National Genotyping Programme - ICBF

Will signing up for this save money on genotyping for the SCEP scheme?

Any gaps in your breeding herd are free this year too I believe.

What's the story with tags unused from this year, I've 10 sets of tags left over this year that will go unused, can I get the "buttons" to match these "old" tags or is it a case of dump the unused ones I already have and order new sets for next year going forward??? I've not signed up yet, but thinking it would be a lots easier on man and beast to do them at birth

Did any suckler beef farmers receive their NGP tags for 2023 ? I thought we would have received them by now.

Got a letter from ICBF this week advising me to join - are many on here joining ?

Don't see much in it for us bar what people are saying about getting it out of the way at birth.

I usually apply the SCEP/BDGP tags to yearlings before they go out for their second summer so think I'll be giving this a miss.

I joined SCEP this year, wasnt in the old BDGP scheme, so i'm waiting to get the results of the genotyping I done back about 6 weeks ago before I sign up.

Effectively if I dont have enough 4 or 5 stars in the herd when I get the results, i'll be pulling out of the SCEP scheme so hence no need to join the NGP.

If I do have enough 4 or 5 stars, then yes I will also sign up for the NGP cos as mentioned by another poster, it will be far handier genotyping the calf after its born rather than trying to round them up etc at a later stage for every year of the scheme, its just another job in my eyes that can be avoided by signing up.

No not going to bother with this scheme - I'll just carry on doing as I was up to now

Tags arrived for the scheme today from Cormac tags

Just got word of my tags have been dispatched today to tag remaining weanling heifers. Problem is I've them sold they been collected tomorrow. Waiting long time for tags to arrive. Mullinahone coop!

Did many people sign up for this in the end ?

I tagged the few requested at the weekend. Honestly next year tagging for genotype at calving is the best idea in awhile. Trying to wrestle with a 850kg cow who never puts here head in the head gate or a 300kg calf to get a small tag in. Pure torture!! Anyway thats all females on the farm done for this scheme! Hopefully they're quicker with the genotyping than they are with the SCEP samples as I still have 2 left as "sent to lab" which they received first week of July

I had one heifer sold without knowing she was picked for tagging. They told me to discard her tag and they sent out a hair sample kit. You have to get 20 or 30 hair follicles in it off another female and sent that for testing instead

Think it's a no brainer to join it really, especially for lads in scep. Animals will need to be genotyped anyway so it will be much easier to tag a new born calf than having to gather up all stock at some point in the summer. The problems of low reliability from icbf star ratings will be eliminated aswell. Everyone in scep should definitely be in it.

You won’t be regenotyping the cows every year. Just new born calves

Yes but I'd only be required to genotype 10 calves for SCEP next year but will have to genotype all 20 for NGP if I go into it

🤣 I agree they aren't my numbers I was just trying to explain it.

As the cost of SCEP genotyping is 18euro - for the extra calves that have to be done next year on top of the SCEP requirement will they cost the 18euro or the 6euro mentioned ?

18e for SCEP genotyping & 6e for any additional calves under NGP scheme from my understanding of the scheme.

Difference also is tags available at calving Vs middle of the summer.

Time and hassle saved tagging at birth is worth that 6e extra to me anyway

I know they’re not going anywhere. To say it’s irrelevant whether the Eurostars are fit for purpose or not is laughable. There needs to be an independent investigation into what ICBF get up to.

They must be struggling to get numbers signed up with the extension of the closing date,and I'm now getting texts asking me to sign up, they must be under pressure for numbers to meet there requirements. I've still not signed up. I'm really on the fence on this one

Applied for SCEP here. But I can't see the benefit of this. We have a few sucklers but you're talking only 10%.

My understanding is that we'd get all the cows genotyped now for free, but then have to pay 6 quid a head for all the dairy calves being done going forward. And the only "benefit" would be that we'd have the SCEP ones' tags at the start of the year?

Am I missing something? Because it doesn't seem that there is any real incentive to go to the bother

But we'd be tagging say 8 dairy calves @ 6 Euro per head cost to save some potential inconvenience with one suckler calf. Unless there is some other actual benefit or requirement that I must be missing

Well lads just have a quick question.

We usually run low in tags every and end up waiting for them and calf's waiting too...so I ordered a clatter of them for next year in advance before I heard about the ngp program .....I'm assuming I'd like at the loss of them if I join ngp program.?would I be rite in thinking that?

Also the main benefits I see is

Not rounding them up for tagging when older?

Besides that it is more money out of pocket if you go with NGP.?

Thanks in advance

Same as that. Given you have to weight them aswell that’s the same opportunity to have them in the crush and tag them so no extra handling.

The faffing around at the blue card stage waiting for sire confirmation would be a pain in the arse also.

Thanks for the reply Tanco

A rite I didn't know that you can get the buttons.im sure that cost also.

I fully agree with you.i dose calf's every six weeks through the summer and always problems along the way aswell. So plenty of opportunitys to tag. along with when they are weighed (although some years this is done in the field 🤣)

Cost you money is all I can see aswell

Think my tagging for scep is 400 already and they want to add another 150 or more to it. Why not do them all for 6 euro.

Thanks again I think I'll leave it to them👍

You don’t have to order button tags for calves born this year but you will for any calf born next year if you want to use up those tags left over from earlier this year. Yeah the department will cover the cost of sampling any remaining female animals you have which aren’t genotyped, there is an option not to do this if you want. They will send genomic tags out to you for these animals.