Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I wish to address the benefits that can be generated by genotyping the national herd. Anyone with an understanding of the sector will agree on those benefits.

In recent years, this House has spent a great deal of time debating emissions reductions and our battle against climate change. I have been a stout defender of the agrifood industry. While we must face up to the reality of climate change, we cannot hinder our ability to produce food sustainably. We must be able to protect our production base.

We have an emissions reduction target of 25%. Research shows that genotyping can play a large part in achieving that reduction. The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, ICBF, has conducted a great deal of research into this matter, as have other bodies. It is estimated that we could reduce our emissions by 10% by genotyping our national herd. That would go a long way towards meeting the targets to which we have committed.

How could such a reduction be achieved? Just before Christmas, I was on a research farm with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It was run by a meat processor. We were shown animals that were fed the same, born roughly at the same time and were at the point of being ready for slaughter. On average, there was a difference of 120 kg liveweight between one bull and another. If we can get that genetic improvement into our beef animals with the same feeding, same carbon footprint and so on, it will have a major impact on reducing our emissions. The same would be true in dairy, where cows with the same feeding could produce extra kilograms of protein and butterfat. This could be of significant benefit. One upside of this increased efficiency is that it could bring economic gains for the farmer. We would also be the first country to do this with our national herd, which would give us a significant advantage in the marketplace. Having emission-efficient animals and being able to show that we were producing food sustainably would help our green image. By genotyping our herd, we could tailor our breeding to make vast improvements as well as significant reductions in our emissions.

This will not be an easy task. I urge the Minister to make decisions on the matter quickly. Genotyping the herd will be a physical job. Doing the adult bovine population will take time. Even if we started soon, we would only get 50% of the herd done this year. It will cost money as well, which needs to be committed to, but it would be money well spent.

There will be other debates in the House about climate change and some of us will argue different approaches to it, but whether one is the staunchest environmentalist or a staunch defender of the agrifood industry, genotyping the national herd ticks all the boxes. We can protect our production base and reduce our emissions. To paraphrase a TV sitcom, everyone would be a winner.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Cahill for raising this important issue and for outlining the benefits that genotyping would have for our national herd. As the Deputy knows, this is a matter that I have spoken on recently. I have outlined clearly that it is my ambition to ensure that Ireland's is the first beef herd in the world to be fully genotyped. I look forward to taking steps towards that and ensuring we can deliver on it.

Food Vision 2030 is our ten-year strategy for the sustainable development of the agriculture and food sectors. It is our lighthouse policy. Under it, I established two groups - the dairy Food Vision group and the beef and sheep Food Vision group - to advise on how we can meet our 25% emissions reduction target by 2030. In terms of contributing to that, one of the key measures that the groups agreed and advised on was the development of methane-mitigating breeding strategies to build efficiency traits. The key initial component that would be needed to underpin these breeding strategies is a national genotyping strategy.

Genotyping the national herd, and acting effectively in response to the information gathered from that, has the potential to impact positively on farmers' economic and environmental sustainability. Traditionally, the genetic improvement of farmed livestock has been based on the use of data collected on animals in the breeding programme, namely, identification, ancestry and animal performance. Since 2009, this has been increasingly complemented by the addition of genomic, or DNA profile, data.

Through having precise knowledge of the DNA markers associated with the genotype of each animal, livestock breeders can increase the accuracy of selection for traits of interest for both dairy and meat productivity and quality and more recently, methane output. This can result in an almost doubling of the rates of genetic gain achievable, compared to conventional breeding programmes. In addition to improving economic and environmental sustainability, genotyping the national herd would have a number of co-benefits, including providing a unique selling point in terms of traceability, which is important for marketing our quality produce; and providing greater certainty about the quality of dairy beef calves, with benefits both for the farmers rearing those calves and for calf health and welfare.

In Ireland we are well placed to develop work in this area. Currently, Ireland has a relatively high level of genotyping when compared to other countries through innovative programmes such as the beef data and genomics programme and the soon-to-be-launched suckler carbon efficiency programme. Work undertaken by Teagasc and the ICBF has highlighted the significant benefits that can accrue to Irish farmers and related industries with higher genetic merit herds being more profitable and with a lower carbon footprint than lower genetic merit herds.

I am cognisant of and welcome the strong support of all stakeholders for genotyping of the national cattle herd. My ambition is that Ireland will become the first country in the world to genotype all livestock in the country. I want this to happen, I am determined that it will happen and I believe it will happen. By delivering it, we will continue to show the world that Ireland is more than an outpost on the edge of Europe. We will show that Ireland is a leader worldwide in our beef product. We are leaders and pioneers. We have a beef sector that is the envy of the world. As the Deputy is aware, the starting point in all of this is the farmer who calves the cow, rears the calf, produces the weanling or store and ultimately, finishes the animal. I am considering with my team how this might be achieved, having regard to the funding that will be necessary, the climate impact and a variety of organisational and logistical challenges. We can only do this if we are satisfied that it will lead to a real and measurable reduction in emissions and productivity. The Department and I will continue to engage with these stakeholders with a view to fleshing out and taking forward these proposals. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter today, and for his strong advocacy for this as a strategy and a way forward for our beef industry.

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's answer. I think we are in full agreement on the huge benefits of genotyping our national herd. The accurate information that will be generated will have huge benefits for us. However, with respect, I want to emphasise that this is urgent and we need to get it moving as quickly as possible. It is estimated that Exchequer funding of €40 million to €45 million will be required to genotype the adult herd, alongside an ongoing expense each year on genotyping newborn calves. To me, it is too good an opportunity to let it pass us by. I fully accept that the Minister has no intention of allowing that to happen. I urge him, with all haste, to get this up and going. As I said in my initial statement, it is going to be a physical job to genotype the adult herd. According to the ICBF estimate, even if we started on 1 March we would only get 50% of the adult herd done this year. In order to get this up and running and to gain the benefits from it, we need to commit to starting as quickly as possible. I think we will get huge buy-in from farmers for the scheme. As I said, it ticks all the boxes. It will help us to meet our climate change targets and it will also deliver economic benefits to the farmer. I have always clearly stated that in my view, proper use of technology and the modern advances that are there can actually benefit us environmentally and economically at farm level. That is something that I have very strongly advocated for. This is an ideal vehicle to achieve that. The money that we spend on a 10% reduction in our emissions will be a small price to pay for that significant reduction.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. Certainly, there is an urgency around this. I have outlined my ambition to make sure that Ireland is the first country in the world to have genotyped our full beef and livestock herd. That is something that I am now taking forward with my own Department and stakeholders. We are assessing and identifying the verifiable emissions reductions from doing that, and also the economic potential in relation to it. There is a serious job of work to be undertaken here. We are ahead of the curve in the extent to which we use genotyping currently through the various schemes I have outlined. We want to ensure that all animals are genotyped and that the benefits of that are felt by farmers in their productivity, profitability and sustainability. It has really exciting potential and can ensure that we remain at the cutting edge of the beef industry internationally and at a peak in relation to the sustainability of how we produce our beef. I look forward to working with the Deputy, as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and with all stakeholders on how we can take this forward and ensure we can make it happen.