, 13 Angus, one Aubrac, four Belgium Blues, five Herefords, four Salers 10 Simmentals and two Speckle Park. Bulls will be between 13 and 19 months of age on the day of sale. All 105 bulls boast high €uro-Star indexes and were pre-selected on-farm for muscular, skeletal and functionality traits. Also, the fact  that all bulls selected for Tully are in the top of their respective breed for Milk and Fertility (M&F) ensures that, when used for breeding heifer replacements, selected bulls have the potential to produce a calf with superior weaning weights, excellent conformation and good growth rates.

The current 90 day performance test is due to finish on the 4th of April. Afterwards, bulls will have their concentrate offering gradually decreased over a four week period leading up to the sale, to ensure they are acclimatised to their new on-farm environment. Performance and health testing allow us to accurately identify the bulls that are truly superior in both health status and also key profits traits such as weight for age, conformation and feed efficiency. Tully provides bulls to the beef industry that have elite genetics along with a high health status, allowing breeders to increase genetic gain in their herd.  In 2009, eleven bulls were purchased by AI companies, with 9 and 2 being bought by NCBC and Dovea AI, respectively.

Strict Health Testing at Tully

What makes Tully bulls superior is not only that they are pre-selected, have elite genetics and high indexes, but the fact that these bulls have a very high health status. This is established by firstly:

On-farm health testing

This involves a maximum of 20 animals in the herd (including the candidate animal) being tested for IBR, BVD, Johne’s and EBL, thereby building up a profile of the health status of the whole herd. The candidate bull(s) is then accepted into Tully on the basis that the health status of the herd is of a high standard and in all cases the candidate and its dam must be free of all diseases.  Prior to leaving the farm, candidate bulls are tested for TB and Brucellosis and receive vaccinations for RSV, PI3, Pasteurella (strains of pneumonia), Blackleg and various other clostridia diseases.

Tully health testing

Bulls that meet the on-farm health testing criteria are accepted into Tully where they are isolated for a further 30 day period. Once in isolation, a blood sample is obtained weekly for three weeks, testing again for the various diseases to ensure no bull became infected during on-farm testing and entry into Tully. During isolation bulls are given boosters for the vaccinations that were carried out on-farm. They are also treated for lice, mange, immature and mature fluke, stomach and lung worms. While in isolation, bulls are gradually built up to an ad-lib concentrate diet (the acclimatization period).

During the performance test, strict monitoring of bulls takes place and on the first indication of illness, bulls are isolated. Nasal swabs and blood samples are then obtained to ensure that no major diseases are at cause.  Once the bull gets the all clear, it can then be allowed back in with other animals.

Performance testing and measurements

Performance testing at Tully involves exposing selected bulls to uniform feeding, housing and management conditions. This testing establishes the genetic potential of all bulls, in terms of feed conversion efficiency and growth efficiency.

During the performance test, bulls are weighed every 21 days with individual feed intake being obtained, daily. Other measurements taken at Tully include:

• Average daily gain (kg/day): A key indicator of growth rate, which is an important factor in all aspects of beef production.
• Feed conversion efficiency (DMI/ADG): The ratio describing the amount of feed consumed per unit of production. It is important to identify animals that are efficient users of feed. 
• Scanned muscle and fat depth (mm):These traits are accurate indicators of meat and fat yield (very important with the new pricing GRID in place).
• Scrotal circumference (cm): Increased scrotal circumference is associated with earlier age at puberty, increased semen production and improved semen quality. It also has a favourable relationship with female fertility in daughters produced.