Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 16 June 2015
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Beef Data and Genomics Programme: Discussion
2:00 pm
Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael)
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My point relates to four- and five-star animals, particularly on the maternal side. The Department needs to get more information out because people think that a four- or five-star animal is a U or E-grade animal. It is not. The Department must get the information out that it is not just on confirmation but is about milk production and things like that. A Kerry cow could have a four- or five-star rating because it has the maternal instincts for more milk. The Department must get that information out there. We see how a four- or five-star bull is about confirmation of production but it is totally different on the maternal side. People are working under a misapprehension about the four- or five-star rating on the maternal side.